The Jazz Loft According to W. Eugene Smith

Director Fishko presents a portrait of the New York City loft where, from 1957 to 1965, jazz musicians dropped in to jam. Describing a music scene can be tricky, because, so often, you just had to be there. The reason this chronicle works is that W. Eugene Smith lived downstairs. One of the best-known photographers of the 20th century, Smith (1918–78) shot extensively in beautiful black and white and wired the building for sound. Eccentric and troubled, Smith had left his family, took speed to stay up all hours, and from his front window shot thousands of street scenes, besides recording the jazz happening upstairs. Smith owed composer and musician Hall Overton so much money that Overton nailed Smith's door shut until he paid up. It was Overton who helped Thelonious Monk transcribe his music for Monk's orchestra's famed Town Hall concerts. Besides Monk, this film highlights the likes of Phil Woods, Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, and Zoot Sims.