One Night with Blue Note

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One Night with Blue Note
Directed by	John Jopson
Produced by	Bruce Lundvall Tammara Wells
Music by	Art Blakey Ron Carter Jack DeJohnette Herbie Hancock Freddie Hubbard Michel Petrucciani Jimmy Smith Stanley Turrentine McCoy Tyner Grover Washington, Jr.
Cinematography	Ernest Dickerson
Distributed by	EMI Distribution
Release date(s)	1985
Running time	120 min.
Country	U.S.A.
Language	English
IMDb profile

One Night with Blue Note is a 1985 jazz film directed by John Jopson.

Record executive Bruce Lundvall relaunched the defunct Blue Note Records label in 1985 under the parent label EMI Manhattan Records. To celebrate, Lundvall and Music Director Michael Cuscuna staged a concert on February 22, 1985 at Town Hall in New York City, bringing together some of the jazz legends associated with Blue Note over the years as well as some newly signed artists. The concert, featuring more than 30 of the world’s most revered jazz musicians in the form of all-star ensembles, is considered by many to be one of the most important nights in jazz history. The 3 hour-plus event was shot on 16mm film with multiple cameras. Director John Jopson prepared by studying the music from various live recordings, and then carefully plotting camera positions with Cinematographer Ernest Dickerson according to cues made from the sheet music. The film is known for its intimate close-ups of the musicians, showing their subtle signals to each other and acknowledgment of well-played riffs. A double album recording of the same name was released simultaneously with the film.

Many of the performers have passed away since this film was made, including Jackie McLean, Jimmy Smith, Woody Shaw, Walter Davis Jr., Art Blakey, Stanley Turrentine, Joe Henderson, Michel Petrucciani and Grover Washington Jr.

[edit] DVD Re-release

A re-release of the film on DVD in 2003 featured some additional performances as well as a new stereo mix and Dolby 5.1 surround sound with new telecine transfers. There was some criticism from reviewers and fans for dropping other performances (by Charles Lloyd and Stanley Jordan) and for some of the re-editing. Also missing is the classic black-and-white opening title sequence in the Blue Note style designed by Jopson and Dickerson and featuring Joe Henderson playing sax on the fire escapes of mid-town Manhattan. Other noteworthy additions to the DVD include the historic black and white photos by label co-founder Francis Wolff, and a gallery of memorable Blue Note cover art by designer Reid Miles.