The Jimi James Quintet is honoured to be paying tribute to what might be the most impactful development in jazz history: the emergence of bebop.

The Method era coincided with the arrival of bebop. Both disciplines combined formal master with greater autonomy, introspection and improvisation. You can be sure Brando was grooving to Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie et al, just as the jazz men would have been checking out hot movies like Streetcar and The Wild One.

In playing the music of such jazz legends as Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Clifford Brown and Charlie Parker, the Jimi James Sextet will highlight the innovations and evolutions of the bebop style. With a sophisticated, heartfelt, and exuberant sound, the group features Hugh Penner — trumpet, Tamas Balai — alto saxophone, Jimi James — piano, Arvind Ramdas — drums, and Kosma Busheikin — bass.

About The Wild One (Laszlo Benedek, 1954, 79 min)

Banned in many countries upon its release, The Wild One is the first film about 1950s youth rebellion, preceding films like Rebel Without a Causeby several years. It features Marlon Brando as the leader of a motorcycle gang – the Black Rebels – that disrupts a legitimate motorcycle race and then rides into a small town where they terrify the residents and fight with a rival gang. The Wild One crystallized Brando’s rebel image.