Jazz (documentary)
| Jazz: A Film by Ken Burns | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Documentary |
| Written by | Geoffrey Ward |
| Directed by | Ken Burns |
| Narrated by | Keith David |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Ken Burns, Lynn Novick |
| Cinematography | Buddy Squires, Ken Burns |
| Editor(s) | Paul Barnes |
| Running time | 1140 minutes |
| Budget | USD $13 million |
| Release | |
| Original network | PBS |
| Original release | January 8 – January 31, 2001 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Jazz is a 2000 documentary miniseries, directed by Ken Burns. It was broadcast on PBS in 2001, and was released on DVD and VHS in January 2, 2001 by the same company. Its chronological and thematic episodes provided a history of the jazz emphasizing innovative composers and musicians and American history. Swing musicians Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington are the central figures, "providing the narrative thread around which the stories of other major figures turn"; several episodes discussed the later contributions of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie to bebop, and of Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, and John Coltrane to free and cool jazz. Nine episodes surveyed forty-five years (1917–1961), leaving the final episode to cover forty years (1961–2001). The documentary examines the impacts of racial segregation and drugs on jazz.
The documentary concerned the history of jazz music in the United States, from its origins at the turn of the 20th century to the present day. It was narrated by Keith David and featured interviews with present-day musicians and critics such as trumpeter Wynton Marsalis (also the artistic director and co-producer of Jazz) and critics Gary Giddins and Stanley Crouch. Music critic and African-American historian Gerald Early was also a consultant. Broadcaster and producer Phil Schaap was interviewed briefly. Jazz was the longest jazz documentary yet produced.
...
Wikipedia