Editorial Review

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Reviews (1)

Fabulous look into someone's head
The video is like opening the top of the artists heads and getting the chance to swim around in them a bit.The video leaves no questions as to the tremendous level of creativity that came from this particular time and place.I strongly recommend that this video be used at home and in the classroom. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie   

Editorial Review

Anyone who loves soul music or rhythm & blues probably knows that it all springs from the roots of gospel music. This 1982 documentary by director George T. Nierenberg breaks it all down beautifully as he examines the lives and careers of a handful of since-departed gospel stars, who helped create the genre from which so many other forms of music flowed. Focusing on the aging but still vigorous "Professor" Thomas A. Dorsey and "Mother" Willie Mae Ford, he also offers musical moments by such gospel stalwarts as Sallie Martin and the Barrett Sisters. Live performances are mixed with telling, sometimes touching reminiscences by these pioneers of a musical style, all leading to several striking points: principally, that this energetic music took time to be accepted by the conservatives in the church, and that the music itself has a surprising power to raise spirits and confirm faith. Yet it's all done in a way that is spiritual without being preachy. A truly joyful film. Read more

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Reviews (13)

Say Amen, Somebody
Regardless of anyone's race or creed, this movie provides rare nourishment for the soul. With its message of love and hope contagious, Director Nierenberg fashions a touchingly human and uplifting portrait of gospel music that translates how this special music has sustained people through adversity. A humbling and glorious film.

Gospel Music Lovers, Don't Miss This One!
If you're into Gospel Music (the older clasic type) and even if you're not, this is one of the most moving , informative, authentic documentaries I've ever see.Maybe that's why it won an academy award when it was released.I saw it then at the theatre, and later on video, and it's lost none of its power.It took a European to make it, which is just more proof how little we as Americans care about what many consider the most influencial form of African- American music.

Give me that Old time religion
For those who have not yet goten a grip of the new strange stuff in the gospel scene, this is for you.For those who have got all the latest music, this is for you too.It shows the background of songs such as "precious Lord".Also it goes on to show how the gospel music had to fight to be where it was int he early eigthies.Thomas Dorsey is also a little entertainer and Willie Mae Ford Smith is definitely a minister for the truth whatever the cost.Get it and you will not be disappointed ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Gospel    2. Music Video - Gospel    3. Pop    4. V/a Compilations   

Editorial Review

Part concert documentary, part pop-cultural time capsule, Bert Stern's Read more

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Reviews (30)

For die-hard jazz fans
I appreciate the reviews in which it is suggested that viewers try to experience this film in a broader context--as a time capsule of an era. However, as an avid fan of Anita O'Day, I was deeply frustrated by the camera's focus on odd-looking (check out the chick eating the ice cream cone!), and apparently disinterested listeners in the audience, when the camera should have been focused on this amazing singer. Still, because O'Day--at the height of her sensuous form-- remains sadly undocumented on film, this is the best we've got.

Jazz on a Summer's Day
My personal 50s sci-fi favorite, "Invasion" is an ingenious nightmare vision that reflects the paranoia of the time created by McCarthyism.Absent of the effects that characterize more recent entries in this genre, the film remains genuinely creepy strictly on the basis of story, direction and performances.

Marks the end of the reign of Jazz
Bert Stein captures the Newport Jazz festival of 1958 in vivid color and with clarity. While jazz is the primary focus of the film, Stein does meander to the America's Cup race that was being contested off Newport at the time, along with some diversionary local flavor, which gives us a sense of what it was like to actually be there. Continuing along this vein, during the festival itself, Stein spends much of his camera time observing the audience caught unaware reacting to jazz on a summer day; after all, live music does not exist in a vacuum. It's this footage along with the incredible jazz music that makes this documentary really special. As a viewer we get to react to the music, and react to the audience reacting to the music. That girl with the seductively cute smile in the yellow dress, and that gruff man hiding behind the shades with the nervous twitch are people that we can connect to from our own personal experiences at open air summer concerts. The feeling of community one gets as the music breaks down the barriers and the sun begins to set. Stein allows his moving compositions to develop and flesh out the character of his subjects, giving us a nostalgic feeling for a time gone by that may have occurred long before we were even born. It does not matter because we are there! But this particular slice of time has special significance, because jazz would soon be replaced in popularity by Rock & Roll. We watch it happen before our eyes as a young Chuck Berry takes the stage. Backed by some excellent jazz musicians, all looking "amused" but not taking very seriously the music that would knock them off the charts for good within a couple of years. As Berry's classic Rock & Roll riffs project across the audience, young people spontaneously jump to their feet and start moving to the rhythm while their parents watch, perplexed. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Drama    3. Movie    4. Music Video    5. Music Video - Jazz    6. Performance   

