Chops
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This exuberant film joins a group of students in middle school as they begin their musical training. They are attracted to a rarefied part of the music world, jazz, and they are motivated by its challenges rather than intimidated.
They enter a public art high school in Jacksonville, Florida, and compete against older, more experienced players to join the school’s top jazz ensemble. We get to know their families. We see them meet goals and seek new ones. They perform, and they develop their chops. Then things get really interesting.
This diverse group of public high school students enters an annual national contest, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington competition, under the direction of Wynton Marsalis. Now they have to play at a new level, one worthy of Ellington, and they rise to that challenge, too. Miraculously, they are selected over hundreds of other bands to reach the finals in New York City.
Getting intimate access to a world most of us will never see, the filmmaker takes us to the finals. Wynton Marsalis himself hosts the proceedings and interacts with the students. The late Ed Bradley shows up at some performances. The competing schools are formidable, especially two previous winners from Seattle. This is competition at the highest level and the joy of participating is palpable.
The final moments of the film are as thrilling as anything you’ll see on film this year. Any doubts you might have had about the potential of American youth, the efficacy of arts funding, the practical power of music, are answered for good. And, of course, the music is not to be believed.
--Jed Dietz
Director, Maryland Film Festival
“…“This film is an absolute ‘must see’. It is nothing short of superb and is an astounding celebration of the human spirit. Bravo to this extraordinarily gifted filmmaker!!!”.”
- Saturday, January 10, 2009
- Performance 7:00 pm
- Tickets: $10; Students: $5 (student purchases must be at UNF Box Office)