Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer

Robbie Cavolina & Ian McCrudden:
Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer (USA 2007)
90 min. – Beta – English
Production: AOD Productions

Anita O'Day: The Live of a Jazz Singer is a tremendous documentary about one of the few white female jazz vocalists who ever rose to the pantheon of greatness in a field dominated by Ellas, Billies and Sarahs. She survived four failed marriages, arrests, jail time, alcoholism, and 15 years of heroin addiction. For seven decades, she recorded and toured relentlessly, showcasing an exquisite, smoky style that was tonally pure and rhythmically precise.

This documentary features amazing vintage clips from her long career, including jaw-dropping performances from the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival in which she commands both the band and the audience with a feisty authority not often seen in women of her day. Her refusal to wallow in her misfortunes or play the victim is refreshing.

The music in this film will stop your heart; the facts of her personal life will break it.

www.anitaoday.com/documentary.html

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Robbie Cavolina

Robbie Cavolina met Anita O'Day first time in 1992 and they became friends. Seven years later Cavolina found out that rights to the story of Anita was again available. Stanley Kramer had been planning to make a movie from Anita but had ultimately turned the project down. Cavolina sold everything he owned and bought the rights. After many years, Ian McCrudden became involved with the project and he recommended Cavolina to make documentary instead of feature film. Cavolina, McCrudden and Melissa Davis established AOL Productions for the film. Cavolina won Grammy for the Joni Mitcell Turbulent Indigo albums graphic design. He has studied painting, sculpture and photography and he also took acting classes from Lesley Kahn. Cavolina is running KAYO Stereophonics productions that concentrate on independent music.

Ian McCrudden

Ian McCrudden studied screenwriting and directing in Stanford University. He won the valued Golden Medal award during the studies. Since McCrudden has written, directed and produced several films and plays in America and outside. He has also participated the composing of music on his several own films. Through these experiences McCrudden became interested in making music and his first album Start Over was published in 2007 through KAYO Stereophonics.