Jazz: A Film by Ken Burns 2 - The Gift (1917-1924) (2001)

Synopsis: TELEVISION RELEASE: JANUARY 9, 2001 (PBS). For the third part of his American Trilogy--following THE CIVIL WAR and BASEBALL--Ken Burns takes on the "that most American of art forms": jazz. The... TELEVISION RELEASE: JANUARY 9, 2001 (PBS). For the third part of his American Trilogy--following THE CIVIL WAR and BASEBALL--Ken Burns takes on the "that most American of art forms": jazz. The 10-part, 19-hour film begins with the music's roots in post-Civil War New Orleans and concludes roughly a century later. The story focuses not only on the personalities and events that helped define the music but also on the social and cultural climate in which they emerged, making KEN BURNS' JAZZ a film about more than just music. Episode Two, THE GIFT (1917-1924), focuses on the early days of jazz giants Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, two of the music's most important and influential figures. Armstrong picks up the cornet as a young orphan and quickly reveals his gift. Ascending the ranks of the New Orleans music world, he hitches his star to cornetist King Oliver; in 1922, Armstrong follows Oliver to Chicago--where Armstrong will soon make history. Meanwhile, pianist Duke Ellington leaves Washington, DC, for Harlem, where the sounds of stride pianist Willie Smith and trumpeter Bubber Miley inspire Ellington to pursue a new style. The episode also looks at Paul Whiteman and Fletcher Henderson, influential bandleaders who illustrate jazz's growing popularity and the racial divide within the culture at large. [More]

Starring: Louis Armstrong, Gary Giddins, Wynton Marsalis, Paul Whiteman

Starring: Louis Armstrong, Gary Giddins, Wynton Marsalis, Paul Whiteman, Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson

Director: Ken Burns

Director: Ken Burns
Screenwriter: Ken Burns, Geoffrey C. Ward

[See More Credits]