The love affair between jazz and the French Riviera is now more than seven decades in the making. It began after World War Two, when Sidney Bechet and Duke Ellington fell in love with the region. From then on, there was a sense that jazz floated in the air each summer, with African-American icons arriving to play intimate shows to crowds that often gave them more reverence and respect than they received back home. In fact, jazz festivals are said to have been invented in the region, with lineups gathering the world’s most exciting acts from near and far.
1958 was a marquee year, with the Festival de Cannes playing host to an all-star group of truly iconic artists. Beyond the music, this final installment of Jean-Christophe Averty's fantastic compilation series features beautiful shots of great musicians sitting together in bars, on speedboats, drinking and laughing while the music plays. We see Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Sammy Price and more and Averty's camera intercuts these rare candid moments with shots of the beach and of the sun-kissed bathers in their 50s swim suits. It encapsulates the romance of jazz and preserves it for generations to come.
Noteworthy moments include a spellbinding performance from French vibraphonist Michel Hausser and a segment of play from the seminal group, Modern Jazz Quartet.
