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Season 1 – Jazz

Play trailer Poster for Season 1 – Jazz Jan 2001 Music Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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Ken Burns takes an in-depth look at the most original American art form -- jazz.
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Jazz — Season 1

Critics Reviews

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John Leonard New York Magazine/Vulture 04/07/2020
It's not that I object to eighteen hours from Ken Burns on Jazz. They are all of them absorbing and some of them superb... Go to Full Review Gene Santoro The Nation 04/07/2020
Is it entertaining TV? Mostly, in PBS fashion. Does it tell an informed and informative story? Usually. Is it part of the transition jazz has been making for three decades into the academic world? You bet. Go to Full Review Read all reviews
Jazz — Season 1

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Cast & Crew

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Ken Burns

Director

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Jan 8, 2001 Gumbo (Beginnings to 1917) New Orleans gives birth to jazz with Jelly Roll Morton, Buddy Bolden, Sidney Bechet, W.C. Handy, Original Dixieland Jazz Band. Details Episode 2 Aired Jan 9, 2001 The Gift (1917 to 1924) James Reese Europe takes early jazz to Europe; Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington begin their careers; Chicago becomes a music center. Details Episode 3 Aired Jan 10, 2001 Our Language (1924-1928) Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington play in New York; Benny Goodman's early life; Bix Beiderbecke; Bessie Smith; Ethel Waters; Sidney Bechet. Details Episode 4 Aired Jan 15, 2001 The True Welcome (1929 to 1934) Harlem dancers reminisce; Louis Armstrong begins singing on stage; Duke Ellington appears in films; John Hammond; Benny Goodman; Art Tatum. Details Episode 5 Aired Jan 17, 2001 Swing: Pure Pleasure (1935-1937) Big-band swing dominates; Benny Goodman integrates his bands; the Savoy Ballroom attracts dancers, both black and white; Billie Holiday. Details Episode 6 Aired Jan 22, 2001 Swing: The Velocity of Celebration (1937-1939) Coleman Hawkins; Lester Young; Count Basie; Mary Lou Williams; Ella Fitzgerald; jazz at Carnegie Hall. Details Episode 7 Aired Jan 23, 2001 Dedicated to Chaos (1940-1945) Swing dominates the World War II era, but bebop approaches, as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Kenny Clarke and Thelonious Monk experiment. Details Episode 8 Aired Jan 24, 2001 Risk (1945-1955) Jazz begins to fragment after World War II; big bands suffer; Charlie Parker dies; the "cool" sound emerges; Miles Davis and Gil Evans collaborate. Details Episode 9 Aired Jan 29, 2001 The Adventure (1955-1960) Rock erodes jazz's influence; Ellington re-emerges at Newport in 1956; Miles Davis records legendary albums; Louis Armstrong targets segregation. Details Episode 10 Aired Jan 31, 2001 A Masterpiece by Midnight (1961-Present) New styles divide the jazz community; rock erodes jazz record sales but influences artists; Armstrong and Ellington die; classic styles re-emerge in the '80s. Details

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Jazz — Season 1

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Season Info

Director
Ken Burns
Network
PBS
Rating
TV-PG
Genre
Music, Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date
Jan 8, 2001