I knew George Wein’s Kool Jazz Festival in New York from the time I first started listening to the music years ago. I had met him several times, but I didn’t really have an idea of what kind of person he was. In creating this film, I spent a full month immersed in his memories and his thought processes, and also in the music and the images and material culture of his events.
I have to say that I have developed a great appreciation for this man. Far beyond his stellar achievements as a presenter of music (another calling that I have answered many times over the years), he was a firehose of grand social ideas and global ambitions, and a wildly successful executor of them. I hope my admiration for him comes through as you watch the film.
It’s around 17 minutes long. Get yourself a snack.