Screening Time: Friday, May 2, 1:00 PM, Charles Theatre 4
Sunday, May 4, 4:30 PM, Charles Theatre 5

Director: Matthew Buzzell
Cast: Jimmy Scott and The Jazz Expressions

Country: USA
Year: 2002
Running Time: 78 minutes
Format: Beta SP

Enigmatic jazz legend, Jimmy Scott, has been called "the most unjustly ignored American singer of the 20th century" by the New York Times. Born in 1925 to a single mother with 9 other children, Scott was eventually diagnosed with a hereditary condition that kept his body - and signature high pitch singing voice - from developing beyond boyhood. Little Jimmy Scott was once a much-in-demand performer, sharing stages with the likes of Lionel Hampton and Charlie Parker, until an unfortunate recording contract all but put his career to an end. That is, until his 1992, Grammy-nominated comeback album and subsequent world tours re-ignited interested in this charming little man.

Director Matthew Buzzell tells the remarkable story of Jimmy Scott's career, and his attempts to right some of the wrongs from his tragic childhood, most notably the separation from his siblings after their mother's tragic death. More than just a documentary about a lovable musician's odyssey, this film also serves as a concert film thanks to Buzzell's decision to show live performances of songs in their entirety. Like Scott's music, the film is moody, melancholy, and heartbreakingly bittersweet. Actor Ethan Hawke recently called the film "remarkable not only for its subject matter, but for the sensitivity with which it was made. It's a beautiful film and I am so grateful for having seen it."

--Skizz Cyzyk

Presented By: Matthew Buzzell and producer Brian Gerber

In the early 90's, Matthew Buzzell worked as an actor in films by noted Italian director Pupi Avati. By the mid-90's, he was studying directing at the American Film Institute and winning many awards for his work. He made two Alone Together documentary portraits of musicians Dean Wareham (of Luna) and Daniel Johnston, which appear on the Warner Bros.-distributed DVD Magazine "Circuit". His documentary, What A Girl Wants was recently featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and his latest feature script, a cinematic interpretation of Pascal Bruckner's novel The Divine Child, is currently in development with producer Sylvio Sharif Tabet.