On Saturday and Sunday, September 28 and 29, the historic Art Theatre of Long Beach celebrates music and movies with Jazz: Real to Reel / Live and on Film—a weekend of great jazz documentaries, feature films, and live music hosted by KKJZ 88.1 FM disc jockey Helen Borgers.

“‘It’s a celebration – live and on film – of America’s music, featuring some of the greatest heroes of the art form,” explains Borgers.

The program begins Saturday with A Great Day in Harlem (1994), bringing to life the history and personalities behind Esquire magazine’s iconic 1958 photograph of the greats of the golden age of jazz. Robert Altman’s Jazz ’34: Remembrances of Kansas City Swing follows, with a star-studded recreation of an all-night jam session as it might have been in a Depression-era Kansas City club. The evening concludes with I Want to Live! (1958), starring Susan Hayward in her Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning role, accompanied by much-celebrated music from Johnny Mandel, which AllMusicGuide calls “one of the best jazz-inspired soundtracks around.”

Sunday opens with Listen: Gerry Mulligan, tracing Mulligan’s life story and musical innovations through home movies, concert footage, and interviews. During the dinner break that follows, guests can explore food, drink, and live jazz in nearby restaurants and shops along 4th Street. After dinner CSULB’s Concert Jazz Orchestra will perform live, directed by Jeff Jarvis, featuring the music of Johnny Mandel. Special guests Mandel and jazz trumpeter and vocalist Jack Sheldon will be presented with lifetime achievement “Jazz Beret” awards by Helen Borgers, 2006 winner of the Los Angeles Jazz Society’s Leonard Feather Jazz Communicator Award. “Johnny Mandel and Jack Sheldon have each contributed over 50 years of their lives to composing and performing jazz on stage, in recordings and film, and each has left an indelible mark on the history of the music,” says Borgers. Programming closes with The Sandpipers (1965), Oscar winner for Best Original Song, “The Shadow of Your Smile,” composed by Johnny Mandel, featuring Jack Sheldon on trumpet.

Ticket sales from Jazz: Real to Reel / Live and on Film will help to fund Art Theatre of Long Beach’s installation of digital projection equipment. General admission tickets for Saturday or Sunday are $18. The VIP package is available at $35, including all events for both days, valet parking, and a drink ticket.

Telephone Co-producer David Ross 562-438-1000
Co-producer Julie Rivett jazz.RealtoReel@gmail.com