A Great Day in Harlem (1994)

A Great Day in Harlem is a 1994 American documentary film directed by Jean Bach about the photograph of the same name. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Director Jean Bach acquired an original, home movie showing the 1958 photo shoot from musician Milt Hinton on the day the photograph was taken in 1958. She used Hinton's home video as the basis for her hour-long documentary.

In a piece published in The New Yorker, jazz critic Whitney Balliet praised Bach's film as "a brilliant, funny, moving, altogether miraculous documentary."

Jean Bach described how, upon the film's release, a number of similar photographs employed the "A Great Day in…" theme. Hugh Hefner assembled Hollywood-area musicians for "A Great Day in Hollywood" in conjunction with a sneak preview of A Great Day in Harlem. Soon after, "A Great Day in Philadelphia" included musicians such as Jimmy Heath, Benny Golson and Ray Bryant. During the filming of Kansas City, musicians including Jay McShann posed for "A Great Day in Kansas City." A multi-page supplement in The Star-Ledger featured "A Great Day in Jersey," while a Dutch photograph was titled "A Great Day in Haarlem."

The trend spread to other styles of music, with Houston blues musicians posing for "A Great Day in Houston." "A Great Day in Hip Hop" was followed by XXL's "The Greatest Day in Hip Hop." An Atlanta radio station gathered musicians for "A Great Day in Doo-Wop." A New York cellist, inspired by both the original photograph and the film, assembled chamber musicians for "A Great Day in New York." The New York Post ran "A Great Day in Spanish Harlem."

By 2004, The New York Times was referring to the original photograph as A Great Day in Harlem.

Synopsis

En 1958, Art Kane, alors photographe debutant de "Esquire", reussit un beau matin d'ete a reunir devant un immeuble de Harlem cinquante-sept musiciens de jazz. Dans la foule on reconnait Count Basie, Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Roy Eldridge, Sonny Rollins, Charles Mingus, Art Blakey, Art Farmer, Gene Krupa, Rex Stewart, Jo Jones, Hank Jones, Johnny Griffin. En 1989, Jean Bach, productrice de radio realisa un documentaire a partir de cette photo et retrace de grands moments de la legende du jazz.

Actors