Editorial Review

Accompanied by a menagerie of products, Ken Burns's expansive 10-episode paean, Read more

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Reviews (133)

Great Study on Black History
The best thing I like about this documentary is that it is a great study on black History. But it needed to deliver more on what it was supposed to be Jazz Music. I can't believe he left out the great jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery. Left out Roland Kirk and Keith Jarrett. very little on dave Brubeck. Should have talked about classic Jazz Albums like Kind of blue, Time out (with the song Take Five) A Love Supreme, My favourite things, bitches Brew etc. Also nothing on Milt Jackson and the great Modern Jazz Quartet. Ken burns must realize there's is more to jazz than just the big band swing era. But still a great study on black history which makes it worthwhile just for that alone. and nothing on jazz hip hop. songs like doo bop song(miles Davis) and Jazz thing (gang Starr)

Great Place to Learn about the Older Jazz
This series is fantastic.Many reviewers have criticized it as being dogmatic in its pandering to earlier styles of jazz while panning later ones.This criticism is valid to some degree.I think it provides a great service, howerver, despite its shortcomings.I loved jazz since I was a child, and started buying jazz records in the late 1970s at the age of about 19.Nobody in my family had a great appreciation of this music. At that time it was somewhat difficult to get a handle on the development of jazz through the swing period to the fusion period at that time.The older stuff was generally out of print, etc.Learing about bop was like an archeologist looking at shards of pottery.So a documentary like this is great in this instance; it advanced my knowledge of music before my time unbelievably. I would recommend this highly.It was also nice to watch the documentary with my elderly parents who grew up in the 30s and 40s.It was great to share this with them.I could not believe that they wanted to continue into the bop period watching the series (I always thought they hated my records like that).Finally, being from New Orleans, and surviving Katrina, it was great to see the New Orleans culture treated with such respect.
Great for Jazz fans
I think this film is not as accesible as some of his other works. Whether you like Baseball or not you'll be drawn in, whether you like boxing or not you'll won't be able to stop watching Unforgivable Blackness, I don't think the same could be said for Jazz.It is well made and detailed on the areas it covers, but it might not grab someone that isn't into the topic. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie   

Editorial Review

The neo-pop divas of the late 20th century may have turned up the glamour, and a few even introduced formidable technical prowess, epitomized by Mariah Carey's seemingly helium-induced falsetto (the bane of canine fans everywhere) or Celine Dion's breast-beating, stentorian climaxes.Yet only a few verses from an earlier, charter member of the first-name-only club provides instant perspective: when Ella opened her mouth, that perfectly pitched, luminous voice could leap octaves without breaking a sweat, its tonal purity and immaculate phrasing creating that illusion of "effortlessness" achieved only through true artistry.Read more

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Reviews (12)

The First Lady of Song, from teenager to legend.
This exciting, 86-minute video of Ella Fitzgerald's life and career, directed by Charlotte Zwerin, highlights aspects of her private life and combines that personal story with extensive footage of some of her early performances.Narrated by Tony Bennett, and containing excerpts from her long interview with Andre Previn, the bio ranges widely in time and place, filling in important biographical information, at the same time that it focuses on her development as a singer.
"SOMETHINGTOLIVEFOR"ISELLA'SVOICE!!!!!
Luckily I was able to see Ella In Concert numerous times throughout the 70's and 80's and was honored to have her autograph two L.P.'s by her limousine after a concert she gave at the Junior College I attended at the time in 1972...Ella was kind and gracious and that quailty plus her brilliant artistry really come through and shine in this stunning documentary of her life and incomparable career.Tony Bennett is the perfect choice to narrate this magnificent "American Masters" production and his love of Ella comes through and adds alot of soul to the special.Performance footage is ultimately what becomes breathtaking to experience and when Ella sings the classic "Something To Live For" it is breathtakingly beautiful and completely haunting. The use of concert footage from the various stages of her career show that Ella found joy in sharing her gift with her audience and songs like "For Once In My Life" become life experiences that are emotionally engrossing and technically brilliant. This "American Masters" special is a keeper so for anyone who loves the legendary Ella get this historical work fast while it is available as this is the definitive work about the life and career of this wonderous and gifted talent...BRAVO ELLA and thank you are all the wonderful years of sublime singing and you are truly missed!!!

