JAZZ: OUR LANGUAGE {PART 3 OF 10} (TV)

Summary

The third episode in this ten-part miniseries detailing the history of jazz music in America. This installment begins by describing how jazz, born in New Orleans and developed in Chicago and New York, spread throughout the United States during the 1920s, thanks in large part to traveling "territory bands." Louis Armstrong, the "American Bach" imitated by musicians everywhere, grew tired of the "sloppiness" of Fletcher Henderson's band at Roseland and moved back to Chicago to play alongside wife Lil. He continued to gain great fame and adoration from audiences; trumpeter Doc Cheatham filling in for Armstrong one night and being met with great disdain. Armstrong introduced his signature "scatting" vocal style on the record "Heebie-Jeebies," famously claiming that he did so in a moment of panic after dropping his sheet music in the recording booth. Elsewhere, Bessie Smith became the "empress of jazz" for her powerful lyrics, as heard in "Backwater Blues," and famously temperamental personality, as displayed on one memorable night when she angrily chased a group of Klansmen away from a performance. African-American businesspeople gained prosperity in the recording business, with Black Swan emerging as the first all-black label.

As the "excess and satire" of the Jazz Age flourished, Leon "Bix" Beiderbecke became the first "white genius" of the genre. Born in Iowa, the hotheaded Beiderbecke developed an early love of jazz records and was particularly inspired by Armstrong, traveling to see him perform in Chicago after being sent off to boarding school, from which he was soon expelled. He developed his unique trumpet style and joined the Goldkette Orchestra, where he bonded with saxophonist Frank Trumbauer, with whom he recorded "Singin' the Blues." At the same time, troublemaker Sidney Bechet arrived back in America after a prison stint in Europe and attempted to join several orchestras, including Duke Ellington's, though his combative behavior prevented a permanent arrangement. He returned to France and performed alongside Josephine Baker, taking advantage of the French people's fascination with "primitive" black culture, though he eventually landed back in prison for eleven months after a gun fight over some inaccurate chords.

Back in Chicago, young Benny Goodman developed a passion for music at Hebrew school and used his performance earnings to help feed his impoverished family, soon earning a higher salary than his father's. The family bought a newsstand to bring in extra money, but his father was killed by a motorist in 1926, further spurring Goodman to succeed. In Harlem, Ethel Waters rose from grim circumstances and became a dancer, but she earned fame for the "soft insinuation" of her clear singing voice and became beloved by white vaudeville fans. Transitioning from blues to popular music, she was even hired by Sophie Tucker as a vocal coach, and she became the highest-paid black performer as she headlined at the Palace Theater. Harlem was home to hundreds of speakeasies during Prohibition, with the Cotton Club earning the most fame, though while black performers were routinely highlighted, black patrons were still barred from entry. Ellington eventually left the Kentucky Club and moved uptown to the Cotton Club, where he wrote countless songs and established his fame as a performer of so-called "jungle music," creating his own "harmonic language" through innovative playing. CBS radio later set up a microphone at the Cotton Club, allowing "middle America" its first real taste of jazz, and his composition "Black and Tan Fantasy" was highlighted in a 1929 short film starring Ellington himself.

Ellington, who disliked "categories," touched upon themes of race in creative ways, explains that his music represented the "natural feelings" of his people. Artie Shaw describes the "impossible" nature of representing complex emotions through instruments, explaining that he turned to vaudeville and music in response to anti-Semitic teasing at school and went on to study saxophone in Harlem with Willie "The Lion" Smith. At the same time, Beiderbecke and Trumbauer were thrilled when prominent bandleader, who was prevented from hiring black musicians, invited them both to join his orchestra. Once in Chicago, Beiderbecke met and played alongside his idol Armstrong, but they were never able to record or perform publicly together because of segregation, and Beiderbecke's addictions and personal troubles eventually cost him his spot in Whiteman's band – and in August 1931, his life. Giddins explains how Armstrong legitimized the artistic value of improvisation with his prolific recordings, from which he received no royalties, and established the genre as a uniquely solo art with a blues tonality. Armstrong developed a friendly rivalry with pianist Earl Hines, and Shaw recalls his personal inspiration from their collaborations, particularly "West End Blues," which Giddins describes as a life-altering record of innovation and clarity. Marsalis demonstrates Armstrong's unique "fanfare" riffs, explaining how he improved upon a common musical flourish.

This asset also contains the 1942 short film "Jam Session," in which Ellington performs his song "C-Jam Blues" at a "Harlem Cats Eatery" alongside Ray Nance, Rex Stewart, Ben Webster, Joe Nanton, Barney Bigard and Sonny Greer.

Details

• NETWORK: PBS
• DATE: November 29, 2000 9:00 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 1:50:47
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: B:74970
• GENRE: Education/Information
• SUBJECT HEADING: Education/Information; Jazz; African-American Collection - Music; African-American Collection - News/Talk
• SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 2001
• COMMERCIALS:
  • TV - Commercials - "Jazz" series home video, CD set and book
  • TV - Commercials - General Motors products

CREDITS

• Ken Burns … Executive Producer, Director
• Pam Tubridy Baucom … Coordinating Producer
• Lynn Novick … Producer
• Peter Miller … Co-Producer
• Victoria Gohl … Co-Producer
• Sarah Botstein … Associate Producer
• Natalie Bullock Brown … Associate Producer
• Shola Lynch … Associate Producer
• Karen Kenton … Associate Producer
• Madison Davis Lacy … Consulting Producer
• Geoffrey C. Ward … Writer
• Keith David … Narrator
• Samuel L. Jackson … Voice
• Eriq LaSalle … Voice
• James Naughton … Voice
• Kevin Conway … Voice
• Kevin Ramsey … Voice
• Amy Madigan … Voice
• Delroy Lindo … Voice
• Matthew Broderick … Voice
• Wynton Marsalis … Interviewee
• Gary Giddins … Interviewee
• Doc Cheatham … Interviewee
• Stanley Crouch … Interviewee
• Artie Shaw … Interviewee
• Louis Armstrong
• Lil Hardin Armstrong
• Josephine Baker
• Sidney Bechet
• Bix Beiderbecke (see also: Leon Beiderbecke)
• Duke Ellington
• Benny Goodman
• Fletcher Henderson
• Earl Hines
• Bessie Smith
• William "The Lion" Smith
• Frank Trumbauer
• Sophie Tucker
• Ethel Waters
• Paul Whiteman
• For "Jam Session":
• Sam Coslow … Producer
• Josef Berne … Director
• Duke Ellington … Performer
• Ray Nance … Performer
• Rex Stewart … Performer
• Ben Webster … Performer
• Joe Nanton … Performer
• Barney Bigard … Performer
• Sonny Greer … Performer