Tis Autumn: The Search For Jackie Paris

‘Tis Autumn documents the singing career of 50s jazz legend Jackie Paris, and questions why he never reached the dizzying heights of fame accomplished by so many of his contemporaries. Director Raymond De Felitta’s mild obsession with the Italian-American singer-songwriter (and skilled tap dancer) began in 1991 - upon listening to one of Paris’ records on the radio - and the resulting documentary gives a colourful, at times poignant, image of this prufrockian maestro. The non-polished and grainy quality of footage connects with the subject matter - jazz itself being rather raw and unadulterated - and along with the soundtrack (spanning five decades of Paris’ collection), quite easily transports the viewer back to a time when jazz ruled the airwaves. De Felitta’s portrayal of Paris is not always flattering (his bad temper and inability to connect with people are voiced more than once), but if his main goal was trying to bring more acclaim to Paris’ music, then he has most certainly achieved that. [Zaineb Al Hassani]