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AND DAMN HE COULD PLAY Filmmakers Talk Marcus Belgrave, Wynton Marsalis, Terence Blanchard & Don Was on SOUNDS OF FIM AND DAMN HE COULD PLAY: Director Timashion Jones & Producer Brad Torreano on SOUNDS OF FILM Host Tom Needham welcomes filmmaker Timashion Jones and producer Brad Torreano to discuss their documentary, And Damn He Could Play, an exploration of the extraordinary life and musical legacy of jazz trumpeter Marcus Belgrave. Making his professional debut at age 12, Belgrave went on to perform and record with Ray Charles, Charles Mingus, and Motown’s legendary Funk Brothers. Mentored by Clifford Brown, he became an influential figure in Detroit’s jazz community, dedicating his life to music education and mentoring generations of musicians, including Geri Allen, Kenny Garrett, James Carter, Regina Carter, and Theo Croker. Narrated by Wendell Pierce, the documentary features Wynton Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, Don Was, Sheila Jordan, and many other prominent voices

Really excited to be hosting the Q&A with director of the film, CARL SAGAN: WE ARE MADE OF STAR STUFF, Nanette Burstein, on Nov. 12th, 7pm, at the The First United Methodist Church of Port Jefferson, NY for the Port Jefferson Documentary Series.

Hope to see you there!

A wonderful evening at the Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame celebrating the induction of Ray Romano. A pleasure to be part of this special night and to congratulate Ray on this well-deserved honor!
— Tom Needham, LIMEHOF Vice Chairman

Photo Credit: Steve Leung

Sophie B. Hawkins Talks Birds of New York on the SOUNDS OF FILM The latest episode of Sounds of Film, hosted by Tom Needham, features Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins. Known for her distinctive voice, emotionally powerful songwriting, and enduring hits, Hawkins joins Needham for a conversation about her remarkable career and an exciting new creative project, Birds of New York. Hawkins burst onto the music scene with her platinum-selling debut album, Tongues and Tails, featuring the hit “Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover.” Her follow-up album, Whaler, produced the international hit “As I Lay Me Down,” which became the longest-running single in Billboard Adult Contemporary chart history. A fiercely independent artist, Hawkins has continued to challenge creative boundaries throughout her career as a recording artist, performer, and songwriter. Her latest project is Birds of New York, an original musical for which she has written the book, music, and

The 2027 Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame Music Documentary Film Festival is now accepting submissions of music documentaries on FilmFreeway. In 2026, the 2nd LIMEHOF Music Documentary Film Festival featured movies about jazz, opera, folk music, classical music, hip hop, electronic music, jam band music, K-pop, African music, Hispanic music, French music, rock music, alternative music, soul music, punk, blues music, record collecting and more. Past films featured Harry Chapin, Public Enemy, The Beatles, The Zombies, Steppenwolf, Guggenheim Grotto, Ron Delsener, Garland Jeffreys, Billy Preston, Peter Gabriel, Ann Wilson, Kenny Loggins, Peter Asher, the Eraserheads, Paquito D'Rivera, James, Nash the Slash, Dead & Company, John Popper, Yello, Biz Markie, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, the Foo Fighters, Robert Charlebois and more. The LIMEHOF Music Documentary Film Festival is America’s largest festival devoted to strictly music documentaries.

Dystopian Thriller Director Perry Bhandal Talks AI & Okay, It’s Time to Go on SOUNDS OF FILM Perry Bhandal, the writer-director of Okay, It’s Time to Go, joins Tom Needham on The Sounds of Film to discuss his provocative dystopian thriller and the revolutionary possibilities of generative AI in independent filmmaking. Bhandal explores the film’s disturbing premise, the future of creative freedom, and his decision to establish Kirlian Pictures, an independent film studio and direct-to-audience platform designed to give filmmakers greater control over production, distribution and ownership of their work. Okay, It’s Time to Go imagines a near-future world transformed by the Stopwatch, a consumer device developed by AltarCorp that allows people to end their lives instantly. Told through three interconnected stories, the film examines the devastating consequences of this technology as voluntary death spreads throughout society, threatening families, fertility, institutions and humanity’s future. Combining corporate mythology, political debate and

THE TUNERS’ Paweł and Joanna Chorzępa Talk New York Times Op-Docs & Oscar Run on SOUNDS OF FILM On the next episode of Sounds of Film, Tom Needham speaks with director and cinematographer Paweł Chorzępa and producer Joanna Chorzępa about their award-winning documentary short, The Tuners. With multiple international festival honors and a forthcoming release on The New York Times Op-Docs, the film offers a fascinating look at the unsung artists whose extraordinary skills help shape the performances of the world’s finest pianists. Set during the prestigious International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, The Tuners follows three master piano tuners representing Steinway, Kawai, and Fazioli. As the competitors prepare for career-defining performances, these highly specialized craftsmen work under intense pressure to achieve the perfect sound. Through striking cinematography, immersive sound design, and a suspenseful narrative, Chorzępa transforms the often-overlooked art of piano tuning into a compelling story of craftsmanship, ambition,

SONG OF HIAWATHA & AMERICAN HARDCORE Filmmaker, Steven Blush, on SOUNDS OF FILM On the next episode of Sounds of Film, Tom Needham welcomes Steven Blush, acclaimed author, music historian, journalist, and filmmaker best known for his work documenting underground music, including American Hardcore. Blush joins Needham to discuss The Song of Hiawatha, a documentary about Hiawatha Bailey whose life brings together punk rock, radical politics, and the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s. The film was a recent Official Selection at the Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame Music Documentary Film Festival. Hiawatha Bailey was a member of Ann Arbor’s White Panther Party, a radical political organization inspired by the Black Panther Party that sought to unite political resistance with cultural expression and community action. Bailey lived in the legendary Hill Street communes, worked with the underground rock scene, and witnessed firsthand the connections between music and

A wonderful evening at Tilles Center celebrating Roger Tilles and his more than four decades of leadership and advocacy for the arts, education, and Long Island. Congratulations, Roger, on an extraordinary legacy of service!

Photo Credit: Ed Shin

Tune in for a Special Tribute to Actor/Writer/Director Bob Balaban on Tom Needham’s The Sounds of Film this Thursday at 6 PM.

Bob Balaban was recently awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Hamptons International Film Festival at Guild Hall of East Hampton.

THE SOUNDS OF FIM will honor Bob Balaban by featuring music exclusively from films and television shows connected to his long varied career.

The show will feature music from MIDNIGHT COWBOY, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, PRINCE OF THE CITY, GOSFORD PARK, SEINFELD, THE MiGHTY WIND, GHOST WORLD, MOONRISE KINGDOM, THE WEST WING, THE FRENCH DISPATCH and more.

Check out this musical celebration of Bob Balaban on WUSB.

Photo of Bob Balaban by Tom Needham