Event Info
Sicily Jass: Director: Michele Cinque
It may feel like jazz is timeless, but the truth is that jazz is barely a hundre...
3:30pm
$10.50
Event Description
It may feel like jazz is timeless, but the truth is that jazz is barely a hundred years old. Its first official record was 1917's “Livery Stable Blues” by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. It was a record that would influence all the early greats like Louis Armstrong and countless others who would follow. But Nick LaRocca, a Sicilian born in New Orleans and the man behind that famous record, has remained largely unknown until now.
Intermingling documentary and recreated elements with jazz critics and historians, director Michele Cinque takes us down an almost unknown road in music. It is the story of how a white man with no training rose from being a building contractor to the highest-paid man in jazz music within a few weeks. It examines how his Sicilian roots influenced the direction of that earliest recording. And ultimately, it shows how this dour man became the instrument of his own historical extinction.
However, where LaRocca's life trails out, Cinque's doc uplifts. He keeps this movie thoughtful, upbeat and filled with the joyful sounds of Dixieland.
In-Person Event
Sat. February 4th 2017 + Add to Calendar
Star Cinema
