Robert Altman's Jazz '34; Remembrances..

With ROBERT ALTMAN‘S JAZZ ‘34: REMEMBRANCES OF KANSAS CITY SWING the 72-year-old veteran of feature film (M*A*S*H, THE PLAYER, SHORT CUTS) has made a documentary sequel to his jazz film KANSAS CITY (1995). It is now clear that Altman‘s feature film can be considered an apparent precursor of this documentary, because in the first of the two films Altman was more concerned about the jazz music than about the plot. And whereas the actions in the fiction film were interrupted by live jam sessions, these sessions are the focus of the documentary. Altman returned to his birthplace Kansas City and invited the best contemporary musicians, like Joshua Redman and Cyrus Chestnut. Entirely in the spirit of the thirties and clad in suitable apparel a classic ‘Kansas City Swing’ jam session was held.