A Great Day In Harlem

[EKE BBB]

A 'Great Day' from Bach

Filmmaker to preview DVD about famed Harlem photo

by Al Hunter Jr.

Philadelphia Daily News, December 30, 2005

"A Great Day in Harlem," the iconic photograph of jazz greats gathered in

front of a brownstone nearly half a century ago, has a dedicated advocate in

Jean Bach.

Bach, 87, a former radio and television producer who rubbed elbows with many

jazz luminaries, produced an hour-long television documentary about the

photo in 1994.

It featured interviews with surviving musicians from the 1958 photo,

photographer Art Kane and others who helped set up the shot for Esquire

magazine. The resulting film received positive reviews and was nominated for

an Oscar in 1995 for best documentary feature.

In January, the documentary will be released on a two-disc DVD. Tonight,

Bach is scheduled to be at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where "A Great

Day in Harlem" will be screened. She will discuss the photo and film and

answer questions from the audience.

"A Great Day in Harlem" is a who's-who of jazz in New York City, circa the

late 1950s: Count Basie, Lawrence Brown, Buck Clayton, Roy Eldridge, Dizzy

Gillespie, Benny Golson, Gene Krupa, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Gerry

Mulligan, Sonny Rollins, Stuff Smith, Lester Young, Horace Silver and

others.

Bach is a jazz enthusiast who used to write a music column for the '40s- era

Chicago Times. "A Great Day in Harlem" was her first attempt at producing a

documentary and she conducted most of the interviews at her home in New

York.

The photo was the brainchild of Kane, then a young art director who became

interested in photography. "A Great Day in Harlem" was his first published

photograph, but it endured. Kane, who went on to become a distinguished

fashion photographer, committed suicide in 1999.

"It has all the great jazz artists in a clean, crisp shot," said Bill

Foster, a Philadelphia photographer who shoots a lot of musicians. "Everyone

is positioned just right. No on had ever done anything like that, bringing

all those jazz artists together at one time."

No egos leap from the photo -- no one appears to be jockeying for a

favorable position. "They weren't trying to make history," Foster said. But

they did.

Patrick Simione, a Manayunk photographer who in 2003 shot a gathering of 200

Philly jazz musicians and associates outside the Municipal Services

Building, said there's a natural feel to Kane's photo.

"The thing I love about it is that it's almost like a big family portrait,"

Simione said.

The photo was widely imitated.

"My theory is [Kane] had something in his brain and he made it work. You

can't copy something like that," Simione said. "Every situation has its own

kind of energy to it. That's something you can't discount. You put all those

great [jazz] minds together, you can feel that."

Part of the DVD's bonus material includes a "Copycat Photos" featurette,

which highlights photos inspired by "A Great Day," including a 1995 version

done locally for Philadelphia Weekly.

Of the 57 musicians in Kane's photo -- there would've been 58, but Willie

"The Lion" Smith got tired and sat on some steps outside of camera range --

only a handful are alive today, including Silver, Hank Jones, Eddie Locke,

Marian McPartland, Rollins, Golson, and Johnny Griffin.

And if a contemporary version of the photo were taken, who would be

included?

Bach admitted having trouble coming up with current musicians who compare to

those '50s greats.

"I can't think of whose playing is so original, that has had an effect on

other people. Maybe Ahmad Jamal, Clark Terry?" Bach considered. "The

conditions were different. People who were evolving and developing ideas

were playing in big bands."

There are few of them around these days.

In one of the DVD's featurettes, Kane says in an interview: "I'll never

forget the experience. And I hope the world never forgets the image."

[EKE BBB]

Already available at amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BVNS7...&v=glance&n=130

[brownie]

Unless it really improves on the VHS, I'll skip it.

The book by Charles Graham The Great Jazz Day is highly recommended reading!

[Ron S]

I attended that screening at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on December 30th, and heard Ms. Bach speak and answer questions afterwards. She was extremely candid and entertaining. One interesting story she told was about how difficult it was to locate Art Blakey for his interview. She said that she seemed to always be one woman behind in her contact information, in that every time she'd get a new residence phone number for him, a different woman with whom he had been living would answer the phone and angrily tell Bach that Art was no longer living there and she had no idea where he was. Needless to say for anyone who's seen the film, Bach did eventually locate him.

I've purchased the new double DVD, but haven't had a chance to view the second disc yet.

[sheldonm]

$15.00 at DeepDiscount DVD and no shipping!