Jazz on Film: Jazz Soundies: Jukebox Films of the 1940s

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents the Jazz on Film screening series.

Organized by guest curator Peter Lucas, Jazz on Film includes classic and rare performance films made from the 1920s-1950s presented by jazz film archivist Mark Cantor; a 60th anniversary screening of Otto Preminger’s classic The Man with the Golden Arm; Shirley Clarke’s gritty Harlem story The Cool World, and the 1970 documentary film Jack Johnson featuring a score by Miles Davis.

Jazz Soundies: Jukebox Films of the 1940s
Presented by jazz historian and film collector Mark Cantor.

From his vast music film archives, Mark Cantor showcases a treasure trove of jazz performance films made in the 1940s for use on coin-operated viewing machines.

Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, and many others are featured in films that cannot be seen elsewhere. Cantor will discuss the music, the films, and the phenomenon of these popular audiovisual jukeboxes of the Swing era.

Mark Cantor was born in Los Angeles and grew listening the great jazz, blues, and pop sounds heard throughout the metropolitan L.A. area. He began collecting jazz records as a teenager, and soon discovered jazz on film. He has concentrated on locating and researching jazz films since the late 1960s, and the Celluloid Improvisations Music Film Archive now contains more than 4,000 individual performances.

Mr. Cantor attended the University of California at Santa Barbara and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and history, with a minor in music. He began a teaching career in 1971 and retired from the classroom in 2011. He currently lives in Agoura Hills, California, where he serves as the owner and director of the Celluloid Improvisations Music Film Archive.

Independent curator Peter Lucas has created exhibitions, film series, and public programs in association with the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, The Menil Collection, Aurora Picture Show, Northwest Film Forum, Seattle International Film Festival, and Experience Music Project.

Houston Press named him Best Curator in 2012 and 2013. Lucas is also an active artist, with an upcoming gallery show at Art League Houston and a film and installation project being created as part of Rice University’s Space Arts Initiative.