The Jazz Loft According to W. Eugene Smith

Photo: Thelonious Monk in The Loft

Clinton Street Theatre and KBOO Community radio present a much-anticipated and rare treasure for its Reel Cool Jazz Series: The Jazz Loft According to W. Eugene Smith.

Between 1957 and 1965, jazz musicians jammed in a rundown Sixth Avenue loft in New York, not realizing they were being captured in sound and pictures by LIFE Magazine photographer W. Eugene Smith, who lived in the loft next door. The film is a peek into the creative process at a juncture in time where a different kind of sanctuary was created.

David Amram was interviewed for the film and said “The loft was an oasis for all of us who felt that we were dying of thirst. Day or night, anyone could walk in and find a kindred spirit and learn something…”

Thelonious Monk stops by to prepare for his celebrated 1959 big-band concert at Town Hall, loft-resident Hall Overton, Juilliard instructor and classical composer, becomes a jazz guru, Smith tape-records his own phone calls and eventually gets evicted. With a layering of interviews and vignettes, director and WNYC producer Sara Fishko recreates the vibrancy of New York’s mid-century jazz era, resurrecting the voices captured in Smith’s evocative photographs. A one of a kind film Friday, November 4, 7 pm. cstpdx.com.

The Jazz Loft According to W. Eugene Smith

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