a must all the way
can't ever say enough about Ella Fitzgerald She is truly one of the Greatest Voices that I have ever heard.this DVD Captures so many elements of Her&you can't ever get enough once you are listening too Her Range&the way She handles the material.Highly Enjoyable.Classy like the Lady Herself. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie   

Editorial Review

Produced as the title segment to a six-part series, this 90-minute documentary traces the evolution of jazz from its 19th-century origins in New Orleans's Congo Square, where slaves first introduced American listeners to the complex rhythms and earthy textures of African music.How that cultural diaspora combined with European and American folk, classical, and popular styles to become jazz, "America's classical music," is an oft-told tale, but it's handsomely served here by an intelligent script shaped by veteran jazz journalist Chris Albertson, and a well-chosen array of performances:Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Willie "the Lion" Smith, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Jimmie Lunceford, Charles Mingus, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sarah Vaughan, and Gil Evans all appear, representing as complete a pantheon of major innovators and influences as could be hoped for.Period footage, including both stills and rare film clips, and interviews with musicians and scholars round out a portrait equally appropriate for hard-core jazz fans and novice listeners looking for a point of entry. Read more

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Reviews (4)

The Story of Jazz
I teach a Music Appreciation course and this dvd was ideal for the introduction to jazz in this setting.I use more of the Ken Burns series in my American Popular Music course, but this dvd is an excellent overview. I ordered the dvd to have shown in class when I had to be away, and it was just right.If you are completely new to jazz, it's a good place to start.There is a good bit of attention given to bebop and basically ends there; I do wish that some had been given to jazz-rock and bossa nova. But in a dvd of this length, there is no way to cover everything. If you are fairly well versed in jazz already, you probably want something more comprehensive.

Great for survey-of-music courses
I use select bits of this video in both my Jazz History and Music Appreciation classes.Having real musicians talk about (and play!) the music really draws the students in, much more so than just talking about the players and seeing them in the book.The video is well-planned, well-directed and exceptionally well thought-out.

Fantastic Overview of Jazz
The best 90-minute look at jazz you can imagine. I used this in my music class and the kids were engaged all the way. Interviews are to the point and fun, clips are great. Hard to imagine a better succint treatment of the history of jazz. Highest recommendation! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Jazz Collections    3. Movie    4. Music Video    5. Music Video - Jazz    6. Performance   

Editorial Review

Given the often inextricable relationship between art and suffering,it's no coincidence that Billie Holiday, popularly acclaimed as jazz's greatest (if not technically best) female singer, was also one of its most tragic figures. While both triumph and tragedy are covered in this hourlong documentary, we are mercifully spared excessive details about the more sordid aspects of Holiday's life (her drug and alcohol addictions, her disastrous relationships with abusive men) in favor of careful consideration of her music. Testimonials are offered by those who played with her (pianist Mal Waldron and trumpeters Buck Clayton and Harry "Sweets" Edison), were influenced or inspired by her (singers Carmen McRae and Annie Ross), or worked with her (producer Milt Gabler). Together, they paint a portrait of a woman who was both tough and vulnerable, sad and defiant, an unschooled musician who became a supreme innovator. Read more

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Reviews (7)

Kultur, this time you missed it!
If you are interested in the (ever fashionable) approach to Jazz, via the contemporary interpretation of the social environment in which the Jazz artists created, then there is a good chance you may like this DVD. SO INFLUENTIAL!!!!
This Billie Holiday album was like a ray of light to me when I first listened to it!It's so inspiring!You can see why so many artists of today are influenced by it!The music really took me to the borderline.I thank my lucky star that this album came along.

