Filmed at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island and directed by world-renowned photographer Bert Stern, JAZZ ON A SUMMER’S DAY features intimate performances by an all-star line-up of musical legends including Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk, Gerry Mulligan, Anita O’Day, Chuck Berry, Dinah Washington, and closes with a beautiful rendition of The Lord’s Prayer by Mahalia Jackson at midnight, to usher in Sunday morning.
The 1959 classic is considered one of the most extraordinary and possibly the first concert film ever made. Its sparkling new 4K restoration by Indie Collect, with color correction by Oskar Miarka, recently premiered at the 57th New York Film Festival with sold out shows. The film was named to the National Film Registry in 1999, and its restoration was funded by the National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress in time to celebrate the film’s 60th Anniversary.
The film has been beautifully and extensively restored in 4K from the best surviving vault elements by IndieCollect.
Saturday, September 19
Doors 5:00 pm | Movie 5:30 *Start time subject to change
Advance tickets $15 HERE | $15 at the door
*Rio Theatre Groupons and passes OK! Please redeem at the door.
**Minors permitted. (Language warning.) Must be 19+ w/ID for bar service
PLEASE NOTE: All of the Rio Theatre’s screenings are operating at a sharply reduced capacity. We can’t guarantee availability of tickets at the door, so advance tickets for all screening events are strongly recommended. Our online box office can be found at www.riotheatretickets.ca. Online sales for every screening automatically end 1 hour before any given showtime.
JAZZ ON A SUMMER’S DAY (Bert Stern, 1959 / 85 mins / G) Set at the Newport jazz festival in 1958, this documentary mixes images of water and the town with performers and audience. The film progresses from day to night and from improvisational music to Gospel. It’s a concert film that suggests peace and leisure, jazz at a particular time and place.