Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer (2007)

Directors:

Robbie Cavolina
Ian McCrudden

Writers:

Robbie Cavolina (writer)
Ian McCrudden (writer)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Plot:

A tribute to jazz diva Anita O'Day, completed just weeks before her death in November 2006.

Plot Keywords:

Jazz | Broken Arm | Singing | Heroin | Singer

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Louis Armstrong	...	Himself (archive footage)
Buddy Bregman	...	Himself
Dick Cavett	...	Himself (archive footage)
Leonard Feather	...	Himself
Will Friedwald	...	Himself
Johnny Mandel	...	Himself
Anita O'Day	...	Herself
John Poole	...	Himself (archive footage)
Annie Ross	...	Herself
George Wein	...	Himself
Margaret Whiting	...	Herself
Gerald Wilson	...	Himself

Runtime:

USA:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

AOD Productions

Trivia:

The film depicts Anita O'Day's emergence as a solo artist and her signing with Bob Thiele's Signature label by showing a cardboard cut-out of her with the slogan, "Hey, ops! I'm on Signature now!" "Ops" meant jukebox operators, who were crucial to the success of a record in the 1930's and 1940's. Not only did they buy a lot of records themselves, they also promoted it by putting it on their jukeboxes.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In one of the interview clips, Anita O'Day says that composer-arranger Gary McFarland died soon after the release of the album they made together, "All the Sad Young Men." McFarland actually lived another 10 years after the 1961 release of his record with O'Day, and died on November 2, 1971.

Movie Connections:

Features Jazz on a Summer's Day (1960)

A Well Deserved Tribute But Little New Information About An Exceptional Singer

I saw this tonight at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.

Anita O'Day's story was well documented in her autobiography "High Times, Hard Times", which is respected for its unflinching candor. The best feature of this documentary is the clips of Anita's performances, many of which have never been seen before. It includes, of course, her landmark performance of 'Sweet Georgia Brown' from the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival, and several other performances that evidence her right to be considered one of jazz's finest vocalists. In addition to these clips there are interviews with jazz luminaries including George Wein (legendary founder of the Newport Jazz Festival), Margaret Whiting, and Dr. Billy Taylor. These experts credibly testify about Anita's genius and her standing relative to other jazz singers who obtained greater celebrity, such as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sarah Vaughn.

This documentary does not provide new information about either Anita's private life or career, but it is important as a tribute to a singer whose talent justified greater acclaim than she received.