One Night with Blue Note

One Night with Blue Note is a 1985 feature length jazz film directed by John Charles Jopson.[1]

To celebrate record executive Bruce Lundvall having relaunched the defunct Blue Note Records label in 1985 under the parent label EMI Manhattan Records, he and music director Michael Cuscuna staged a concert on February 22, 1985 at The Town Hall in New York City, bringing together some of the jazz legends associated with Blue Note over the years as well as some newly signed artists.

The 3 hour-plus event was shot on 16mm film with multiple cameras. Director Jopson prepared by studying the music from various live recordings, and then, consulting with producer Tammara Wells plus director of photography Martin Pitts and camera operators Ernest Dickerson, Paul Goldsmith and Don Lenser, determined the camera positions. During rehearsals Pitts and long-time associate Lou Tobin designed the lighting for show. The lighting team was joined by the crew from Chorus Line which had just closed on Broadway. The film is known for its intimate close-ups of the musicians, showing their subtle signals to each other and acknowledgment of well-played riffs. The recording was engineered by Mike Moran and David Hewitt with Remote Recording Service's Silver Truck.