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A two-part documentary, narrated by Dee Dee Bridgewater. Part 1: From Blues to Bossa On the search for the roots and origins of Jazz, we journey into the European and African music traditions and discover the cultural heritages of Jazz from Rio to New Orleans. Part 2: From Highlife to Musette On the road where European and African music converge, we discover the diverse influences of Jazz and her offshoots that exist today. New styles and revivals of past traditions enrich Jazz and render it the essential element of our entire music culture.

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.

Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk… these names are synonymous with the great Jazz Age. But how many people know Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, to whom we owe the recorded memory of our Jazz legends? Two German Jews who emigrated from Nazi Germany to New York "discovered" an American art form which at the time received little serious attention from mainstream America: Jazz Music. Without money or connections and speaking little English, the two men began to record practically unknown musicians, following their own taste and judgment. Today this list of artists reads like the Who-is-Who of Jazz. "Blue Note - A Story of Modern Jazz" tells the story of Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff and their record label. It is the story of the rise of Modern Jazz, of a friendship in exile and of uncompromising artistic excellence. Told by the musicians, by friends and associates and by fans of the Blue Note recordings from all walks of life, the film Blue Note recreates an era of American cultural history.