The Spanish film-maker Fernando Trueba felt obliged to make an ode to Latin jazz, the music ‘that allows me to enjoy life, the way nothing else can’. Calle 54 is an open declaration of love to the representatives of this very music that now enjoys worldwide popularity. A sparkling music film disguised as a documentary, a series of wonderful performances by great stars such as Tito Puente, Gato Barbieri, Paquito D’Rivera and Jerry Gonzales.Unlike Wim Wenders’ Buena Vista Social Club, only limited background information is provided in Calle 54. Trueba, who came into contact with the music for the first time in the early eighties via Paquito D’Rivera’s album Blowin’, wanted primarily to share his passion for the music with as many people as possible in his film. And is there any better way than to allow the musicians to speak for themselves or, rather, to play? Simple sets, beautifully lit by Trueba, do most justice to the musical qualities of the artists. The twelve shows are preceded by a short spoken introduction or a short interview with the musician performing.The impressive cast makes Calle 54 an important historic document. But Trueba most certainly succeeded in his prime aim: at screenings in Spain, New York and that the film Festival of Venice and Toronto, a thunderous applause greeted the end of each set.
