March 24, 2003

Oscar-Nominated Jazz Documentary at MASS MoCA on Apr 24th

(North Adams, Mass.) MASS MoCA continues its popular Cinema Lounge series with a double feature screening of Academy Award-nominated jazz documentary, A Great Day in Harlem, and Setting the Record Straight a music-rich docu-mentary about jazz great, Papa John Creach on Thursday, April 24, at 8 P.M.

In A Great Day in Harlem, director Jean Bach chronicles a day in 1958 when many of the greatest jazz musicians of the day gathered for a photo shoot for Esquire magazine. Using the photo itself as a springboard Bach chronicles the careers of the musicians represented in the photograph including Count Bassie, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Mingus, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, and Milt Hinton and explores the talent that set them apart from average musicians and trials and tribulations they overcame.

Setting the Record Straight documents the life of violinist Papa John Creach. Shot over a five year period with state-of-the-art digital recording equipment director Stevenson J. Palfi weaves interviews with rare musical footage including jam sessions, rehearsals, and performances. The film features performances and interviews with George Winston, Jorma Kaukonen, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Sylvester Scott, and Henry Butler. By the time rock fans became aware of Creach through his work with Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, and Hot Tuna he was already in his fifties and a well known veteran of jazz and blues. Creach recorded solo albums on the Airplane's custom label, Grunt, up until he was 74. Creach died at the age of 76 of heart failure in 1994.

The showing is part of MASS MoCA's Cinema Lounge series which features music documentaries in Club B-10, the revamped B-10 theater. Lickety Split provides snacks and dinner before and during the show. Full bar is also available. The Cinema Lounge series is sponsored by Berkshire Gas and supported by Holly Angell Hardman.

Tickets for A Great Day in Harlem are $5.50. MASS MoCA members receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA Box Office located off Marshall Street in North Adams from 11 A.M. until 5 P.M. (closed Tuesdays). Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 during Box Office hours or purchased on line at www.massmoca.org.

MASS MoCA, the largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the United States, is located on Marshall Street in North Adams on a 13-acre campus of renovated 19th-century factory buildings.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Katherine Myers
(413) 664-4481 x8113
katherine@massmoca.org