Duke Ellington Movies

This concert release pairs two legendary jazz collaborations into a single performance film. It begins with Norman Granz's third music documentary: Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald, performing live at the Côte d'Azur in the south of France, on such numbers as "Such Sweet Thunder" (the Duke Ellington Band), "The Shepherd" (the Duke Ellington Trio), and "Satin Doll" (the Duke Ellington Trio). The second concert film in the set, titled Duke: The Last Jam Session, finds Ellington pairing up with Ray Brown and the late Louie Bellson on such numbers as "The Hawk Talks," "Cotton Tail," and "Everything But You." ~ Rovi

Jazz Shots from the East Coast, Vol. 1 offers a collection of musical performances by artists associated with the East Coast jazz scene. The release includes appearances by artists as diverse as Duke Ellington, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk, and Roland Kirk. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Golden Age of Jazz Volume 1 contains nearly two-dozen short films of performances by some of the most legendary figures in jazz history. Included are short films of Duke Ellington performing "Stormy Weather," Gene Krupa performing "Jungle Madness," and Cab Calloway singing "Smokey Joe." ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

From Kultur comes this documentary that looks at the Harlem Renaissance through the music that defined the era. Harlem Renaissance: The Music & Rhythms That Started a Cultural Revolution includes performances of such songs as Cab Calloway's "Minnie the Moocher," Fats Waller's "This Joint Is Jumpin'," Bill "Bojangles" Robinson's "Let's Scuffle," Lena Horne's "Friday Night," and many others. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Originally broadcast on CBC, That Old Black Magic chronicles the lives of ten African-American artists who helped revolutionize jazz and the role of blacks in the entertainment industry. Racism was rampant and legal throughout the United States during their time in the spotlight, rendering the success they have achieved even more remarkable. Featured artists include legends Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, and Sammy Davis Jr., as well as Della Reese (who would go on to star in the long-running television series Touched by an Angel) and Marion Anderson. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

The 1940s was a monumental decade for the United States. Amid World War II, economic recovery, and the start of the Cold War, American music provided a soundtrack to a generation. The Music Classics line from MPI Home Video attempts to offer the chance to relieve the era with a ten-volume series of restored film footage featuring performances by many of the 40's most revered artists. Wrapping up the series, Music Classics, Vol. 10 features clips of Duke Ellington, Lawrence Welk, Lorraine Page, The Slim Gailard Trio, Benny Goodman, and several others. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

While Duke Ellington is best remembered as perhaps the finest and most influential composer in the history of American jazz, he was also a man of deep spiritual convictions, and late in his career, he wrote several programs of inspirational music that blended his peerless tonal artistry with the celebratory energy of classic gospel music. Duke Ellington's Sacred Concerts features a concert by the Swiss jazz ensemble The Lausanne Big Band with guest soloists Jon Faddis on trumpet, Adam Nussbaum on drums, and Michele Hendricks and Allan Harris on vocals, as they perform a program of 13 of Ellington's best religious works at the Lugano Cathedral. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The 1940s was a monumental decade for the United States. Amid World War II, economic recovery, and the start of the Cold War, American music provided a soundtrack to a generation. The Music Classics line from MPI Home Video attempts to offer the chance to relieve the era with a ten-volume series of restored film footage featuring performances by many of the 40's most revered artists. Syd Charisse, Johnny Long, Fats Waller, and Tommy Dorsey are just a few of the musicians features in this ninth installment of the series. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

In the mid-1920's, just as jazz was firmly establishing itself as America's dominant popular music form, new advancements in motion picture technology allowed sound to be recorded along with moving pictures, and as a fortunate consequence many of the great artists of the first renaissance of jazz were captured by "talking picture" camera. At The Jazz Band Ball: Early Hot Jazz, Song and Dance is a documentary which compiles rare archival footage of a number of legendary artists, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington (leading the Cotton Club Orchestra), Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, The Boswell Sisters, The Dorsey Brothers, and many more. This collection also features the only known filmed performances of pioneering blues vocalist Bessie Smith, and the highly influential cornet man Bix Beiderbecke. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This highly respectful biographical documentary, narrated by Julian Bond, discusses the vast contributions of the pianist, composer, songwriter and band leader Duke Ellington (1899-1974) to jazz, to his nation, and to his people. The most notable highlights of this film are previously unseen interviews with the artist and never-before-seen footage of the great man in performance with his orchestra. Of particular interest is the documentary's re-creation of the Duke's meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr. Students of jazz history will be interested in the film's discussion of Ellington's three-decade-long collaboration with Billy Strayhorn. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi