The Best of the Best: Jazz from Detroit
Director: Daniel Loewenthal
Running time: 90 mins
Directed by Daniel Loewenthal, this comprehensive and informative documentary was inspired by screenwriter Mark Stryker’s book, Jazz From Detroit. Showcasing a wide range of contributors, the film explores the cultural and historical factors that lead to Detroit effectively becoming the heartland of American Jazz, while also celebrating its continuing musical influence.
Loewenthal uses the same technique throughout the film, taking commentary and insight from a multitude of talking head interviews and frequently overlaying archive footage, photographs and music clips. The majority of the interviewees are musicians, including several Detroit Jazz legends, though there are also a number of authors, academics and historians, most notably Jamon Jordan, who pops up at regular intervals.
The first half of the film is structured broadly chronologically, as a handful of the contributors take us through the history of Detroit, focusing on the Great Migration, which took place between 1910 and 1970, largely as a result of Henry Ford offering all workers $5 a day, to come and work in his factories. With a major influx from the South, Detroit’s Black population increased by over 600%, creating vibrant communities like Paradise Valley in the process.
The film subsequently tracks the rise of Black entertainment spots, like Club Plantation, with bassist Endea Owens describing the music scene at that time as “a melting pot of creativity”, giving rise to sounds like Bebop and artists such as Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Moreover, the film illustrates that there was an enormous sense of community that was extremely music-focused – as someone romantically puts it, the Detroit Sound was “the sound of the factory, the sound of the ghetto and the sound of the church.”
In addition to a wealth of concert footage, the film is also packed with fascinating historical details, such as the fact that a particular piano company (Grinnell Pianos) didn’t discriminate and allowed Black families to get pianos on layaway, effectively ensuring that multiple future musicians grew up with one in their home.
After noting the devastating effect of the 1967 riots, and the subsequent urban decline and shrinking of the city that saw a mid-century population peak of 2 million come down to just 640,000, the second half of the film shifts focus somewhat, illustrating that while the city itself may no longer be the thriving industrial hub it once was, Detroit’s passion for jazz continues unabated.
As a result, the remainder of the film concentrates on a number of highly influential musicians, giving particular focus to jazz mentors like Barry Harris and Marcus Belgrave. The palpable love for these figures in the Detroit Jazz community is extremely touching, heightened by moving anecdotes, such as a story about how Belgrave’s trumpet kept him alive when he was in hospital.
Ultimately, it’s fair to say that the film caters more towards audiences who are already a little jazz-savvy, and if that’s the case, this will be something of a treat, given the sheer number of talking heads involved. However, it also functions well as a comprehensive, well-informed jumping-off-point for the jazz-curious. It’s also well paced and is full of lovely little moments, such as a contributor going into an extended riff about how Bebop is basically the same as Michael Jordan going down the basketball court.
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