Acclaimed as one of the very best motion pictures ever made about music, the vibrant Calle 54 offers an incredible behind-the-scenes glimpse into the lives of Grammy Award winner Tito Puente and some of the greatest Latin Jazz artists of our time! Whether it's created in hot backstreet clubs or recording studios from Miami to Havana, the Bronx to Andalusia, the pulsating sounds of Latin Jazz capture the heart and soul of an entire culture! Showcased in a series of extraordinary performances, Latin legends use their immense musical talents to weave an innovative tapestry of sound, style an rhythm that becomes a pasisonate celebration of life! From the director of Academy Award-winning Belle Epoch (Best Foreign Language Film, 1993)- featured artists include the late "godfather of Latin music" Tito Puente, barefoot Brazilian pianist Eliane Elias, Argentinean tenor sax great Gato Barbieri, Paquito D'Rivera and amny more you don't want to miss!
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In
Calle 54, Madrid-based filmmaker Fernando Trueba explores the wide and wonderful world of Latin jazz: a hybrid genre that fuses the clave, samba, flamenco, merengue, and other rhythms from Africa, the Iberian peninsula, and the Americas. The film's Spanish title takes its name from Sony Music Studios located on 54th Street in Manhattan, where a who's who of musicians were filmed and recorded. They range from Brazilian bombshell keyboardist Eliane Elias and enigmatic Argentine tenor saxophonist Gato Barbieri, to the fiery rumba group Puntilla y Nueva Generacion. The music and musicians of Cuba and Puerto Rico dominate this documentary, and the most touching scene is the emotional father-and-son reunion of Cuban pianists Bebo and Chucho Valdés, who were separated by Fidel Castro's revolution. Sadly, the film features the last onscreen appearances by the late composer-arranger Chico O'Farrill and the legendary
timbales master Tito Puente. Simply put,
Calle 54 is a documentary that dances.
--Eugene Holley Jr.
