Joe Albany…A Jazz Life

Carole Langer's documentary is a delight every time jazz pianist Joe Albany sits down to play, amply justifying his reference to Charlie Parker as the one influence he acknowledges in his style. The interview material, focusing almost exclusively on the Albany 'mystery', is less satisfying. After making an almost legendary name with Bird and others in the '40s, Albany became a drug addict and dropped out of sight for decades. The story of his long climb back from degradation, happily ending in renewed fame, is obviously crucially important to Albany himself, but is an almost too familiar tale. More about Parker and the 52nd Street past would have added just the right touch of cream in the coffee.