Jazz serves as the binding thread and rhythmic character in the documentary, ‘With Peter Bradley,’ which will premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival in late January. The original score for the film was composed by The Hartt School’s Professor of Jazz Javon Jackson, the Director of the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz. Jackson also performed the original music, along with his band, and recorded it locally in Windsor, CT.

The acceptance into Slamdance is a special honor for the film as well as the community of artists involved in its production. An annual film festival, well-known among the independent film world, the selection to Slamdance Film Festival is a coveted opportunity. The festival focuses on emerging artists, innovative filmmaking, and unique narratives.

While the main subject of the film centers around the artist in which the film was named, the source of inspiration in Peter Bradley’s abstract artwork—is jazz.  Bradley is likely the first Black abstract artist and sculptor represented by a major NYC gallery, and yet holds one of the overlooked places within 20th-century art history. The connection with music—specifically jazz—is a crucial piece in Bradley’s creative process. A jazz musician himself, Bradley uses the canvas as his instrument. He is quoted in the film as saying “I have to have music, otherwise I can’t paint.” He is inspired by jazz, which is the music he listens to when he creates his art, as “every sound as a color…I think that’s what it is based on.”

Read The Fill Article Here: https://www.hartford.edu/unotes/2022/12/slamdance-film-festival-selects-film-scored-by-hartt-professor.aspx