'ASCENCEUR POUR L'ÉCHAFAUD'
In 1957, Miles Davis made cinema history by improvising the score for Louis Malle’s Ascenseur pour l’échafaud (Elevator to the Gallows). To mark the jazz legend’s 100th birthday, Swiss trumpeter Shems Bendali and his quintet bring that spirit to life — improvising live to the film. FR/EN ST
Programme
LOUIS MALLE (1932–1995)
Ascenseur pour l’échafaud (1958) – VOSTFR
Few film scores have shaped modern cinema like Miles Davis’s for Ascenseur pour l’échafaud (Elevator to the Gallows), recorded in a single night of pure instinct and freedom.
Trumpeter Shems Bendali, one of Switzerland’s most compelling young jazz voices, takes up the same bold challenge — to improvise live as Louis Malle’s masterpiece unfolds on screen. His quintet echoes the film’s tension, sensuality, and quiet melancholy, creating a living dialogue between image and sound.
Music and image meet in real time, echoing the freedom that made Miles Davis’s recording unforgettable.
Shems Bendali Quintet – Bled Runner
Ascenseur pour l’échafaud – Film trailer