For many of us, this is the best movie ever made about jazz — and it turns 40 years old this year.

Real life sax legend Dexter Gordon is mesmerizing as American horn player, Dale Turner (a thinly veiled amalgam of Bud Powell and Lester Young) trying to shake his demons in 1959 Paris, with loving help from a local fan (Francois Cluzet) and his young daughter. Plagued by years of alcoholism and drug use, knowing the end is near; he plays every note of his memories and battles with dignity and wisdom, and then returns home to New York. The forlorn music includes early work of Monk and Bird, the standards of Gershwin and Porter. Gordon’s contribution aside, Herbie Hancock is on piano and others such as Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter and Billy Higgins all figure, with Lonette McKee on vocals. Hancock also composed the film’s beautiful, Academy Award-winning score.

Director Bertrand Tavernier clearly loves and understands jazz, but he also understands the dynamic between the American artist and a young French acolyte. Before he became a filmmaker Tarvernier was a movie publicist in Paris in the 1960s and looked after such legendary Hollywood directors as John Ford and Howard Hawks.

Before the film, enjoy an hour long live set by Ardeshir and a stellar quartet.

Saxophonist Ardeshir Pourkeramati brings a deep reverence for the jazz tradition to his tribute to the legendary Dexter Gordon, channeling the spirit, sound, and storytelling that defined Gordon’s music. Grounded in hard bop and post-bop language, Ardeshir draws inspiration from Dexter’s big, vocalized tenor sound, blues-infused phrasing, and unmistakable sense of swing. Currently based in Vancouver, BC, he has performed across a wide range of jazz settings while remaining deeply connected to the lineage of the tenor saxophone tradition. Having completed a doctorate in jazz studies at USC’s Thornton School of Music, he has worked with notable Canadian jazz musicians including Brad Turner, Cory Weeds, Steve Kaldestad, John Lee, Jodi Proznick, and John Korsrud. Through this tribute performance, Ardeshir honors Dexter Gordon’s legacy with authenticity, warmth, and a personal voice rooted in the tradition.

Ardeshir Pourkeramati – Tenor Saxophone
Winston Matsushita – Piano
Jodi Proznick – Bass
Izaak Weatherwax – Drums

This movie teaches you everything about jazz that you really need to know… It is about a few months in a man’s life, and about his music. It has more jazz in it than any other fiction film ever made, and it is probably better jazz; it makes its best points with music, not words.

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Co-Presented with: