Top Rated Music Movies on Kanopy - Page 23

A Jumpin' Night in the Garden of Eden

1987

A Jumpin' Night in the Garden of Eden

1987
A Jumpin' Night in the Garden of Eden was the first film to document the klezmer revival, tracing the efforts of two founding groups, Kapelye and Boston's Klezmer Conservatory Band, to recover the lost history of klezmer music. For nearly a millennium, this vigorous and soulful music was part of the celebration of Jewish life in Eastern Europe. In the early decades of this century, the music took root in America. Klezmer musicians learned hundreds of tunes by ear and their ears were open to Gypsy, Ukrainian and Greek melodies of the old world, as well as to the new sounds of American jazz. Music born in Eastern Europe lived on in the imaginations of composers for New York's Yiddish theater, men whose tunes entered the mainstream through such unlikely adapters as the Andrew Sisters. Eventually Klezmer went underground as its audience assimilated into mainstream American culture.
The Harvest

2017

The Harvest

2017
Gurwinder comes from Punjab, he’s been working for years as a farm hand in Agro Pontino, not far from Rome. Since he first came in Italy, he’s been living with the rest of the Sikh community in Latina province. Hardeep is also Indian, but her stress is Roman, and she works as a cultural mediator. She, born and raised in Italy, is trying to free herself from the memories of a family that emigrated in another age, while he is forced, against his faith, to take methamphetamine and doping to bear the heavy work pace, to be able to send money in India.
Long Way From Home (How Did We Get Here?)

2017

Long Way From Home (How Did We Get Here?)

2017
Verdi: Nabucco

2000

Verdi: Nabucco

2000
Giuseppe Verdi's opera performed in 1998.
John Cage: I Have Nothing to Say and I Am Saying It

1990

John Cage: I Have Nothing to Say and I Am Saying It

1990
This 56-minute documentary on America's most controversial and unique composer manages to cover a great many aspects of Cage's work and thought. His love for mushrooms, his Zen beliefs and use of the I Ching, and basic bio details are all explained intelligently and dynamically. Black Mountain, Buckminster Fuller, Rauschenberg, Duchamp are mentioned. Yoko Ono, John Rockwell, Laurie Anderson, Richard Kostelanetz make appearances. Fascinating performance sequences include Margaret Leng-Tan performing on prepared piano, Merce Cunningham and company, and performances of Credo In Us, Water Music, and Third Construction. Demystifies the man who made music from silence, from all sounds, from life.
Jazz a la Cuba

1933

Jazz a la Cuba

1933
One of the short little films featuring Don Aspiazu of his own orchestra, a good example of the style of Cubano jazz in the 1920's and 1930's, combined with some sporadic, picturesque images of contemporary Cuba.
Will Work for Views: The Lo-Fi Life of Weird Paul

2017

Will Work for Views: The Lo-Fi Life of Weird Paul

2017
A film exploring the life of “Weird Paul.” After 30 years, 2000 videos, 800 songs, & 42 albums, he’s still not giving up on his dream.
Mind Over Matter

2017

Mind Over Matter

2017
A young man born with Cerebral Palsy battles a paralyzed left hand, bullies and stereotypes about the disabled to defy the odds and make it as a rock and roll guitarist. Ultimately, sharing the stage with the very band that inspired him to start (or to achieve the impossible).
Vince Giordano: There's a Future in the Past

2017

Vince Giordano: There's a Future in the Past

2017
Bandleader Vince Giordano keeps the Jazz Age alive with his 11-member band The Nighthawks, vintage musical instruments, and a collection of more than 60,000 original arrangements from the 1920s and '30s.
Eugene Onegin

2016

Eugene Onegin

2016
Live performance for Garsington Opera, June-July, 2016.
Silent Shakespeare

2000

Silent Shakespeare

2000
A BFI collection of 7 short films from the USA, England and Italy scored for Piano, Guitar and String Quartet.
Fly in a Bottle

2011

Fly in a Bottle

2011
Taking a look into the minds and lives of Medeski Martin & Wood, drummer/percussionist, Billy Martin, directed the first feature film in the band's history titled, Fly in a Bottle. Working through a yearlong period of personal 16mm film and HD camcorder footage of MMW on the road and in the studio during the Radiolarians recordings, the film provides an extremely intimate portrait of the band. It highlights the trio's intricate relationships with each other and with the music they have worked to create over 20 years as a band.
We Like It Like That

