Lift The Bandstand

The show title 'Lift The Bandstand' comes from a Steve Lacy quote: 'When I used to work with Monk, he used to say, "Let's lift the bandstand". That's magic, man, when the bandstand levitates. I didn't know how to do it but I knew what he was talking about. Old dreams but they're still valid.' (Steve Lacy interviewed by Brian Case for The Wire no. 1, summer 1982)

The film 'Lift The Bandstand' is a documentary produced by Peter L. Bull. The film is a portrait of the music and career of Steve Lacy, as told to us in his own words and in performances of his music. The one-hour film features two performances by the Steve Lacy Sextet, a solo performance by Lacy, and rare archival footage of such Jazz legends as Sidney Bechet, John Coltrane, Gil Evans and Thelonious Monk - all important influences on Lacy's music. These elements are interwoven with interviews in which the articulate Mr. Lacy makes wryly-humorous observations about the ups and downs of his career and traces his musical influences.