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One of the most macabre tales in the annals of jazz is the death of the hard-bop trumpeter Lee Morgan in 1972. Morgan, one of the virtuosos of the stylistic explosion that followed postwar bebop, was shot in the chest during a late-night gig at the already notorious Lower East Side club Slugs’ Saloon by his common-law wife and manager, Helen More, and bled to death while awaiting an ambulance that was trapped for almost an hour in a snowstorm. Adding an extra mythic dimension to this gruesome scene was the fact that Morgan had survived a terrifying car crash on his way to Slugs’, reminiscent of the death of his mentor, Clifford Brown, who was killed on the way to a gig at the age of 25, when the driver of the car he was in lost control of the vehicle in a rainstorm. The parallel was not lost ...

The New York Film Festival kicks off this week, sending us straight into the second half of a very busy fall festival season. In preparation for the festival, we’re rolling out a series of previews to point you in the direction of all the movies you have to see (or at least, all the movies you have to start anticipating right now). Today, some highlights of the always-robust documentary slate.

“Bright Lights”

Chronicling the often-fraught — but always loving — relationship between Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher, Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens’ “Bright Lights” is intimate and affectionate in a way that few documentaries can be. Our own David Ehrlich reviewed the film out of Cannes, where he wrote: “The film is strikingly open from the start, as an opening flurry of home video footage from Fisher’s childhood hints at the degree of access that has been granted to co-directors Fisher Stevens and Alexis Bloom.

Lee Morgan may not be the most popular name in jazz music, but his talent was exceptional. At just 18 years old, the trumpeter was playing with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and making a name for himself as a musical force of nature. He quickly rose through the echelons of the genre only to succumb to the depths of heroin and lose his band along with all stability in his life.

Continue reading Jazz Doc ‘I Called Him Morgan’ Is A Lively, Moving Portrait Of Music, Love, & Murder [Tiff Review] at The Playlist.

Jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan was known for creatively challenging the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis on stage with his style and intensity, a youthful performer who surprised audiences by playing with utter confidence and maturity. For a time, he was considered one of the most important jazz musicians alive. His wife, Helen Morgan, was a forceful woman, who attracted attention with her good looks and delectable cooking. Her home became a hang out spot for struggling New York musicians who needed a warm meal after a rough night performing in the clubs. Morgan and Helen fell in love, becoming quick partners. When Morgan fell into heroin addiction, Helen saved him, pushing her man into rehabilitation. And later, she killed him, shooting him in the chest as he stood on stage, clutching his trumpet.

Early on in I Called Him Morgan, Kasper Collins‘ morbidly fascinating documentary account of the...

Pablo Larrain’s “Jackie” roused what’s been a sleepy market at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival. Starring Natalie Portman as the former First Lady, the film covers a four-day period that begins just before the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and Portman turns in an Oscar-worthy performance that received a standing ovation at the film’s screening Sunday.

Fox Searchlight has first and last look on the movie, but distributors also understood to be in the hunt include A24. EuropaCorp, French mogul Luc Besson’s U.S.-based upstart led by former Universal co-chairman Marc Shmuger, made initial inquiries but stopped short of a bid. CAA and Insiders are handling the sale.

Related‘Jackie’ Review: Pablo Larrian’s Experimental Jackie Kennedy Biopic Is a Unique Triumph – Venice Film Festival

Also generating heat is Spanish filmmaker Nacho Vigalondo’s genre-defying monster movie “Colossal” starring Anne Hathaway. The movie follows...

Kasper Collin’s spellbinding documentary reveals the tender and tragic tale of hard bop trumpeter Lee Morgan and his common-law wife Helen

With the best jazz recordings you recognise the beginning and know where it’s going to wind up, but it’s the road there that’s unpredictable. To that end, Kasper Collin’s I Called Him Morgan isn’t just the greatest jazz documentary since Let’s Get Lost, it’s a documentary-as-jazz. Spellbinding, mercurial, hallucinatory, exuberant, tragic … aw hell, man, those are a lot of heavy words, but have you heard Lee Morgan’s music? More importantly, do you know the story of his life?

