Reel Jazz: Presented with Jazz at the Barn
Elevator to the Gallows and the Art of Improvisation
Film Screening • Live Improvised Music • Live Art • Artist Conversation
Sunday, October 25th at 3 PM
$35 Public | $30 Members

Presented as part of our Reel Jazz Series, this immersive program explores the intersection of jazz, cinema, and visual art through a screening of Louis Malle's groundbreaking 1958 French noir Elevator to the Gallows (Ascenseur pour l'échafaud), a live Jazz performance by Bashiri Johnson and William "Spaceman" Patterson, and an improvised live art performance by Ian Tousius.

The Film: Elevator to the Gallows
Taking place over the course of one restless Paris night, Louis Malle’s richly atmospheric crime thriller stars Jeanne Moreau and Maurice Ronet as lovers whose plan to murder his boss, and her husband, goes awry, setting off deadly chain of events. Featuring a legendary jazz score by Miles Davis, the film was defining milestone for its director and female star. Elevator to the Gallows was an astonishing beginning to Malle’s eclectic body of work, and it established Moreau as one of the most captivating actors ever to grace the screen. (France, 1958, 92 mins, French | Dir. Louis Malle)

Elevator to the Gallows is celebrated as much for its striking visuals as for its legendary improvised score by Miles Davis. Recorded during a single late-night session in Paris, Davis and his ensemble watched scenes from the film and created the soundtrack in real time, an inspired act of spontaneous composition that forever changed the relationship between jazz and cinema.

Following the screening, that same spirit of improvisation comes to life through an original live performance featuring legendary percussionist Bashiri Johnson and guitarist William "Spaceman" Patterson, whose own musical journey includes performing with Miles Davis during the 1980s. Together, they will create an entirely improvised musical conversation, responding to one another in the moment with no script, rehearsal, or predetermined outcome.

As the music unfolds, visual artist Ian Tousius will create live projected artwork in real time, allowing sound and image to evolve together in an ever-changing dialogue. Every note and every visual composition is created in the moment, making the performance completely unique.

Throughout the live performance, the musicians and artist will share commentary on the creative process, offering audiences a rare, behind-the-scenes look at improvisation as music and visual art take shape together in real time. More than a film screening or a concert, Reel Jazz: Elevator to the Gallows and the Art of Improvisation invites audiences to witness creativity as it happens.

Sponsored by Ettinger Law Firm.