If Your A Fan......
Billie Holiday is a figure of her time and this movie just about justifies that statment. Although the footage isent anything out of the ordinary...including 'Strange Fruit', the infamous 'Fine annd Mellow' and a personal favorite 'Please Don't Talk About me When I'm gone'. She shows no real emotion during these short performances, but you can tell what she is thinking and feeling, during them. Read more

Subjects:  1. Ballads    2. Classic Female Blues    3. Jazz    4. Jazz Vocals    5. Music Video    6. Performance    7. Pop    8. Swing   

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Reviews (1)

Wonderful History of Gospel Music
This wonderful collaborative of the history and song of gospel music was exhilirating. The slaves wrote so much of this music to find their hope and their relationship with God. From Thomas Dorsey to Mahalia Jackson, Aretha Franklin and so many other wonderful gospel singers, you will feel yourself wanting more and more of this video. I was dissapointed when it ended! You won't be sorry to have this in your collection as it is a video you can watch over and over. I borrowed it from my local library and now I plan on purchasing it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie   

Editorial Review

This little-seen, 1947 drama is a treat for jazz fans, thanks to an otherwise creaky, if nobly intentioned story built around the music's Crescent City genesis that provides an ample excuse to turn the camera on authentic jazz greats. Nick Duquesne (Arturo De Cordova) is a Bourbon Street charmer whose gambling club provides the mythic stomping grounds for none other than Louis Armstrong, whose vocalizing sweetheart Endie, played by none other than Billie Holiday, proves no slouch herself. A newly arrived debutante, Miralee (Dorothy Patrick), arrives in New Orleans and falls first for the music and then for the roguish but ultimately gallant Nick. The movie follows knee-jerk plot machinations revolving around her family's efforts to excise Nick from her life, her own dream of mingling jazz and classical music, and the gambler's transformation into a jazz promoter.Read more

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Reviews (6)

A jazz enthusiast must see
I am so very glad I bought it, as a person who loves great music and provocative movies, with love as a theme, in all vernaculars (except hip-hop), and a jazz enthusiast at heart it's a love story dotted with great musical contributions from the authentic jazz greats, Louie Armstrong and Billie Holiday to name a few.

Forget the story!
The film itself it trite and inconsequential. Buy this for the music alone. It's a delight to see Louis Armstrong in such a casual environment, with so many jazz legends, not to mention one of Billie Holiday's rare movie appearances. This DVD is honestly a treasure.

Great footage of many early jazz legends
I have always found jazz performances much more captivating live rather than recorded, and although I can't travel back in time and see Louis Armstrong play during his prime, this video is the next best thing.Read more

Subjects:  1. Movie    2. Musical Features    3. Musicals    4. Musicals & Cast Recordings    5. Musicals (Theatrical)   

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Reviews (11)

A wonderful DVD bringing together many people who at least tangentially, knew Robert Johnson.
This DVD offers a wealth of information about the life of Robert Johnson.We meet a girlfriend of Robert Johnson, who claims she knows where his actual burial ground is, and another girlfriend who had a song written about her by Robert (and who hears it for the first time on the DVD). A man is interviewed who claims to be Robert Johnson's son, along with a birth certificate showing that in fact this may be the case.Johnny Shines talks about how they would play the game of "cutting heads" in Helena, with Robert stealing away the audience every time.We get the insight that the person who poisoned Robert Johnson's drink admitted as such to one interviewer, after first presenting an alibi for a question which was never asked.We are also presented with three possible grave sites of Robert Johnson, though none of them can proven to be incontrovertible as such.In short, there is a lot of good information on this DVD about the enigmatic bluesman known as Robert Johnson (and pseudonyms in various other places).This DVD is clearly a window into the past which will slowly disappear as the years go on......Hammond does us all a great service by documenting Robert Johnson's life and that of his contemporaries.
An eccentric and informative film
What I loved most about this film was how it gave a window into the culture that produced Robert Johnson.When a woman who'd been a girlfriend of Robert Johnson's was asked whether she thought that Robert Johnson had really sold his soul to the devil, she replied "that's what people say."But then she said, (and I paraphrase her), "Why are you asking me?You're a musician, you know how these things work."When John Hammond then said, "I didn't sell my soul."Her reply was an unbelieving "Um-hmm!"Also, when the story was told of how the man who'd poisoned Robert Johnson finally admitted to the deed, his response was "I never thought there'd be all this trouble by killing that man."As though killing most men didn't cause much trouble at all!Anyway, the production is nice, having been shown on the BBC.It's not flashy Hollywood special effects, but for those interested in classic blues its a great trip through the Mississippi Delta.

