Cicada Cinema will present a free screening of 1959 concert documentary “Jazz on a Summer’s Day” at dusk, around 8:30 p.m. Saturday at Waldron, Hill and Buskirk Park.
The documentary captures the performances of genre-defining names in jazz like Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk, Mahalia Jackson, Anita O’Day and Chuck Berry. Originally filmed by director and photographer Bert Stern at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island, critics have called the documentary “the best concert length feature ever made.”
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The film is shot in vibrant color, panning not only across the stage full of dynamic, iconic musicians, but also across the faces of dancing audience members and sail boats floating nearby. Cicada Cinema is putting on the event in partnership with The City of Bloomington Parks & Rec and WFHB Community Radio.
Waldron, Hill and Buskirk Park has been recently renovated and the showing of ‘Jazz on a Summer’s Day’ marks the debut of their new, larger screen. The screening will last 88 minutes and is a 4k restoration from camera negative.
The free event requires no ticket, but audience members need to bring their own seating.
