Rating: 
Summary: Jazz On Any Day!
Review: It is so nice to have a movie about, JAZZ! And with just preformances of some of the greatest jazz musicians in the world, how could you not resist?
The video starts off with Monk playing his classic Blue Monk. Chico Hamilton then comes out and is playing a piece from his Spectacular album, in 1955.
That is just the beginning. Later on in the video, the night get's hotter. Even though Chuck Berry preforms on this video, I have to admit he had a lot to do with bringing the audience alive. Gerry Mulligan preforms some. Louis Armstrong comes out, and livens up the place.
As happy I am as there being a movie about jazz, it is upseting, this is practically the only one. Mo' Better Blues was the second jazz movie in 40 years.
Rating:
Summary: Not just a movie
Review: It's music history as well. An absolute must for any jazz fan. The footage of Dinah, Maybelle, Louis and Chuck is priceless in and of itself. The rest, even Monk, is an added bonus.
Rating:
Summary: Back in Time Nostalgia
Review: Jazz on a Summer's Day carries you back to that July 4th weekend of 1958. Not only the music, but the entire scene of that era. I've seen it many times and it almost literally takes me back to that time. It is best seen late at night all alone, with no distractions. The crowd,before the show, around the town of Newport, it all combines to bring together a wonderful experience. I'm always sorry when it nears the end.
Rating:
Summary: Not great but the best.
Review: Perhaps it's wise, first of all, to acknowledge all of the problems with the film: It frequently finds sailboats and pretty women more photogenic than jazz musicians; it deems it necessary to cut away from the "real" musicians to shots of classical string players rehearsing and generic, hokey "Dixieland" musicians marching; it truncates all of the musicians' sets and completely omits some of the best performers on the program (Duke Ellington, Miles Davis); it gives too much footage to musicians whose association with jazz is tenuous at best (Big Maybelle, Chuck Berry, Mahalia Jackson).Having said all that, the purchaser of this DVD still owns perhaps the best example of photographed jazz until films like Clint Eastwood's "Bird" and Bertrand Tavernier's "Round Midnight" appeared more than 30 years after this documentation of an idyllic, if unexceptional, moment in the music's history. Come to think of it, there's more pure jazz--in terms of quantity as well as variety--in this film than in the two aforementioned examples. Filmmaker Bert Stern knew the body of Marilyn Monroe (his other noteworthy subject), but he knew nothing about jazz. Not only does the film seem all the more remarkable for his ignorance, but as an "outsider" to the music, he was in a better position to train his cameras and microphones on the images likely to appeal to the broadest audience even today ("Bird" and "Round Midnight" not only kept viewers away but were received poorly by viewers not already "in the know" about Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Lester Young and Dexter Gordon). With the exception of this film, catching a jazz musician in movies or on TV has always been the rarest of experiences--like sighting an endangered species, then discovering it was all a false alarm. Stern, by contrast, serves up a colorful, sumptuous feast of music. We see jazz musicians not as they're usually portrayed in film--black and white cameos shot in shadowy film noir compositions--but richly saturated, "blushing" 35mm Kodachrome color than hasn't faded like so much of the inferior film stock of the 1970s. And this is no Woodstock audience--there are empty seats, there are old faces, black faces, infants' faces. There's a leisurely quality that allows time to stop on essentially static visual compositions while the music swirls around the mechnical operations of the camera, constantly arguing its prior claim to our attention. For a change, the music is no mere accompaniment to the images; Stern manages to achieve the opposite effect, making the images do the job normally assigned the film score. It's the candid and ordinary, yet striking, images of all these fascinating faces, this crowd of music-makers, some with instruments and others merely with the capacity to respond, that draw us, as if subconsciously, to the film's primary "action"--the music itself. Although "Jazz on a Summer's Day" may pale compared to any number of "actual" summer days experienced by many fortunate jazz fans, it remains the closest approximation of such an experience on film.
Rating:
Summary: Just Fabulous!!!
Review: This great DVD has just about everything a true Jazz lover could ask for! Especially a legendary performance by one of the GREATEST Jazz Stylists of all time, THE INCOMPARABLE ANITA O'DAY!It's best to buy 2 copies of this one, folks! I guarantee you'll wear out the first one. I DID!
