Central Avenue thrived as a Black entertainment metropolis of Los Angeles during the 1920s through the mid-1950s. While it is often assumed that women who performed on Central Avenue were mainly vocalists, some of the most celebrated female instrumentalists in the history of jazz performed on this scene. When Central Avenue slowly closed its doors in the 1950s, many of these women instrumentalists continued to perform in Los Angeles and beyond. But more importantly, their legacy as "The First Ladies of the Horn" opened the doors for the next generation of women instrumentalists on the Los Angeles scene. Beyond Central Avenue documents the musical narratives of some of the leading contemporary female instrumentalists of Los Angeles and their impact on the music industry.
Two young, inexperienced students, dissatisfied with the demands of their teachers and the mentoring of their parents, try to cross illegally into the country - but because they are headed for friendly Poland, nothing happens to them.
Born on a sharecropping plantation in Northern Florida, Ray Charles went blind at seven. Inspired by a fiercely independent mom who insisted he make his own way, He found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard.
Publishing assistant Brett Eisenberg wants to be a big-time editor. However, she lacks self-confidence, a problem that isn't helped by her new, overbearing boss.
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.
New York, 2010. Jeff Harris, a music journalist, sets out to uncover the truth about Francisco Tenório Júnior, a young Brazilian samba-jazz pianist who disappeared in Buenos Aires on March 18, 1976.
A comprehensive history of European Jazz, exploring the origins of the US-influenced Jazz clubs after the Second World War, the first steps independent of American jazz and the various changes of direction that have repeatedly occurred in European jazz in the search for that "own voice" that European jazz musicians have helped to form.
When Jack crosses paths with a woman from his past, he's not sure if it's love...or if she's a ruthless con artist using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth.
The film is a short story about a guy called Steve who has struggled with the Christian faith, having seen his parents, who are both Christians, break up because of his dad's unfaithfulness.
Gautami is an Indian Odissi Dancer whose passion in life is dance. Jai Leang is a rising Chinese painter whose paintings are highly influenced by Chinese culture.
Charlie Kenton is a washed-up fighter who retired from the ring when robots took over the sport. After his robot is trashed, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son to rebuild and train an unlikely contender.
A Mexican boy bound for Chicago tries to cross the border, but is the crowded wagon he rides in going the right way? An offbeat, allegorical odyssey that blends absurd humor with pastoral imagery.
To win the celebrity and self-made wealth he craves, an aimless, twenty-something Manhattan playboy devises a film based on his party-boy, club-going lifestyle, and hires a self-destructive aspiring playwright to ghost the feature script.
Raymond Weir is a shut in computer genius surviving in the post dot-com era. Disabled as a result of a home invasion that took the life of his late wife, Sarah, Raymond sits in his makeshift apartment above a run down bar, over medicated, mourning her loss and contemplating suicide.
JJ Justice is a man in transition. A once successful right-wing radio broadcaster, who's lost his edge, his wife and any hope of airing in a real market.
Comments
Have you watched Beyond Central Avenue: Contemporary Female Jazz Instrumentalists of Los Angeles yet? What did you think about it?
