Directed by Bert Stern
Featuring performances by Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk, Gerry Mulligan, Anita O’Day, Chuck Berry, Dinah Washington and Mahalia Jackson
Running time 1 hour and 25 minutes

by Ryan Smillie

A year after making history in 2018 as the first African American woman to headline Coachella, Beyoncé released Homecoming, a rightfully lauded concert documentary featuring not only meticulously edited footage of her two two-hour sets but also a behind-the-scenes look at her rehearsals, preparation and inspiration for the festival. Praised for its celebration of Black culture, in particular the HBCU experience and a multitude of global musical styles, Homecoming also drew on a rich history of concert documentaries, going all the way back to 1959’s Jazz on a Summer’s Day, newly restored and available via virtual cinemas this week, on Kino Marquee.

Sixty years before Beychella, acclaimed photographer Bert Stern traveled to Newport, Rhode Island to film the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. One of, if not the, first concert documentaries, Jazz on a Summer’s Day spends most of its brisk 85 minutes capturing performances from jazz, gospel, blues and rock icons - Louis Armstrong, Dinah Washington, Chuck Berry, Thelonious Monk and an Earth-shattering midnight set from Mahalia Jackson, to name a few. Between the sets, Stern explores the atmosphere around the festival: the America’s Cup trials happening on the water nearby, thousands of jazz fans descending upon Newport and the exuberance of a sunny summer day. 

This rerelease could not be more perfectly, if unfortunately, timed. While I’ve spent this summer cooped up inside, pretending my roof is the beach and watching all my plans get cancelled (I was supposed to see Big Thief in Prospect Park last week!), Jazz on a Summer’s Day is a reminder of the best kind of summer day, out of reach for now, but not gone forever. Live music, the ocean, crowds of people dancing, laughing and singing. And Stern’s camera captures all of this with a rhythm much like the music of the festival. Close-ups on rippling water suggest a pulsing beat, and the initially tranquil shots of Newport become more and more vibrant.

While the images of summertime are certainly beautiful and evocative, Jazz on a Summer’s Day  is really all about the performances. There’s something to recommend for nearly anyone, with more classical jazz sharing the stage with bebop and cool jazz, and blues, rock and gospel performances putting the interconnected origins and evolutions of these genres on full display. Stern films these sets with reverence, allowing the musicians to fill the frame and their dexterous movements to emphasize the energy of their songs, capturing not only their performances, but the spirit of their performances as well. Personally, I loved seeing the crowd go wild for the first time as Anita O’Day scatted through “Two for Tea,” and I wish I could’ve been in the audience for Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen,” a performance that still feels electric decades later. 

But the best is truly saved for last, and that is Mahalia Jackson. Like Beyoncé closing out Coachella’s Saturday nights sixty years later, Jackson wows the crowd, here with a simple but captivating gospel set, culminating in a show-stopping rendition of “The Lord’s Prayer.” The audience, previously getting more and more lively through Big Maybelle, Chuck Berry and Louis Armstrong’s sets, sits enraptured, hanging on the Queen of Gospel’s every note. For the first time, Stern zooms all the way out, showing how small Jackson is on stage among thousands of festival-goers, emphasizing the command and power of her singular voice. The awe is palpable, from the crowd at Freebody Park, behind the camera and on my couch at home. 

Reading the original press kit for Jazz on a Summer’s Day, there’s a brief mention (without further detail) of local opposition to the Newport Jazz Festival, and it’s easy to guess where that stems from. The festival’s lineup is mostly Black, with thousands of young fans, many not white, coming to Newport, “America’s most exclusive society resort” (read: very white), for the festival weekend. Though the movie does not explore this opposition or any particular tension, there’s a notable contrast between the Black performers and fans and the largely white town. Though it didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the film, I did find myself wondering whether the summer’s day was actually as idyllic as it seemed.

A pioneering effort in the depiction of live music on screen, Jazz on a Summer’s Day paved the way for any number of concert documentaries that followed. Would Gimme Shelter, Stop Making Sense or Homecoming be the same - or even exist - without Stern’s recording of the fifth Newport Jazz Festival? As a milestone in film history, it’s necessary viewing. But as a film in its own right, it is truly a delight. Incredible music, enthralling filmmaking and a beautiful summer day - what else do you need?

Available to watch now via virtual cinemas on Kino Marquee.