Rating: 
Summary: Anita O'Day's Hat
Review: This is the very first DVD I ever watched. I have seen this movie in bits and pieces before but not until I bought the DVD did I sit and watch it all the way through. While Mr. Baggi below provides as comprehensive a review as you could want, I also have a few things to say: Cinematography: This film looks like it was shot yesterday. I viewed the DVD on a 32 inch TV and I felt like I could almost reach out and touch the performers and the audience. One of the reviewers below said that the 50s never seemed so real. I have to agree. Presentation: I can't believe that Bert Stern decided to intercut Monk's performance with footage of America's Cup trials and, even worse, a radio announcement talking about the trials. It's bad enough not being able to fully enjoy visually a vintage Monk performance (and how many times have you seen Monk without a hat?!) but to not be able to HEAR the full performance because of the radio announcement is damn near unforgivable. I also wish that Stern could have/would have used the split-screen effects used in the later Woodstock movie showing the crowd/trials/Newport shots on one side and the performers on the other. With that said, I did enjoy the crowd shots, particularly the beautiful lady shown during Sonny Stitt's set, the beautiful woman with a big hat shown seated during several performances, and the reaction of the audience during Mahalia Jackson's set. Performers/performances: 1. Anita O'Day is so beautiful and her hat and dress looked so perfect that just seeing her justified the cost of the DVD. And she sings wonderfully to boot. 2. It was interesting to watch Chuck Berry perform "Sweet Little Sixteen" backed by Jo Jones on drums! Jack Teagarden was also standing by but I don't know if he played on this number. You get to see Jack Teagarden watching Chuck Berry duck-walk! These are musicians who, I'm sure, rarely if ever crossed paths and to see them together was a real treat. 3. Louis Armstrong - Personally, I could listen and watch the guy all night and day. He does a beautiful "Lazy River" and sings wonderfully with Jack Teagarden on "Rockin' Chair." 4. Mahalia Jackson - Beautiful gospel singing and, as I tried to convey above, you could hear a pin drop while she sang. The crowd appeared to be mesmerized by her and you may be too. There were of course many other performers but those I discussed above stood out for me. All in all, a pretty wonderful
DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Great Jazzmen - Poor Movie
Review: This is without a doubt a video any serious jazz enthusiast must have. Not because it is such a great movie, as the liner notes pompously want to imply. On the contrary, what's so great about this movie is that one can see and hear many jazzmen in action. It's actually a shame we don't get more, since for long endless sequences we are kept starving for the protagonists, namely those who make the music and are the main reason for this video. Here is the reconstructed list (missing from jacket and film) of the performers, in order of appearance: 1.The Jimmy Giuffre (ts) - Bob Brookmeyer (vtb) - Jim Hall (g) trio 2.Thelonious Monk (p), Henry Grimes (b), Roy Haynes (d) 3.The Sonny Still (ts) - Sal Salvador (g) group 4.Anita O' Day 5.The George Shearing Quintet 6.Dinah Washington, with probably Terry Gibbs (vibes), Urbie Green (tb), Max Roach (d) 7.The Art Farmer - Gerry Mulligan Quartet 8.Big Maybelle, with an ad-hoc orchestra 9.Chuck Berry 10.The Chico Hamilton Quartet, with Eric Dolphy (fl) 11.The Louis Armstrong All Stars, with Trummy Young(tb), Barney Bigard (cl), probably Arvell Shaw (b), Danny Barcelona (d), joined by Jack Teagarden on Rockin' Chair 12.Mahalia Jackson All perform at the top of their form. This is not to say, however, that the video is not marred by some deficiencies. Most annoying is the talking on top of a performance, the excessive and lengthy shots of a not-too-competent public, lengthy extraneous scenes with unexciting landscapes, and a general attitude of putting jazz music in the background. There are some nonchalant omissions: such as the unmentioned band with a singer, not shown, between appearances 1. and 2., rehearsing "Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me" with an Ellington-sounding reed section. Also between 1. and 2., and between 4. and 5., we have to swallow the looks and music of a Dixieland band (Ely's Chosen Six ?) the members of which do not seem to know that jazz playing is about generating swing; and some other boring pseudo-classical and classical stuff between 2. and 3. (with flute, cello, guitar) and 4. and 5 (classical cello playing Bach). In my subjective opinion, the best performances are those by: Thelonious Monk, playing his masterpiece Blue Monk, unfortunately marred by some inconsequential and unnecessary talking (about the weather!) over his great solo. Notice the strange (for today) comment about his being "unconcerned", as well as the failure to recognize Monk's deep sense of the blues and respect for the tradition. The Sonny Stitt's group playing Blues Walk, unfortunately cut at the beginning and again dented by a superimposed voice presentation. Notice the marvelous solo by Sal Salvador on guitar, while the camera moves to boats instead of focusing on his wonderful hands - funny also that we mostly see his left hand only, as if he were playing single-handed; same for Stitt. It seems the cameramen had not yet learned about zooms, movements etc. Enhanced by (short) shots of a beautiful black lady in blue. Big Maybelle, who is as lovely as her voice is hoarse. Beautifully accompanied by Buck Clayton - great solo on his trumpet - and Jo Jones (d), both ex-Basie alumni well immersed in the spirit of the traditional blues. Too