1964 Antibes Jazz Festival (Part II)
With Jack McDuff, Jean-Luc Ponty, Daniel Humair, Georges Arvanitas...
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Cast
Jack McDuff — Organist
Jean-Luc Ponty — Violinist
Daniel Humair — Drummer
Georges Arvanitas — Pianist
Guy Pedersen — Double bassist
Lionel Hampton — Pianist, vibraphonist
Martial Solal — Pianist
Program notes
In Juan-les-Pins, jazz, that most American of exports, was free to spread its wings. Established by Sidney Bechet upon falling in love with the region, the Antibes Jazz Festival was, for a time, a home-away-from-home for many of jazz' African-American icons. Here, in clubs and cafes as the sea breeze blew through, they discovered a French audience primed and ready for the freest and most daring jazz they could muster. Jean-Christophe Averty gifted posterity a glimpse into that transcendent environment through his recording of the festivals. This compilation series, shot in the early 1960s, preserves their heady art at one of jazz' most exciting moments, suspending them in glorious black and white footage.
Part two of this film begins full of sunshine and revellers, with Averty's camera surveying beaches and following speedboats through the water. Brother Jack McDuff is first up, a pioneer of the electric organ and a cool-as-you-like live performer, delivering subtle swing and intrigue with every note. Martial Solal is next for a suitably majestic performance by his standards, followed by Lionel Hampton, the legendary big band maestro who gave first opportunities to the likes of Dinah Washinton, Quincy Jones and Dizzy Gillespie.
Lionel Hampton and his orchestra begin, the evening takes a turn towards further grandeur, and the famed group, who had featured Louis Armstrong, Dinah Washington, Dizzy Gillespie and Quincy Jones, reel off classics such as “Midnight Sun”
