Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story Movie and Reviews
Pop star Katy Perry grew up singing in church. And in “Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story,” a documentary celebrating the 50th anniversary of the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Perry sings “Oh Happy Day” in front of a robed gospel choir. The only reason it doesn’t raise the roof is that the festival is outdoors. Still, you can almost feel souls, possibly even your own, lifting toward heaven as Perry, dressed in a silvery leotard, segues into her hit, “Firework.” That is one of dozens of thrilling, genuinely uplifting moments in this year’s successor to 2021’s Oscar-winner, “Summer of Soul.” It's as spicy a combination of different ingredients as the gumbo ladled out so lusciously on screen, and edited with the syncopated rhythms of the music described by one commentor as “throw[ing] the melody out like a boomerang” and then catching it again, a vivid, evocative depiction of half a century of music, food, and community. The history and commentary are fine, but the music...