Beginnings of Bebop (1981) documentary with Dizzy, Miles now online

A 1981 documentary short directed by the horn player and bassist Willie Ruff, featuring Dizzy Gillespie leading Ruff and Dwike Mitchell on a tour of bebop locations in New York in the early 1970s (including a surprise visit to Miles Davis's apartment), is now online for a limited time. The film has never had a commercial release, and has remained essentially unseen for decades.

Alongside the film, an hour-long 2017 interview with Ruff, primarily covering his filmmaking career but also touching on his work with Leonard Cohen, Quincy Jones, and Tony Williams, is also now online for the first time.

The Yale Film Archive presents the film and the interview here:

Willie Ruff on Vimeo

Please enjoy!