‘Jazz on Film’ Offers Look at Rare, Vintage Footage

Most of the attention surrounding this weekend’s 20th anniversary installment of the Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl has centered on the music. And with good cause. After five weeks of first-rate, free concerts, the festival finally gets underway Saturday with one of the best-balanced lineups in years.

But there’s one more free event before the music begins: “Jazz on Film,” with archivist Mark Cantor, tonight at the Center Green Theatre in the Pacific Design Center. It may be the lowest-visibility program in the entire festival schedule, but it’s one not to be missed.

Cantor’s extraordinary collection, possibly the most comprehensive jazz film collection in the country, features everything from documentaries to movie clips to “soundies” (musical film segments, similar to today’s videos, produced in the 1940s for presentation in visual jukeboxes). This year’s presentation--the 17th anniversary of the Playboy Jazz Film program--features a tribute to Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Zoot Sims and others. Perhaps most fascinating of all, Cantor will screen rare concert footage of appearances by Lee Morgan, Ella Fitzgerald, Chet Baker, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker and Art Tatum.

“The past year has seen the discovery of a number of long-lost jazz films,” explains Cantor. “People should expect some very special surprises at this screening.”

In addition, the program presents a special set of films devoted to the music of Frank Sinatra, who was--with Dave Brubeck and Louis Armstrong--one of the first three inductees into the Playboy Jazz Hall of Fame. The festival also has announced that Saturday’s and Sunday’s programs will be dedicated to Sinatra’s musical memory.

* The Playboy Jazz Festival’s “Jazz on Film.” Tonight at the Center Green Theatre in the Pacific Design Center, Green Building, 2nd floor, 8687 Melrose Avenue. 8 p.m. Limited seating on a first-come, first-served basis. Parking in the lot off San Vicente Boulevard, $2.25 after 5 p.m. Information: (310) 449-1070.

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Hi-Fi Sounds: Hi-Fi ‘98, the Home Theatre and Specialty Audio Show, today through Sunday, showcases enough about sound production and reproduction to please even the most avid audio techies. No less than 195 exhibitors, representing 344 brands, will be present. But the event, which takes place at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, also features some attractive music via 22 live concerts. The highlight program for jazz fans will be a performance tonight by the Bill Holman Orchestra. Universally considered one of the most innovative writers for the large jazz band, Holman leads an ensemble filled with some L.A.’s finest musicians.

And there are blues and folk treats on the Hi-Fi ’98 schedule as well, with singer-guitarists Doug MacLeod and Robert Lucas making appearances all three afternoons, and R&B; artist (and former Ry Cooder backup singer) Terry Evans performing Saturday night.

* Hi-Fi ‘98, the Home Theatre and Specialty Audio Show, today through Sunday at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, 5400 W. Century Blvd., 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (6 p.m. on Sunday). Three-day pass, $35; one-day pass, $20, with concerts and seminars included in ticket price. (310) 216-5858.

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Jazz for Joni: Joni Mitchell’s flirtation with jazz during her “Mingus” and “Shadows & Light” period was never quite as convincing to jazz fans as it was to her pop followers, who didn’t much care for the association in the first place. But last week, during a taping of a prospective television show on the Warner Bros. lot, Mitchell suddenly decided to do “Comes Love,” the Lew Brown-Charles Tobias ballad much favored by Billie Holiday. And she sang it with a convincing feel for phrasing, rhythm and articulation, one that was far closer to jazz expression than anything she’s done on recordings. At least thus far, that is, and the question is whether Mitchell--who seems to have gained a mature potential for persuasive jazz expression--will consider doing an album of similar numbers. Stay tuned.