The Jazz Loft According to W. Eugene Smith

Filmmaker Sara Fishko's documentary tells the strange and compelling story of W. Eugene Smith and his “jazz loft” in Manhattan's flower district from the mid-1950s to mid-‘60s—a tale of mania and obsession that produced a vast record of 20th-century cultural history. Smith, a renowned and successful photojournalist for national magazines, began slipping into instability during a protracted, doomed project of capturing the city of Pittsburgh in hundreds of photographs shot over several years. The costly aborted task forced Smith and his wife and children to leave their grand home. Divorce followed, and Smith chose to live alone in his loft, which adjoined another that became a nightly mecca for top-flight jazz musicians to jam and explore until dawn. Throughout the ensuing decade, Smith documented everything that happened on reel-to-reel tape and in thousands of photos, leaving a record of jazz legends heard playing loose, or—in the case of Thelonious Monk—working hard at revolutionizing the jazz form. Smith also recorded everything from pedestrians seen from his window to a beat cop who drops by to check on him. Many of the surviving musicians and other guests from that time offer remembrances here of those exciting nights and of Smith's zeal to capture everything. Smith's final chapter may be a sad one, but he left behind a rich legacy. Extras include a conversation between Fishko and talk radio host Leonard Lopate. Recommended. Aud: C, P (T. Keogh)