Directed by
Fleischman, Stephen, 1919 - 2011
Donald, Jonathan
Produced by
ABC, American, founded 1948
Subject of
Humphrey, Percy, American, 1905 - 1995
Billy Taylor, American, 1921 - 2010
Goodman, Benny, American, 1909 - 1986
Eureka Brass Band, American, founded ca. 1920
Teagarden, Jack, American, 1905 - 1964
Beiderbecke, Bix, American, 1903 - 1931
Owned by
Smith, Ernie, American, ca. 1925 - 2004
Date
1966; re-issued 1967
Medium
acetate film
Dimensions
Duration (digital file): 00:12:31
Physical extent (film): 480 ft
Description
A motion picture film with clips from the documentary American Music - From Folk to Jazz and Pop. It consists of a single reel of positive, black-and-white, 16mm acetate film with bilateral variable-area optical sound. The film opens with footage from a funeral service and the Eureka Marching Band conducting a street procession. Percy Humphry, the leader of the Eureka Marching Band, describes how the band conducts these funeral parades. In the next scene, a ferry can be seen traveling up a river. The narrator describes how jazz "traveled up the Mississippi to Memphis, to St. Louis where it developed its own forms, and northeastward to Chicago where a young man with a horn by the name of Bix Beiderbecke captured the style of such emigrants such as King Oliver and Louis Armstrong.” Other musicians featured include Jack Teagarden and Benny Goodman who the narrator says transformed jazz into swing. In the last scene, jazz musician Billy Taylor performs with five other bandmates before engaging in a discussion about jazz’s development. He says that, "Jazz is a chronological development and each stage of its development has built upon what went before." He subsequently demonstrates the development of jazz and the different types of jazz beats using his piano.
Place depicted
New Orleans, Orleans County, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
Classification
Time-based Media - Moving Images
Type
sound films
black-and-white films (visual works)
16mm (photographic film size)
film clips
Topic
Documentary films
Film
Funeral customs and rites
Jazz (Music)
Musicians
Television
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Anonymous Gift in memory of Ernest (Ernie) R. Smith, Jazz Historian
Object number
2015.275.25.1a
Restrictions & Rights
Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5cd877c44-203a-4159-b50e-3b8fd0a1858e

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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