Johnny Griffin

"It must schwing!" was the motto of Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, two German Jewish immigrants who in 1939 set up Blue Note Records, the jazz label that was home to such greats as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon and Sonny Rollins. Blue Note, the most successful movie ever made about jazz, is a testimony to the passion and vision of these two men and certainly swings like the propulsive sounds that made their label so famous.

Summer 2004. Location: Copenhagen. The city's old legendary jazz house, Montmartre, is reopening for the first time in more than 30 years. But only for a very short note (2 days). To mark today's occasion, some of the oldest veterans of jazz house come together, along with a handful of younger 'descendants', to take stock of their lives and deliver a life-affirming musical testament, in the form of a series of unique concerts in the old jazz house.

An evocation of jazz through photographs, words and music. Music by Johnny Griffin Quintet with Jon Hendricks and the voices of Art Blakey, Kenny Clarke, Jo Jones, Sonny Murray, Eddie Gomez, Bill Evans. Jazz poems by Langston Hughes and Ted Joans.

Concert performance by 30 jazz greats from the Blue Note label, at Town Hall, New York City, February 22nd, 1985.

Documentary filmed during the 1965 International Jazz Festival in Bologna, featuring appearances by musicians such as Gato Barbieri, Don Cherry, and Mal Waldron.