Spectacular DVD
This is definitely for any music enthusiast.Experience the old stomping grounds of pure Delta Blues.Robert Johnson was an extraordinary musician that died under unexplained circumstances.No one really knows for sure how he died, and there is still a lingering mystery of where he is buried.This DVD literally takes you back to the time when Robert Johnson started a new revolution in Blues music.The birth of the Delta Blues is embedded in the narration of this DVD. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Contemporary Blues    2. Documentary    3. Movie    4. Music Videos - Blues   

Editorial Review

This ambitious mixture of dramatic reconstruction with traditional documentary affords excellent insight into legendary bluesman Robert Johnson's life, the enduring power of his music, and the myth which surrounds him. Read more

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Reviews (13)

A Steady Rollin' Man
Robert Johnson was one of the most enigmatic bluesmen of the 20th century and his life is still a mystery today.Fans only have two grainy pictures of Johnson and various accounts of the mans' life by those who knew him and those who purport to have known him.Having died at the age of 27 by poisoning only adds to the legacy.Johnson, like many of his contemporaries in that early century era, liked women and whiskey and that became his undoing...a jealous husband poisoned his drink and sent Johnson off into the history books forever.In this documentary, other bluesmen will tell you what Johnson was all about, right up to those final hours but some of their testimony is questionable, as was Johnsons' entire life.But the music is there and it lives up to the Johnson image. Many songs are haunting (Hellhound on My Trail, Come On In My Kitchen) and many are sad (Drunkenhearted Man,From Four Til Late)but they all carry Johnsons'unique stamp on the blues. One listen and you'll hear it.Danny Glover's narration is compassionate and blues musician Keb Mos' silhouetted figure makes you feel that you are watching actual footage of Johnson himself. Good stuff...

Ambitious, a little cheesy?
6-7 years after John Hammond provided us with a decent (if somewhat slight) documentary on Robert Johnson in 'The Search for Robert Johnson', 'Can You Hear the Wind Howl' attempted a far more ambitious interpretation of Johnson's life which, whilst offering little new information (and rehashing stories from interviewees [Johnny Shines, David Edwards] that have long circulated in 'blues' circles), nevertheless provided a good deal of (musical) context missing from the Hammond outing.
Not quite long enough...
This DVD is a decent documentary of Johnson's life. I found the interviews with those who knew Johnson to be the best part. Johnny Shines and Honeyboy Edwards were both the best part. If your a fan of the Blues and Robert Johnson this is worth the money. However, my only complaints are that it wasn't very long and Danny Glover wasn't the best narrator for the documentary. The interviews and the music make the DVD worth the price. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie   

Editorial Review

This exemplary documentary about seminal jazz pianist and composerThelonious Monk reaps the benefits of multiple blessings, including the skillededitorial hand of director Charlotte Zwerin and the patronage of executiveproducer (and erstwhile jazz pianist) Clint Eastwood. Most vital is the use ofextensive 1968 footage, shot by Michael and Christian Blackwood, documenting thesometimes moody, sometimes puckish Monk in the studio, on tour, and off stage,which on its own would make this essential jazz viewing.Read more

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Reviews (26)

Thelonious!
An absolutely wonderful film by Clint Eastwood. Thelonious was an amazing man. He said things on the piano that we wordsmiths aren't able to communicate. His unusual character made for an interesting subplot. This film is footage of the man himself, usually playing his music. I'm just sitting here being stunned.

No sound!!
And no it's not the DVD player...everything else works fine on it. This is the second time this happened with Amazon. The first time was a real hassle since the replacement had no sound either..grrrrr! Not a big jazz fan but LOVE Monks music. I really wanted to see AND hear him play.

When musicians really cared about the music
This is the DVD I would give to all my friends who scattter when I go to play a Monk CD, saying "I just don't understand that music." Hopefully the glimpse it provides into the life of a genius and superb musician, the regard others had for him, and the respect he demanded for his art, hearing from him, and hearing and seeing him play that pianowill spur them to want to hear more. I rarely peer into the lives of musicians I love, but I am glad to have looked closer at Thelonius Monk. His was of the era when the music itself was what really mattered to the artists who created it, and Monk was champion at that. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie    3. Music Video    4. Performance    5. Post-Bop   

