Jazz on film

You could be forgiven that the 24th Birmingham International Jazz Festival was just about music but in fact, this year more than any other, it's about much more than that.

This year we have an inhouse photographer by the name of Merlin Daleman. He is based in North Brabant in the Netherlands and has worked at both the Birmingham and Marbella Jazz Festivals as a leader in jazz photography. He contributes regularly to Dutch Daily newspapers and we are delighted to have him back this year. To find out more visit http://www.merlindaleman.com/
A collection of photos from last year's event by Merlin are being displayed at City Inn from the start of the festival where they will remain for four months before going on tour to all the City Inns in the UK.

Showing at the wonderful Electric Cinema in Station Street, the oldest working cinema in the UK (first opened 1909) on the 11th, 12th and 13th at 18.30 is Let's Get Lost, Bruce Weber's Academy Award-nominated film about the great jazz trumpeter Chet Baker. This widely acclaimed film won the the prestigious Critic's prize at the Venice Film Festival.

We also have the mulitalented poet Stephen 'The Doctor' Baker who when he's not fronting two different Jazz bands, offers us some amazing jazz poetry. His show is called 'Poetry in Motion' as he will be literally flitting between gigs, keeping the audience entertained in between sets. Stephen's poetry takes you through all eras of jazz and blues, and from a man described as somewhere between a Jazz-crazed offspring of a Gospel Preacher and an Oxford academic, this chicago born 'blues shouter' promises an uncompromising and unforgettable experience.