Dizzy Gillespie

A musical film in the style of a documentary, featuring music and dance numbers by Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Jackson, Freddie Carter and more.

One of the few complete concert performances of Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, this live recording features the legendary jazz trumpeter and singer on an Australian tour in 1964, when he had already become an international superstar and a living symbol of 20th-century American culture. This rare treasure – including such hits as Blueberry Hill, Mack the Knife and songs from the film "High Society" - captures the great man in all his glory as both a jazz pioneer and a peerless entertainer.

Jazz musicians tour the world as cultural ambassadors in 1955.

Dizzy Gillespie is one of the major figures of the 20th Century's music scene. Much has been said about this genius, one of the founding fathers of bebop with Charlie Parker. Whereas Dizzy’s public life is well-known, few know of his modest personal life, nor of his close friendship with the Swiss engineer Jacques Muyal - “the only jazz musician who doesn’t play an instrument” (Paquito D’Rivera). Through previously unreleased musical archives and interviews, this film explores the friendship of this legendary musician and a man in love with jazz - let the beat go on!

This Sundance award winner tells the story of the U.S. government's jazz ambassador program in Africa and the CIA's involvement with the assassination of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba. A provocative, real-life Cold War thriller, "Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat" intertwines jazz, espionage, and colonialism - uncovering a scandal whose urgency is still resonant in today's geopolitical climate.