Editorial Review

And what a day it was: nearly 60 jazz musicians, gathered on a Harlem street one morning in 1958 for what photographer Art Kane rightly, if immodestly, calls "the greatest picture of that era of musicians ever taken" (incredibly, it was also Kane's first professional shoot). Like Ken Burns's Read more

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Reviews (15)

A Great Teaching Tool in Harlem
I bought the VHS Tape years ago with the poster of the photograph and have used it to teach about Jazz in my music classes.I am purchasing the DVD for easier navigation for specific instruction.However, the best thing is using the internet to go to the photo at www.harlem.org.There the kids can click on any person in the photo and find all sorts of info about the artist, the instruments, the music, and CDs available. And thanks to Amazon.com, when you click on a CD or album, you can get to hear a sample of the music.The kids love it!

Beyond wonderful
For just about everyone, but specifically jazz lovers, this account of the memorable photograph in Harlem in the late 1950's and is really a necessity, and also a wonderful record of the great jazz musicians of the 40's and 50's.This is like visiting the famous who you'd have loved to have been your friends.

very good.
yeah both these are good but its really all about thephoto. great to see some of milt hinton's cine footage from the day and other fotos too. the stories are all good from the musicians interviewed even if the photographer does come across a bit of a pratt sometimes. well worth it if you are a jazz fan or appreciate modern history. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie   

Editorial Review

Anyone who loves soul music or rhythm & blues probably knows that it all springs from the roots of gospel music. This 1982 documentary by director George T. Nierenberg breaks it all down beautifully as he examines the lives and careers of a handful of since-departed gospel stars, who helped create the genre from which so many other forms of music flowed. Focusing on the aging but still vigorous "Professor" Thomas A. Dorsey and "Mother" Willie Mae Ford, he also offers musical moments by such gospel stalwarts as Sallie Martin and the Barrett Sisters. Live performances are mixed with telling, sometimes touching reminiscences by these pioneers of a musical style, all leading to several striking points: principally, that this energetic music took time to be accepted by the conservatives in the church, and that the music itself has a surprising power to raise spirits and confirm faith. Yet it's all done in a way that is spiritual without being preachy. A truly joyful film. Read more

Features

• Color
• Original recording reissued
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Reviews (13)

Say Amen, Somebody
Regardless of anyone's race or creed, this movie provides rare nourishment for the soul. With its message of love and hope contagious, Director Nierenberg fashions a touchingly human and uplifting portrait of gospel music that translates how this special music has sustained people through adversity. A humbling and glorious film.

Gospel Music Lovers, Don't Miss This One!
If you're into Gospel Music (the older clasic type) and even if you're not, this is one of the most moving , informative, authentic documentaries I've ever see.Maybe that's why it won an academy award when it was released.I saw it then at the theatre, and later on video, and it's lost none of its power.It took a European to make it, which is just more proof how little we as Americans care about what many consider the most influencial form of African- American music.

Give me that Old time religion
For those who have not yet goten a grip of the new strange stuff in the gospel scene, this is for you.For those who have got all the latest music, this is for you too.It shows the background of songs such as "precious Lord".Also it goes on to show how the gospel music had to fight to be where it was int he early eigthies.Thomas Dorsey is also a little entertainer and Willie Mae Ford Smith is definitely a minister for the truth whatever the cost.Get it and you will not be disappointed ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie    3. Music Video - Gospel   

Editorial Review

Setting forth to keep financial ruin from striking their Tennessee college for former slaves, the Jubilee Singers, most of whom were former slaves themselves, managed to bring the haunting music of bondage to an enormous international audience. This documentary, an installment of the PBS Read more

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Reviews (1)

Jubilee Singers an important part of American history
The Jubilee Singers from Fisk University in Nashville are animportant but sometimes forgotten part of American History. Formed in 1871, they traveled the world singing the spirituals that came out of slavery. They battled prejudice, refused to sing to segregated audiences, kept an exhausting schedule, making history along the way.Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie   

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Reviews (2)

The Jazziest Blues.
I think this video is a must have for your blues and jazz collection. The short musical movies, are well put together. I especially like Duke Ellington's Bundle of blues, I didn't know the song stormy weather, was writen and sung before the 1940's. Ivie Anderson sung the song different or as good as Lena Horne. And the dance team right after, was very good. They did dances back then in the 1930's, the way ethnic nightclubs do now. The women were thin, but looked healthy. This video is a must see, some of the vidoes were a little boring, but the rest will make up for it.

