APRIL PREMIERES: DOCUMENTARIES
SUNDAYS THROUGHOUT APRIL AT 21:00 CEST
Every Sunday evening throughout April, Stingray DJAZZ premieres new programs at 21:00 CEST. This month, special attention goes to documentary films. The first two of these take a closer look at the underpinning of jazz – the blues: on April 4 at 21:00 CEST, watch “Bluesland - A Portrait In American Music”, followed one week later by “Gunsmoke Blues” on April 11 at 21:00 CEST. The second set of two documentaries traces the line from the blues to the very first true jazz virtuoso: tune in for “The Story of Jazz” on April 18 at 21:00 CEST, and don’t miss out on the one and only “Louis Armstrong: Satchmo” on April 25 at 21:00 CEST!
Bluesland - A Portrait In American Music
SUNDAY, APRIL 4 AT 21:00 CEST
The documentary Bluesland - A Portrait In American Music travels the expansive landscape of the blues, tracing its roots from the beginning of the 20th century through the Mississippi Delta to Louisiana, Texas, Kansas City, and Chicago. The blues, with all its poetic irony and sly humor, its eroticism and timeless power, is a celebration; a joyful, complex and compelling music built on self-expression and entertainment. This documentary offers a uniquely creative and highly visual look at American blues, with rare and memorable film performances of the blues’ greatest performers: Son House, Bessie Smith, Jimmy Rushing, Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Boy Williamson, Muddy Waters, Joe Turner, T-Bone Walker, B.B. King and many, many more. The documentary historically follows the music's many tributaries, as blues flows into the sophisticated jazz of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Count Basie, the rhythm and blues of Louis Jordan and Dinah Washington, and the rock and roll of Chuck Berry and Elvis. Bluesland - A Portrait In American Music is a moving, authentic and illustrative overview of the blues - a must for all music lovers.
Gunsmoke Blues
SUNDAY, APRIL 11 AT 21:00 CEST
In 1971, the camera crew of the Western series Gunsmoke travelled from Hollywood to the Pacific Northwest to capture blues greats Muddy Waters, Big Joe Turner, Big Mama Thornton and George “Harmonica” Smith during their tour. This documentary shows some of their best performances at the University of Oregon followed by footage and interviews on the road.
The Story of Jazz
SUNDAY, APRIL 18 AT 21:00 CEST
The documentary The Story of Jazz is a seamless array of performances, commentary, and compelling historic insights about jazz, zooming in on the cross-cultural influences that produced this constantly evolving and enduring music. Many call jazz the greatest art form of the 20th century. This absorbing weave of sounds, rare film clips, stills and interviews shows how this truly American expression spread to become a universal, musical language, from the New Orleans traditions, stride, swing, boogie woogie, big band, jump band, blues, bebop, Afro-Cuban, cool, and free-form, to jazz vocalists and dancers… Never before have the filmed comments of so many important great jazz artists been assembled for one project, and never before has the history of jazz been told as vividly and with such attention to historic detail.
Louis Armstrong: Satchmo
SUNDAY, APRIL 25 AT 21:00 CEST
Known among the general public as Satchmo, Louis Armstrong was known in jazz circles as Pops. The documentary Louis Armstrong: Satchmo tells the story of this musical genius, who was as revolutionary as a singer as much as he was as a trumpet player. Growing up in poverty in New Orleans and facing racism all his life, Armstrong became one of the greatest entertainers of his era and one of the most influential artists of all time. Colleagues and contemporaries, including George Avakian, Tony Bennett, Lester Bowie, Dave Brubeck, Dexter Gordon, and Wynton Marsalis, offer their first-hand perspectives.