Movie gives glimpse of Dinah Washington's singing talent | AT LARGE

Even though we have parks, buildings and streets named in her honor, it occurs to me that most of us don't know what Dinah Washington looked like or what it was like to see her perform.

Well, that deficiency in appreciation of Tuscaloosa's native daughter is rectified by viewing "Jazz On a Summer's Day," the concert film of a day at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival, which recently showed up on the Turner Classic Movie television network.

I had always wanted to catch the film, directed by fashion photographer Bert Stern, which is sort of the precursor of all the concert films to follow, including "Monterey Pop," "Woodstock" and even last year's "Summer of Soul," put together by Questlove of the Roots and "The Tonight Show" fame.

As for Washington's performance, well, it leaves much to be desired since she is featured in only one song, much of which is taken up by an ill-conceived jam on the vibraphone. I would have much preferred to see her perform the Bessie Smith classic "Backwater Blues," which is available on records elsewhere.

The film does not get off to an auspicious start. The genius Thelonious Monk is also given short shrift with a single performance of "Blue Monk," which is marred by crowd noise and visual cutaways to a yacht racing off the Rhode Island coast. I mean, here is one of the greatest pianists/composers in jazz history having to compete, in the afternoon, yet, with kids eating ice cream and big boats splashing around in the ocean.

The lineup for the festival film is a virtual all-star aggregation, circa the late 1950s, featuring Anita O'Day,

Gerry Mulligan, Chico Hamilton, Sonny Stitt, Louis Armstrong and Mahalia Jackson. rockers Big Maybelle and Chuck Berry, performing a subdued "Sweet Sixteen," are also included for some reason.

After giving the first few performers a "one shot and done" opportunity, often marred by those superfluous crowd shots, the film finally gets down to business with the performances by Armstrong and Jackson, each of whom is granted several numbers, without any distractions.

Trumpeter Armstrong was perhaps at the peak of his considerable powers in 1958 and he is featured on a blazing "Tiger Rag," followed by a sublime "Rocking Chair," with his long-time sidekick Jack Teagarden on trombone. The playful interaction between those two titans is always a joy to behold.

Armstrong's set concludes with — what else? — "When the Saints Go Marching In," which has the audience dancing in the isles and where for once the crowd shots are appropriate.

Jackson might not have been a jazz performer, per se, but Mahalia fits right in as a show closer with her gospel set.

She begins her set with a medley of "Walk All Over God's Heaven" and "Didn't it Rain" and concludes with a magnificent version of a sung version of "The Lord's Prayer."

When Jackson pronounces a final "Amen!" you have to agree there is not anything left to add.

But as an afterthought I have to add that it has always perplexed me that "Jazz on a Summer's Day" did not contain clips from other performances during the three-day festival. Miles Davis was there, after all, as were Duke Ellington and Ray Charles, both of whom released recordings of their performances.

Ray's searing "Live at Newport" introduced the young R&B artist to a wider audience and has always been one of my favorite albums.

Oh well, I guess "Jazz On a Summer's Day" is singular and we should be happy with what we get in this ground-breaking movie, which is available on Amazon Prime.

Tommy Stevenson is retired associate editor of The Tuscaloosa News. Reach him at tommystevenson45@gmail.com or 205-292-2236.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Movie gives glimpse of Dinah Washington's singing talent | AT LARGE