Best of the Four Volume Set
If you're not ready to roll out the bucks for the complete fourvolume set of HOLLYWOOD RHYTHM, this is the one to buy first. The mainreason is for the first short in this volume -- "Symphony inBlack." This marvelous short features Duke Ellington at the pianocomposing a new work.Intercut between those scenes are vignettesrepresenting the different movenents of the piece.One of whichfeatures a young (and uncredited) Billie Holiday as the scorned woman.Another features the provocative dancing of (also uncredited) Earl"Snake Hips" Tucker.Contemporary music video directorscould learn a lot from this piece with its stylish use of black &white photography and wonderful art direction.Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Music Video    3. Musicals (Theatrical)    4. Performance    5. Pop    6. Soundtracks & Film Scores    7. V/a Compilations   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (7)

Bix may have been playing
In the Whiteman clip, it still is possible that Bix wasn't faking it.He was a self-taught trumpet player, and all of his fingerings are completely different from anyone else's.As for the different cut off, I'm not sure.But I don't think anyone should discredit the Bix clip entirely.He had his own style of playing.

Mixed Bag; For The True Devotee
A nice selection of rare material is undercut by the presentation here. Many films have been poorly framed so that people's heads are cropped - God, it's annoying, did no one look at this before it was released? Audio is generally as good as source material permits. As for the Bix clip - yep, there he (barely) is, in the brass section, FAKING his way through "My Ohio Home" (watch his fingering, it doesn't match the arrangement, and he stops playing before the rest of the section). So this is not the "only sound film document" of Bix playing - he ain't playing. There is no tray insert with any background info or even a track list, and nothing onscreen to indicate what you're watching, so you'll need to have the box handy. Nobody went out of their way to upgrade this for DVD, that's for sure. If you have the VHS, you don't need this. Four stars for material, docked one star for presentation.

Good Compliation-look for more
This is an excellent compilation of rare material, and it a must have for the great Boswell Sisters material, the shot of Bix in Whiteman's trumpet section (not soloing as the box says), the "dance contest" with Chick Webb's 1929 band (which released only 1 78), closeups of Duke's 1929 band-Wellman Braud, Sonny Greer, young Harry Carney and Johnny Hodges (soloing on soprano), Freddy Jenkins, Artie Whetsol, Cootie Williams...Read more

Subjects:  1. Big Band    2. Classic Jazz    3. Jazz    4. Jazz Collections    5. Music Video    6. Music Video - Jazz    7. Performance    8. Pop    9. Swing    10. V/a Compilations   

Features

• Color
• NTSC

Reviews (12)

Sassy' voice did not deserve to be butchered...
I'm sorry to say this: THIS DVD SHOULD NEVER HAD BEEN RELEASED.
The Divine One - says it all
I have loved this video-biography of Sarah Vaughan, from the day I first viewed it.I have two copies on VHS and one on DVD.If I have to fault this video, it is that the live performance clips are far too short, leaving you wanting more.They offer nothing more than a tantalizing glimpse of Sarah Vaughan's musical genius.
MY IDOL..MY MENTOR... Sassy Sarah
This DVD retains the life of Sarah in the presence of audiences worldwide.Notice how smooth she appears and how graceful she is as she performs.SMOOTH as fine chocolates and wine!Sass' vocal range is well over the five octaves found on a 88-key piano!What a fine singer Sarah (Sass) Lois Vaughan was.Sass will always be my idol and mentor forever in spirit; she is well missed. And, this DVD highlighting the Divine One's life from start to end is a long-lasting treasure for those (like me) who adored Ms. Sarah Lois Vaughan known also as Sassy Sarah.This is from a fan forever.**Angie** ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ballads    2. Bop    3. Jazz    4. Jazz Vocals    5. Music Video    6. Music Video - Jazz    7. Performance    8. Pop    9. Standards    10. Traditional Pop    11. Vocal Jazz   

Features

• Color
• HiFi Sound
• NTSC

Reviews (7)

Got to give me a chance to get my tools out...
This is the first footage I ever saw of either Son House or Bukka White, and it nearly knocked me over!Being familiar with many of the songs these monolithic figures of Delta blues typically perform, it was a near religious experience to see them performing favourites like Death Letter Blues, John