Viff Live: Round Midnight: Ardeshir Plays Dexter Gordon (+ 40th Anniversary Film Screening) at VIFF Centre

About

Set in 1959 and loosely based on the relationship between Parisian jazz fan Francis Paudras and Bud Powell, Round Midnight (131 mins) is maybe the greatest of all films about jazz. Real life saxophone legend Dexter Gordon is an extraordinary presence as a (fictionalized) alcoholic bebop great, a towering, teetering bear-like figure who speaks in his slow, unpredictable rhythm but often with great charm and warmth. Before the film, allow saxophonist Ardeshir Pourkeramati to set the mood, channelling the spirit of sound of Dexter Gordon with a top-notch quartet.