Left to right: Vince Giordano, Amber Edwards and Andy Frieenberg
Cinema Society of PebbleCreek ended its third season on an especially high note with the screening of the beautifully crafted documentary, Vince Giordano – There’s a Future in the Past, a spirited question and answer session with the film’s producer, co-director and editor, Amber Edwards and, to everyone’s surprise and delight, a visit from the star of the documentary, Vince Giordano – live and in person!
Vince Giordano – There’s a Future in the Past, is an exceptional musical documentary of hot jazz bandleader Vince Giordano and his Nighthawks and features many memorable moments, including a marvelous behind the scenes look at the recording of the Grammy Award winning soundtrack for the HBO series Boardwalk Empire and a hilarious interaction with Garrison Keillor on one of Garrison’s The Prairie Home Companion radio shows.
If you’re not familiar with Brooklyn native Vince Giordano, you’ll want to put this documentary on your must-see film list. This film portrait makes it vibrantly clear that Vince Giordano doesn’t just play vintage jazz — he has devoted his life to it, amassing the sheet music for 60,000 big-band arrangements that otherwise would have moldered away in landfills or attics. It’s no wonder Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese and Todd Haynes, among other directors, have relied on him for the right period sound or that he played a crucial role, onscreen and off, in the early seasons of Boardwalk Empire.
Vince Giordano – There’s a Future in the Past, not only celebrates American music of the 20s and 30s, but the niche that Vince and his Nighthawks have carved out. The documentary also shines a light on the nuts, bolts and sheer perseverance it takes to be a working musician. The musicians clearly love what they do-—their joy is evident on their faces as they play—but a musician’s life is clearly not like living the PebbleCreek life!