Presents the early life of the famous African American cornet player, describing his humble beginnings on the streets of New Orleans to his emergence as a legend among the biggest jazz clubs of the city.

Filmed at the peak of his career, this serves as perhaps the most revealing and intimate portrait of the artist ever recorded. Gives an unobtrusive look inside the colorful and transient world of the American Jazz legend, exposing the key elements that characterize and define him. Ellington as the artist performing, composing and ruminating about his life and career.

"In the midst of boomtown Chicago, two Jewish families have suffered terrible blows. The Lehrmans, who run a small hat factory, lost their beloved son Harold in a blizzard. The Chimbrovas, who run a saloon, lost three of their boys on the SS Eastland when it sank in 1915. Each family holds out hope that one of their remaining children will rise to carry on the family business. But Benny Lehrman has no interest in making hats. His true passion is piano--especially...

"A biography of African American musician Melba Doretta Liston, a virtuoso musician who played the trombone and composed and arranged music for many of the great jazz musicians of the twentieth century. Includes afterword, discography, and sources"--

A PBS miniseries in which a black jazz band becomes a huge success and ends up entangled in the aristocratic world of 1930s London as they seek fame and fortune.

Biography of a poor boy from New Orleans who became a jazz musician who is beloved around the world.

A brief biography of African-American jazz great Louis Armstrong that chronicles his childhood in New Orleans, family and early influences, and how he changed the world of jazz.