Louis Armstrong believed he was born on July 4, 1900. Subsequent historical research might suggest otherwise, but why get hung up on mere details? As a true Horatio Alger figure, who revolutionized both instrumental and vocal music, and represented America abroad as the unofficial “Ambassador Satch,” it is a symbolically fitting birthday for Armstrong. He was also a true road warrior, so he did not mind playing on his birthday weekend. Decades later, Armstrong and the other great jazz artists recorded in performance at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival still sound as refreshing as a cool summer breeze in the BluRay release of Bert Stern’s Jazz on a Summer’s Day, which releases today.
1958 was a busy Fourth of July weekend for Rhode Island. In addition to George
Wein’s Newport Jazz Festival, the America’s Cup qualifying heats were running
off the coast. Part of Summer’s charm is the way director Bert
Stern incorporates not just the races, but all the life and slightly inebriated
carousing going on around the festival.
Jimmy Giuffre might not be widely known outside of jazz circles, but his
performance of “The Train and the River” was an inspired choice for the opening
credits. Breezy and bluesy with a hint of abstractness, it perfectly matches
Stern’s images of the ocean and his wavy titles. This was Giuffre’s most
accessible combo, a trio of himself on reeds, Bob Brookmeyer on valve trombone
and Jim Hall on guitar (visible only when taking a bow at the end of the
number). As many times as I have seen this film, this sequence always draws me
in again.
In retrospect, it seems weird Thelonious Monk was scheduled so early in the
festival. We see him playing to an apparently sparse audience that included an
appreciative Gerry Mulligan, who would take the stage later that night. Monk’s unphazed
performance of “Blue Monk” and VOA D.J. Willis Conover’s introduction might
actually sound familiar, having been sampled years ago in a sneaker
commercial.
Festival attendees were indeed fortunate getting a chance to hear future
legends in sideman roles, the most unexpected being a young Roswell Rudd, later
to become the most important trombonist in the avant-garde, seen in Newport
careening around the roads with the Dixieland band Eli’s Chosen Six. We also get
a rare opportunity to enjoy working bands that sadly never recorded outside of
Stern’s film, like the group co-led by Sonny Stitt and former Kenton guitarist
Sal Salvador (stuck with the dreaded “under-appreciated” appellation throughout
his career), who blaze through “Loose Walk.”
A young Eric Dolphy also appears in a sideman role with Chico Hamilton’s band.
Stern uses the Hamilton group as a touchstone throughout the film, juxtaposing
their serious rehearsals with the revelry of the festival. The combination of
the exotic sounds of Dolphy’s flute, Nate Gershman’s cello, the arresting
dynamics of Hamilton’s drumming, and Stern’s gorgeous color photography is
always a knockout punch, for newcomers and longtime fans alike.
Anita O’Day got a lot of attention for her sassy “Tea for Two” and “Sweet
Georgia Brown” and Big Maybelle rouses the crowd with “I Ain’t Mad at You.” Of
course, Chuck Berry wasn’t a jazz musician, but you would hardly know it from
his jamming on “Sweet Little Sixteen,” with old school cats like Jack
Teagarden, who would also appear with Armstrong.
Yet, the biggest star was still Louis Armstrong himself, performing in the film’s penultimate timeslot for a clearly adoring audience. As he plays and relates anecdotes of hobnobbing with crowned heads of Europe for Conover, the film establishes him as uncrowned American royalty. After Armstrong’s Saturday night set finishes past midnight, Conover gives Mahalia Jackson probably the best stage introduction ever, ending Summer on Sunday morning with a gospel note.
Summer is a classic. You can watch it over and over and each time is like the first time. It is patriotic movie too. After all, it honors America’s only original art form: jazz—on our nation’s birthday. It looks great and sounds terrific. Very highly recommended, Jazz on a Summer’s Day releases today (2/9) on BluRay.