Film Screening: Jazz Dreams II by Geoff Poister

Jazz Dreams II is the compelling story of three committed young black Americans who are determined to keep America's most original art form alive and vibrant. Directed and produced by COM filmmaker and professor Geoff Poister in the style of “Hoop Dreams” and Mike Leigh’s “Seven Up” series, the documentary follows three young jazz musicians in New Orleans from 1998 to 2008 as they make their way into the music scene in the city where jazz was born. The documentary features Jason Marsalis, Wynston Marsalis youngest brother; Irvin Mayfield, a Grammy Award winning trumpet player/composer; and Courtney Bryan, a sensitive pianist attending the arts high school that graduated Wynton Marsalis, Nicholas Payton, and Harry Connick Jr. We watch them grow from high school, through the death and destruction of Hurricane Katrina, to becoming parents and entrepreneurs. The film also includes appearances by Wynton Marsalis, Ellis Marsalis, and Gordon Parks. Q & A session with director Geoff Poister and featured artist Courtney Bryan follows the screening. The event is being held in COM 101 at 7 p.m.