Historic Films Now Licensing Excerpts from Jazz on a Summer's Day

Historic Films, on behalf of the Bert Stern estate and Kino Lorber is now exclusively licensing excerpts from the iconic concert film Jazz on a Summer's Day.

The film, directed by world renown photographer Bert Stern, captures the sounds and performances of some of the major jazz artists who appeared at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. Unlike earlier jazz movies that had been filmed in smoky black and white, Jazz On A Summer's Day was shot in vibrant color. While musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk, Anita O'Day and Mahalia Jackson perform, images of beaches, sailboats on water, dancing couples and the faces of joyful audience members are intercut into the proceedings.

The film boasts the earliest filmed live performance of Rock N’ Roll pioneer Chuck Berry and the only known footage of R&B queen Big Maybelle. Historic Films offers excerpts taken from a breathtaking 4K transfer of the original color negative.

In 1999, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library Of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”