Jazz on Film
June 7–22, 2024
Jazz on Film returns this June with screenings celebrating the various intersections of jazz and cinema. Organized by curator Peter Lucas, this 10th edition features a new restoration of the classic Chet Baker portrait Let’s Get Lost, the Houston premiere of the new documentary Elis and Tom, about the legendary bossa nova collaboration of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Elis Regina, a 50th anniversary screening of Sun Ra’s Space Is the Place, two films illuminating the largely forgotten stories of women jazz artists of the 1930s and 1940s, and a program of animated short films made by John and Faith Hubley from the 1950s to the 1970s, and more!
Jazz on Film founder and curator Peter Lucas has organized exhibitions, film series, and public programs in association with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, the Menil Collection, Seattle International Film Festival, Northwest Film Forum, the Museum of Pop Culture, and Aurora Picture Show. Lucas is also a writer, podcaster, and multidisciplinary artist.
Upcoming Events in this Series
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Let’s Get Lost
In the 1950s, Chet Baker’s jazz trumpeting, intimate crooning, and pretty-boy good looks epitomized West Coast cool. When photographer Bruce Weber caught up with him three decades later, time and drug addiction had ravaged his life and angelic beauty.
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Elis and Tom (Elis & Tom, só tinha de ser com você)
In 1974, one of the prime architects of bossa nova, Antonio Carlos Jobim (Tom), and popular Brazilian singer Elis Regina came together to record what would become one of the most iconic albums in the history of Brazilian music.
- Saturday, June 8, 2024
- 7 p.m.
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Space Is the Place
Calling planet Earth! Jazz on Film is pleased to present a special 50th-anniversary screening of the Afrofuturist classic Space Is the Place. This unique iteration of Ra’s musical concepts and social commentary is a blend of science fiction B-movie, blaxploitation flick, and concert documentary.
- Friday, June 14, 2024
- 7 p.m.
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International Sweethearts of Rhythm | Maxine Sullivan: Love to Be in Love
This screening presents two short documentaries by filmmakers Greta Schiller and Andrea Weiss that spotlight often unsung women of jazz.
- Saturday, June 15, 2024
- 7 p.m.
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Jazz Films by John and Faith Hubley
Between the 1950s and 1970s, animators John and Faith Hubley made their own independent films with intelligence, passion, humor, and great music. Their poetic sensibility and whimsical, impressionistic visual style fit perfectly with jazz music.
- Friday, June 21, 2024
- 7 p.m.
Generous support has been provided by Gerry Aitken, Richard Levy and Dinah Chetrit, and Anne Tucker and Robert Morris.