bad we do not hear more of that broad-toned saxophonist seen at the far right before the performance and heard in the riffs. Slightly marred by lengthy shots of a not-too-good-looking red-clad lady who does not seem to know how to dance. Chuck Berry playing his Sweet Little Sixteen, who modestly demonstrates what king Elvis has never learned, with shots a man who does really know how to dance (cut above the head! maybe because he was dark-skinned?). Only slightly marred by a solo on the clarinet, probably by Peanuts Hucko, who tries hard to get in the heat of the mood without quite succeeding (perhaps the saxophonist mentioned above would have done better). All the same, a great performance. Louis Armstrong's All Stars. Satchmo, in spite of the sorry state of his lips, well visible, shows his mastery of the trumpet: the note he slides and recaptures twice in Lazy River, and always the powerful presence of his no-nonsense and sensual tone, for which he is justly famous. Barney Bigard is heard little in Tiger Rag, Trummy Young practically not at all, Danny Barcelona does not get too much in the way - even the abused and fearsome When the Saints, heard last, gets through without problems - and Jack Teagarden is seen and heard singing Rockin' Chair with Louis. Of whom we admire also the initial jokes about his European acquaintances, with his colorful way of talking, which shines in its originality, opposed to the boring formality of the show master (Willis Conover?). Mahalia Jackson, with the deep, moving intensity of a great jazz singer (even though she sings the gospel: about Our Heaven, Our Lord, etc.) and the tender freshness of a little girl - she was 47 at that time. A simple accompaniment of piano and bass lets her presence and soul dominate the place. Of course one can't forget the dazzling, professional and exciting show by the great Anita O' Day, an example of exceptional vocal technique. The interventions by Art Farmer in the Gerry Mulligan group, the latter quite disappointing, and by Eric Doplhy in an otherwise boring and pretentious performance by the Chico Hamilton Quintet. Dinah Washington's interplay with the vibraphonist, probably Terry Gibbs, in All of Me is also a good moment - with a great trombone player, probably Urbie Green. While most of what was praised at the time, such as the music by Hamilton, Shearing (some Latin stuff, put to shame by any old Cuban or modern Salsa band), Mulligan and Giuffre, has terribly dated with time and lost universality - not so for Monk and the others singled out above. To conclude, this is a video worth seeing. And studying. Many times. Even at the cost of closing one's eyes occasionally and glossing over some irritating poor choices of images and other esthetic misjudgments. But we can be happy the filmmakers allow us to see those great jazzmen in action, most of them dead by now, over forty years after the edition of the Newport Jazz Festival, in color and with excellent sound.
Rating:
Summary: Jazz? Rock? Gospel?
Review: This movie has its ups and downs. The downs are the minutes spent touring the area. The ups are the great artists and combinations of artists that you see-Dinah Washington, Mahalia Jackson, Big Maybelle, Louis Armstrong, Jo Jones, Rudy Rutherford, and Chuck Berry. Rock? Jazz? No, mom, it doesn't sound like the record! Chuck Berry's Sweet Little Sixteen is a milestone in whatever genre. With Count Basie's oh-so-smooth drummer Jo Jones setting the beat and Rudy Rutherford's WILD! clarinet solo this song captures the freedom and joy of rock/jazz. I wore out this section on my old VHS copy! Rutherford and Berry create amazing voodoo on stage! The rhythms, the back beat, the syncopation! If you don't love it you don't understand rhythm and blues!
Rating:
Summary: A true work of art!
Review: Well, I suppose if you're looking for stage performance footage, you could be disappointed, but that's not what this film is about. It's a sensory delight that's at times surreal and always engrossing. Through it all, the music is playing. From the yachts to the performing musicians to the emotions of those watching... this is a masterpiece in the art of filmmaking.
Rating:
Summary: An absolutely wonderful documentary of Jazz
Review: While I've not seen other Jazz movies or documentaries, I've seen Jazz on a Summer's Day on both VHS and on DVD and enjoy it so much that I've watched it several times and just had to purchase it on DVD. I have always loved the classic Jazz of the 1950's and 1960's and this film documents one of the best Jazz festivals around, and I think this was the first Jazz festival in what we now know as the Newport Jazz festival. What I love about this film is how Bert Stern uses his movie camera to shoot the film, much like a still camera and framed the shots just the same. I find it works on motion film as on still photography, especially in this kind of documentary where your documenting a concert. I love the B-roll shots of kids playing, grown ups sunbathing, the dixieland jazz band, the couples driving their vintage autos, and of course the Yaught(sp?) club races and overall, I find that Bert Stern does an incredible job of showing the general atmosphere of the concert and the weather of late summer in Rhode Island. I find this an incredible film that is worthy of multiple viewings. Not just for it's incredible of shooting techniques, but for the music that is represented here. Lots of great names such as Anita O'Day, Thelonious Munk, George Shearing, Dina Washington etc. I love Bert's use of the reflections of the boats on the water for the opening sequence, mated to Jimmy Giuffrie's live rendition of the Train and the River. All in all, I rate this film a definate 5.
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