Mile-High Flickfest

You know, Ken Burns isn’t the first person to make a movie about jazz. Plenty of other filmmakers have taken a shot at capturing the music’s history on film. Some of these jazz movies will make it onto the big screen at the 5th Annual Denver Jazz On Film Festival. For five days in February, Denver’s Cameron Church will become a theater as the celluloid passes from reel to reel and the rare stories of jazz are revealed.

Over 20 jazz films from around the globe will be viewed at the now quite popular festival. The lineup includes movies on big name legends like Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Mary Lou Williams, but the festival is also a place to see films about more obscure figures like Carla Bley and Horace Parlan. Some of the more interesting flicks look at how jazz affected countries other than America. Dizzy in Cuba takes a look at Dizzy Gillespie’s presence in Communist Cuba while Jazzman from Gulag tells the story of a European jazz star’s banishment by Soviet leader Josef Stalin.

It all happens in Denver, Colorado over a long President’s Day Weekend, February 15-19. Ticket prices are $6/show, $5 for Students & Seniors, with full weekend passes available.

For Tickets call (303)592-1168. For additional information, including a list schedule of films that will be screened, call (303)871-1950 or visit the website at www.jazzfilmfestival.org.

Originally Published January 28, 2001