2015

We Like It Like That

2015
Latin boogaloo is New York City. It is a product of the melting pot, a colorful expression of 1960s Latino soul, straight from the streets of El Barrio, the South Bronx and Brooklyn. Starring Latin boogaloo legends like Joe Bataan, Johnny Colon and Pete Rodriguez, We Like It Like That explores this lesser-known, but pivotal moment in Latin music history, through original interviews, music recordings, live performances, dancing and rare archival footage and images. From its origins to its recent resurgence in popularity, We Like It Like That tells the story of a sound that redefined a generation and was too funky to keep down.
The Return of Rubén Blades

1985

The Return of Rubén Blades

1985
Robert Mugge's 1986 film provides a full-blooded portrait of the Latino singer, actor, bandleader, and composer. Blades' Panama homeland, his Harvard Master's degree, and a New York performance with his band Seis de Solar all serve as stops on this biographical journey.
Bix: Ain't None of Them Play Like Him Yet

1982

Bix: Ain't None of Them Play Like Him Yet

1982
Through interviews, archival footage, photos and classic tunes, learn about the remarkable career and troubled life of legendary jazz cornetist Bix Beiderbecke, who influenced countless musicians before alcoholism lead to his premature death. Close friends and associates such as Hoagy Carmichael, Charlie David and Louis Armstrong share their memories of Bix's abilities, playing style and personality.
Hair: Let the Sun Shine In

2007

Hair: Let the Sun Shine In

2007
Learn what happened backstage during the creation of "Hair," the seminal 1960s musical that defined the hippie era, with this documentary featuring in-depth interviews with the original producers and cast members, including Tim Curry and Ben Vereen. "Hair" tried to explain peace, love, drugs, sex and war; in the process it became a cornerstone of the counterculture movement and has lasting relevance decades later with the Iraq War.
Blue Rodeo: In Stereovision

2004

Blue Rodeo: In Stereovision

2004
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of country rockers Blue Rodeo, this collection includes a documentary about the band, a reunion concert with the five original members, new songs "Rena" and "Up on That Cloud," and historic performance clips. Songs include "Dark Angel," "Bad Timing," "Bulletproof," "Crying Over You," "House of Dreams," "Lost Together," "Heart Like Mine," "Walk Like You Don't Mind," "Moon and Tree" and more.
Love Hunter

2014

Love Hunter

2014
Milan, a former Serbian rock star, takes us on a bumpy ride as he rides all over NYC picking up a motley crew of passengers to scramble money for his recording. When his bass player quits, he has to sift through New York musicians until he finds a promising replacement - and a romantic spark in a free-spirited female bassist. Just as the rehearsals start picking up steam, Milan's longtime Serbian girlfriend arrives with very different plans for their future.
Shaping Bamboo

1979

Shaping Bamboo

1979
For the 'Are'are people of the Solomon Islands, the most valued music is that of the four types of panpipe ensembles. With the exception of slit drums, all musical instruments are made of bamboo; therefore the general word for instruments and the music performed with them is "bamboo" ('au). This film shows the making of panpipes, from the cutting the bamboo in the forest to the making of the final bindings. The most important part of the work consists in shaping each tube to its necessary length. Most 'Are'are panpipe makers measure the length of old instruments before they shape new tubes. Master musician 'Irisipau, surprisingly, takes the measure using his body, and adjusts the final tuning by ear. For the first time we can see here how the instruments and their artificial equiheptatonic scale-seven equidistant degrees in an octave-are practically tuned.
T'Ain't Nobody's Bizness: Queer Blues Divas of the 1920s

2013

T'Ain't Nobody's Bizness: Queer Blues Divas of the 1920s

2013
The 1920s saw a revolution in technology, the advent of the recording industry, that created the first class of African-American women to sing their way to fame and fortune. Blues divas such as Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Alberta Hunter created and promoted a working-class vision of blues life that provided an alternative to the Victorian gentility of middle-class manners. In their lives and music, blues women presented themselves as strong, independent women who lived hard lives and were unapologetic about their unconventional choices in clothes, recreational activities, and bed partners. Blues singers disseminated a Black feminism that celebrated emotional resilience and sexual pleasure, no matter the source.