Jammin' the Blues

Starring: Lester Young, George "Red" Callender, Harry Edison, Marlowe Morris, Sidney Catlett, Barney Kessel, Jo Jones
Directed by: Gjon Mili
Rating: Approved
Genre: Short, Music
Length: 10 minutes
1944

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Lester Young and other black musicians play the blues in a jam session.

Review:

Tim: I suppose Jammin' the Blues is an important short film. It's apparently one of the few films to capture black jazz musicians in a jam session. That's certainly the biggest takeaway I had- it was fun to watch these obviously talented musicians having fun and playing great music. The film is 10 minutes long, which felt a bit long to watch musicians playing, but it's a positive thing that this film exists.

I didn't know much about Lester Young before watching this film. It was cool to see him here and to read a little about his influence on the blues. He was an important figure in jazz history and I appreciated the opportunity to see and hear him play.

The film itself had an interesting visual style. It really did feel like a music video that more contemporary audiences would be familiar with. It was impressive how the film was edited and some of the scenes were depicted really cool. I was a big fan of how the dance sequences were shot.

This film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Subject, One-reel. Obviously, critics in its day recognized it had some value and importance. Decades later, it's still a worthwhile film that sheds some light on people who influenced our culture, but might not be at the top of our lists of famous people. In short, I was fortunate to see Jammin' the Blues.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- N/A



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