Jazz

IMDb TVDB Trailer
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  • : 10
  • : 9
  • PBS
  • Documentary History

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1x1
Gumbo (Beginnings to 1917)
Episode overview
"Gumbo" traces the roots of jazz from the 1800s to 1917. The viewer will catch glimpses of Jelly Roll Morton, who erroneously claimed to have invented jazz, and the tragic, though influential, figure of trumpeter Buddy Bolden.
1x2
The Gift (1917–1924)
Episode overview
How can one explain the genius of a Louis Armstrong or Duke Ellington? Blessed with skill and talent far exceeding their peers, one can only define what they possess as a gift from the .. show full overview
1x3
Our Language (1924–1929)
Episode overview
Colorful characters like the tragic Bix Beiderbecke, powerhouse Bessie Smith, and the braggart Jelly Roll Morton, make the study of jazz fascinating. Perhaps most touching in this .. show full overview
1x4
The True Welcome (1929–1934)
Episode overview
"The True Welcome" continues many of the stories begun in Episode 3, following several troubling years for Louis Armstrong (who was arrested for marijuana possession), Duke Ellington’s .. show full overview
1x5
Swing: Pure Pleasure (1935–1937)
Episode overview
1935 was the year that swing became the most popular music in the country and that the king of swing, Benny Goodman, became a matinee idol. Americans, stifled by the Depression, seemed .. show full overview
1x6
Swing: The Velocity of Celebration (1937–1939)
Episode overview
Swing would be reacquainted with its blues roots by way of Kansas City, when Count Basie and the Barons of Rhythm brought their hot sound to the Big Apple. Basie would also give Billie .. show full overview
1x7
Dedicated to Chaos (1940–1945)
Episode overview
"Dedicated to Chaos" finds jazz musicians teetering on the brink of the modern era, fighting against the straightjacket of clichéd, big band arrangements. The revolution started at .. show full overview
1x8
Risk (1945–1955)
Episode overview
The bop revolution's influence would spread to other musicians, but unlike swing, it would never become a popular music. The rapid-fire solos and complicated chord structures made bop a .. show full overview
1x9
The Adventure (1956–1960)
Episode overview
Critics who had believed that Charlie Parker was "too much" musically, could not have welcomed the arrival of Ornette Coleman. Coleman and John Coltrane would edge jazz toward even more .. show full overview
1x10
A Masterpiece by Midnight (1960 to the Present)
Episode overview
Obviously Ken Burns knows that he can't fit the last thirty-nine years of jazz history onto two hours of video tape, so from the outset, that shouldn't be expected. There's an excellent .. show full overview

Characters