Doc'n Roll presents: It Must Schwing! The Blue Note Story

It Must Schwing! The Blue Note Story
Dir. Eric Friedler, 2018, Germany/USA, 115 min

In 1939, Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, two young émigrés from Berlin, founded the legendary jazz label Blue Note Records in New York. The label dedicated itself exclusively to the recording of American jazz music and developed its own unmistakeable recording style and sound. Blue Note Records discovered and produced an impressive roster of international jazz stars. This included Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter, Thelonious Monk and Quincy Jones. At a time when Afro-American musicians in the USA were discriminated against and ostracised, Blue Note records respected them as artists and equals. Not only did the label value their talents, it also gave them a much-needed platform. "It Must Schwing!" tells the moving story of two friends, united by a passionate love for jazz, and of their profound belief in equality and freedom for every single human being.

SPECIAL OFFER FOR TICKETS FOR JAZZ FILMS: £12/£10 via ticket link

PURE LOVE: THE VOICE OF ELLA FITZGERALD (16:00) + IT MUST SCHWING! THE BLUE NOTE STORY (17:45)

–

Doc’n Roll is supported by the BFI Audience Fund using money from the National Lottery to grow audience appetite and enjoyment for a wide range of independent British and international films.