MFAH Film Series – 4th Annual Jazz on Film: The Jazz Loft According to W Eugene Smith

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents 4th Annual Jazz on Film. Named “Best Film Festival 2015” by the Houston Press! Peter Lucas, an independent film curator, artist, writer, and filmmaker, again lends his programming talents to the 4th annual edition of this popular series.

About the Curator
Curator Peter Lucas has organized exhibitions, film series, and public programs in association with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Seattle International Film Festival, Northwest Film Forum, and Experience Music Project. He is also an arts writer, as well as an active filmmaker and visual artist.

The Jazz Loft According to W. Eugene Smith

Directed by Sara Fishko
2015, USA
87 minutes

In 1957, photo essayist W. Eugene Smith moved into an old building in Manhattan’s Flower District. Populated by painters, photographers, and composers, the building became a gathering spot for New York’s best jazz musicians.

Smith took thousands of photographs of musicians at the “Jazz Loft” and wired the building with microphones, recording jam sessions.

This new documentary unearths a treasure trove of his photos and tapes to create a portrait of Smith and the unbelievable nexus of musical activity around him, including Thelonious Monk and Hall Overton preparing for Monk’s famed 1959 Town Hall concert.

Watch a Q&A with the filmmaker at a New York Documentary Film Festival below.