The documentary A Taste of Heaven: The Ecstatic Song & Gospel of Maestro Raymond Anthony Myles, will be presented at the Jazz Museum on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. as part of the Friends of the Cabildo 2023-2024 Film Series. The documentary was written, produced and directed by Grammy Award-winning producer Leo Sacks, who was a first-hand witness to Myles trials and triumphs before his murder in October 1998. Sacks also produced the Raymond Myles studio music album A Taste of Heaven. There will be a question and answer session with the Sacks after the screening.
Not many people have heard of Raymond Myles. But he may have been the greatest gospel artist of his generation. A TASTE OF HEAVEN follows Myles from the everyday violence of the St. Bernard housing project to the public schools where he steered countless young people away from the streets; to the Southern churches where he mesmerized the faithful; to the world’s biggest concert stages — until his shocking murder, on the cusp of music stardom. Influenced by the church as much as by Aretha Franklin, Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles, Myles had the unique ability to transform a diverse audience into his own personal congregation.
The documentary features interviews with Myles’s friends, fans and confidants, including Allen Toussaint, Cyril Neville, Irma Thomas and Big Freedia.
Along with Sacks, the executive producers also include Harry Shearer and his wife Judith Owen, Verdine White of Earth, Wind & Fire and Cyril E. Vetter.
The film was the recipient of a 2022 Lavine Fellowship from the Better Angels Society, the Library of Congress, Ken Burns Prize For Film.
The screening is sponsored by Moises Wine & Bizou Wine Imports. Tickets start at $10. for members. Learn more and purchase tickets here.
Raymond Myles Documentary
