Rolling Out Round Midnight: Special 30th Anniversary For Tavernier's Cinematic Jazz Classic
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
A special screening celebrating the 30th anniversary of French director Bertrand Tavernier's Round Midnight will take place at the Lumiere at the French Institute in Kensington on Sunday 11th December 4.
30pm with a introductory short 'live' set by the superlative Brit saxman Tony Kofi (plus drummer TBC) inspired by the film soundtrack. The saxophonist joins Jazzwise/BBC broadcaster Kevin LeGendre and Jazzwise/Jazz on Film Records label owner Selwyn Harris for a Q&A following the screening.
Arguably the most convincing and 'authentic' feature film ever made about jazz and its formerly destructive background, Round Midnight is a semi-fictional film made in 1986 and inspired by the French author Francis Paudras' Dance of the Infidels, a biography of the pianist Bud Powell. It's an understated, eloquent memorial to the dedicated 'jazz life' of the bebop greats that lived in Paris during the late 1950s. Dexter Gordon deservedly got an Oscar nomination for his role as Dale Turner, a character that's a cross between Lester Young and Bud Powell, while Herbie Hancock, who makes a cameo in the film, won an Oscar for the soundtrack.
– Spencer Grady
Tickets are available at the Lumiere: www.institut-francais.org.uk/cine-lumiere/whats-on/special-screenings/round-midnight/