Keeping Time: The Life, Music and Photographs of Milt Hinton 2002

“Keeping Time is an affectionate and deeply moving documentary on the life of the celebrated jazz bassist, Milt Hinton – a consummate working musician for more than 65 years and an outstanding photographer whose portfolio of over 60,000 images has meticulously documented jazz life in the United States. Following early professional experience around the clubs Milt Hinton joined the famous Cab Calloway band in 1936, staying for 15 years before deciding to settle down into studio work, where he estimated having played on over 1,000 recordings, including those heartrending final 1958 sessions by the doomed Billie Holiday. The filmmakers knew their subject personally for many years and have had access to his family, his friends and to his photographic library. The result is an honest portrait of a quite extraordinary American who fought determinedly for his rights in a deeply divided society… His place in the history of jazz is assured.” — David Meeker, London Film Festival