New Haven once had a great local jazz scene, one featuring iconic performers sharing their unique musical talents. Time, changing tastes, urban renewal and other things has since made that scene a fond, distant memory.
Those memories are preserved in the documentary Unsung Heroes, a chronicle of the city's vibrant post-World War II jazz scene, which will be screened at Long Wharf Theatre in conjunction with Ella the Musical, running from Sept. 22 through Oct. 17 on the Mainstage.The screening will take place on Monday, Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m. on Stage II. There is a suggested donation of $10. There will be a post-screening discussion of the film.Unsung Heroes tells the story of local musicians, playing in big bands and small ensembles at small New Haven clubs like Lillian's Paradise, The Playback, The Musicians Club, The Democratic Club, the Golden Gate and the fondly remembered Monterey, a famous nightspot located on Dixwell Avenue. The importance of New Haven as a stop on the jazz circuit allowed those local musicians to perform with the likes of Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughan and others. Ella Fitzgerald herself gave a private jam session at the Monterey on a stop off between Boston and New York.Videos