Lee Morgan may have been one of the most important trumpet players in jazz, but he doesn’t have the household name status of Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie or Miles Davis. Unfortunately, like Bix Beiderbecke and Clifford Brown, he died way too young.

There’s a telling moment in “I Called Him Morgan,” Kasper Collins’ melancholy new jazz documentary currently making the festival rounds, where one of Lee Morgan’s former friends and bandmates is holding up an old black-and-white photo of the young trumpeter.… Continue Reading →...

The Toronto International Film Festival kicks off this week, and with it, the rest of a very busy fall festival season. In preparation for the Canadian festival, we’ll be rolling out a series of previews to point you in the direction of all the movies you have to see (or at least, all the movies you have to start anticipating right now). First up, we’re looking at all the up-and-coming talents who just might break through at this year’s festival. Keep your eyes peeled, this batch just might end up being the brightest one yet.

Alex Lehmann, director, “Blue Jay”

Director Alex Lehmann cut his teeth as a cinematographer on short films and horror movies before landing his feature film directorial debut, “Blue Jay.” A comedic drama starring Sarah Paulson and Mark Duplass, who also wrote the screenplay for the film, “Blue Jay” centers on a pair...

“I Called Him Morgan” is a new feature documentary directed by Kasper Collin which centers on the turbulent relationship between the great jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan and his common-law wife, Helen Morgan that led to her shooting him dead in… Continue Reading →...

Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters and Life Itself director Steve James's latest, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, in the New York Film Festival Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Films by Steve James, Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens (on Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds), Errol Morris (on Elsa Dorfman), Bill Morrison, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Raoul Peck, Kasper Collin (on Lee Morgan), Sam Pollard, Aaron Brookner (on William Burroughs and Robert Wilson documentarian Howard Brookner), Olatz López Garmendia, Shimon Dotan, Mohamed Siam, Linda Saffire and Adam Schlesinger (on Wendy Whelan), Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker will shine in the New York Film Festival Spotlight on Documentary section.

Ava DuVernay’s documentary The 13th was announced earlier as the Opening Night Gala film, Gimme Danger's Jim Jarmusch appears in Brookner's Uncle Howard and Sacro Gra director Gianfranco Rosi has his latest Fire at Sea (Fuocoammare) screening in the Main Slate program.

Chaired by Festival Director Kent Jones,...

Every year, IndieWire asks the Toronto Film Festival’s ace documentary programmer, Thom Powers, to dig into the new lineup. The doc czar’s influence extends beyond Toronto to IFC Center’s Stranger than Fiction series, The SundanceNow Doc Club, and November’s influential festival Doc NYC, which selects the infamous Short List, many of which head for Oscar contention.

This year, the Tiff doc program (September 8-18) numbers 37 titles. It’s led by four veterans — Steve James, Raoul Peck, Errol Morris, and Werner Herzog—big names who will pull audiences, playing alongside newcomers who will benefit from the Tiff spotlight. Fisher Stevens and Leonardo DiCaprio have made a new documentary that they hope will push the needle on climate change. Netflix boasts four high-profile offerings likely to factor in the always intense doc Oscar race. And there’s a plethora of new titles that await discovery — and buyers.

Read...

Every year, IndieWire asks the Toronto Film Festival’s ace documentary programmer, Thom Powers, to dig into the new lineup. The doc czar’s influence extends beyond Toronto to IFC Center’s Stranger than Fiction series, The SundanceNow Doc Club, and November’s influential festival Doc NYC, which selects the infamous Short List, many of which head for Oscar contention.

This year, the Tiff doc program (September 8-18) numbers 37 titles. It’s led by four veterans — Steve James, Raoul Peck, Errol Morris, and Werner Herzog—big names who will pull audiences, playing alongside newcomers who will benefit from the Tiff spotlight. Fisher Stevens and Leonardo DiCaprio have made a new documentary that they hope will push the needle on climate change. Netflix boasts four high-profile offerings likely to factor in the always intense doc Oscar race. And there’s a plethora of new titles that await discovery — and buyers.

Read...