Musician
May 19, 2007 | IMDB 0
60 min Watch NowDocumentary, Music
Common sense says you can't make a living in America playing avant-garde improvisational jazz. But Ken Vandermark does it anyway. Among musicians, Vandermark's work ethic is almost mythic. The Chicago reed player has released over 100 albums with nearly 40 ensembles, spends over eight months per year on the road, and lives every other waking moment composing, arranging, performing—and trying to discipline his two hyperactive canines. Though Vandermark was the recipient of a 1999 MacArthur genius grant, he still spends most of his life in smoky clubs and low-budget recording studios, hoping people will plunk down hard-earned cash to hear his wholly non-commercial music. Following the artful cinéma vérité style of the internationally acclaimed Sheriff (Work Series #1), Musician (Work Series #2) forgoes all interviews and voice-overs. It is a fly-on-the-wall time capsule that expertly captures every subtle sound and texture of this most American of art forms.
MOVIE COMMENTS
SIMILAR MOVIES
La fuga
Sloane: A Jazz Singer
The Kitchen
Keep Up the Good Work
Two Sisters
Sweet and Lowdown
Miles & Juliette
'Round Midnight
High Society
New York, New York
Zeitgeist: Addendum
Zeitgeist: The Movie
Tag für Tag
Hi-De-Ho
The Story of "Scénario"
Takumi: A 60,000 Hour Story on the Survival of Human Craft
Handbook of Movie Theaters’ History
Lady Sings the Blues
Chris Botti in Boston
All My Love
SIMILAR MOVIES
La fuga
IMDB 6.4 | May , 2024
In a retirement home for former professional musicians, a newcomer convinces some of his mates to embark on an exciting adventure that will change their lives.Sloane: A Jazz Singer
IMDB 0 | Feb , 2023
The documentary recounts the six-decade career of jazz singer Carol Sloane, lauded by critics and peers as one of the greatest jazz singers in history but still relatively unknown to the public at large, and follows her preparations for her final live recording at Birdland in New York City at the age of 82.The Kitchen
IMDB 0 | Mar , 1987
This documentary follows a group of women on a typical workday as they prepare meals for a dockyard in Rostock. The viewer never learns their names - there are no interviews. The women are presented simply as workers: cooking, cleaning, hauling, and serving dishes amid clanking pots and hot steam.Keep Up the Good Work
IMDB 8.3 | May , 2013
It is a fetish, a mantra, a secret religion to modern man: work. In times of the financial crisis and massive job reductions, this documentary movie questions work as our 'hallow' sense in life in a way that both humors and pains us.Two Sisters
IMDB 0 | Jan , 2002
Violeta and Vyollca Dukay live in the south of Kosovo, close to the border with Albania. Faced with a very high unemployment in their country since the end of the war, they became deminers. They’ve been going to the minefields every day for six years now. The unique and very strong relationship that exists between the two sisters helps them to overcome their fear and to keep hoping in spite of the precariousness of their situation and the risks they run each day to earn their living.Sweet and Lowdown
IMDB 6.8 | Dec , 1999
In the 1930s, jazz guitarist Emmet Ray idolizes Django Reinhardt, faces gangsters and falls in love with a mute woman.Miles & Juliette
IMDB 0 | Feb , 2026
22-year-old Miles Davis embarks on a transformative trip to Paris in 1949, where he falls into a passionate romance with Juliette Gréco, the French singer, actress, and Left Bank icon. What begins as an intimate affair blossoms into a profound connection between two young artists—just before they became cultural legends.'Round Midnight
IMDB 7.1 | Sep , 1986
Inside the Blue Note nightclub one night in 1959 Paris, an aged, ailing jazzman coaxes an eloquent wail from his tenor sax. Outside, a young Parisian too broke to buy a glass of wine strains to hear those notes. Soon they will form a friendship that sparks a final burst of genius.High Society
IMDB 6.8 | Jul , 1956
With socialite Tracy Lord about to remarry, her ex-husband - with the help of a sympathetic reporter - has 48 hours to convince her that she really still loves him.New York, New York
IMDB 6.5 | Jun , 1977
An egotistical saxophone player and a young singer meet on V-J Day and embark upon a strained and rocky romance, even as their careers begin a long uphill climb.Zeitgeist: Addendum
IMDB 7.2 | Oct , 2008
Zeitgeist: Addendum premiered at the 5th Annual Artivist Film Festival. Director Peter Joseph stated: "The failure of our world to resolve the issues of war, poverty, and corruption, rests within a gross ignorance about what guides human behavior to begin with. It address the true source of the instability in our society, while offering the only fundamental, long-term solution."Zeitgeist: The Movie
IMDB 7 | Jun , 2007
A documentary examining possible historical and modern conspiracies surrounding Christianity, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the Federal Reserve bank.Tag für Tag
IMDB 0 | Nov , 1979
36 year old welder Karin works at an agricultural factory in Mecklenburg, Germany.Hi-De-Ho
IMDB 8 | Feb , 1937
Young Cab Calloway's mother is concerned, because Cab spends his days listening to the radio, pretending to lead a miniature orchestra. A deacon passing by the apartment hears him singing and advises him go to his wife's gypsy tea room. As she reads the tea leaves, she sees situations which lead to Cab and his orchestra performing musical numbers.The Story of "Scénario"
IMDB 6 | Jul , 2025
A final meeting with Jean-Luc Godard. This documentary shows the filmmaker preparing Scénario, his unfinished testamentary film, before closing with a moving scene: the final appearance of a genius driven to the very end by a love of cinema. Consists of Exposé du film annonce du film “Scénario” and Scenarios combined together for TV.Takumi: A 60,000 Hour Story on the Survival of Human Craft
IMDB 9 | Mar , 2019
There is a popular theory that it takes at least 10,000 hours of focused practice for a human to become expert in any field. In Japan, there are craftspeople who go far beyond this to reach a special kind of mastery. These people are called Takumi and they devote 60,000 hours to their craft. That's 8 hours a day, 240 days a year, for over 30 years. It's an almost superhuman level of dedication to a life of repetition and no shortcuts. This film asks the question: Will human craft disappear as artificial intelligence reaches beyond our limits?Handbook of Movie Theaters’ History
IMDB 8 | Nov , 2019
Handbook of Movie Theaters’ History is a documentary about the history, the development in the present days and the future of movie theaters in the city of Turin, Italy. It mixes the documentary language with comedy and fiction, and is enriched by interviews to some of the most important voices of Turin cinematography. The film follows the evolution of movie theaters by enlightening its main milestones: the pre-cinema experiences in the late 19th Century, the colossals and the movie cathedrals of the silent era, the arthouse theaters, the National Museum of Cinema, the Torino Film Festival, the movie theaters system today and the main hypothesis about its future.Lady Sings the Blues
IMDB 6.9 | Oct , 1972
Chronicles the rise and fall of legendary blues singer Billie Holiday, beginning with her traumatic youth. The story depicts her early attempts at a singing career and her eventual rise to stardom, as well as her difficult relationship with Louis McKay, her boyfriend and manager. Casting a shadow over even Holiday's brightest moments is the vocalist's severe drug addiction, which threatens to end both her career and her life.Chris Botti in Boston
IMDB 5 | Mar , 2009
Chart-topping jazz trumpeter Chris Botti and special guests performed two star-studded concerts at the historic Boston Symphony Hall with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops on September 18 and 19, 2008. Special guests include Josh Groban, Yo-Yo Me, John Mayer, Katharine McPhee, Lucia Micarelli, Sting and Steven Tyler.All My Love
IMDB 10 | Dec , 2024