This fascinating doc on enigmatic Italian-American jazz singer Jackie Paris was a labour of love for director Ray de Felitta. Obsessed with Paris’ music, Felitta had been able to uncover little about him other than a claim that he’d died in ’77.
After an ad for a comeback he found Paris, frail but hip as ever, living in New York. Blending archive footage with recent chats, the film asks why one of bebop’s highest-rated voices never made it big.
Was it the mafia, his volatile temper and ego, his troubled family history or simply bad luck? While Paris’ singing features large, not just jazz fans will be moved by this personal, devastating portrait.
Carmen Gray
