Film Forum

On this, the 110th anniversary of Billie Holiday’s birth, author and Wall Street Journal jazz critic Will Friedwald presents a unique compendium of all of the existing performances (on film and video) of the most legendary of great American jazz singers — including theatrical short subjects, feature films, American TV and variety shows, rare footage from European television. Featuring Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Lester Young, and many others. Produced by Bruce Goldstein. Edited by William Hohauser.

The presentation will be preceded by a conversation between Mr. Friedwald and Paul Alexander, author of the new book Bitter Crop: The Heartache and Triumph of Billie Holiday’s Last Year (on sale at our concession at the event). Mr. Alexander will sign copies of his book in lobby following event.

Will Friedwald writes about jazz and nightlife for The Wall Street Journal, and is the author of eleven books on music and popular culture, including the award-winning A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers, Sinatra: The Song is You, Stardust Melodies, Tony Bennett: The Good Life, and Jazz Singing. He has written over 600 liner notes for compact discs, received ten Grammy nominations and appears frequently on television and other documentaries.


Paul Alexander has published eight books, among them Rough Magic, a biography of Sylvia Plath, and Salinger, a biography of J. D. Salinger that was the basis of a documentary that appeared on American Masters on PBS, Netflix, and HBO. His nonfiction has appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Newsday, New York, The Guardian, The Nation, The Washington Post, and Rolling Stone. He teaches at Hunter College in New York.

Paul Alexander will sign copies of his new book, Bitter Crop: The Heartache and Triumph of Billie Holiday’s Last Year in the lobby after the screening.

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