Dedicated to Chaos (1940-1945) -
jazz

The infectious music of the swing bands sets the mood for soldiers going off to fight in World War II. Gifted trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and alto saxophonist Charlie Parker, in after-hours jam sessions with other young rebels, including the drummer Kenny Clarke and pianist Thelonious Monk, take jazz in startling new directions with their complex music -- bebop. Their innovations, however, are largely unnoticed amidst the war effort. Armed Forces Radio broadcasts spread jazz across the globe, while big band leader Glenn Miller dies in a plane crash over the English Channel. In Europe, jazz is banned by the Nazis and embraced by their opponents as a symbol of freedom and democracy. European jazz innovators, including Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt, blend jazz with their own musical traditions. As racial conflict in America heats up, the center of jazz in New York moves from Harlem to 52nd Street. Duke Ellington rebuilds his band, begins his collaboration with arranger and composer Billy Strayhorn, records some of his most popular songs and pioneers serious long-form jazz compositions. Charlie Parker struggles with his own heroin addiction. Then, with Dizzy Gillespie, he records several bebop masterworks.

Duration: 1 hour 56 minutes and 46 seconds

Episode Number: 107

No future air times were found for this episode.

About Jazz:

Jazz is born in the unique musical and social cauldron of New Orleans at the turn of the 20th century, emerging from several forms of music, including ragtime, marching bands, work songs, spirituals, European classical music, funeral parade music and, above all, the blues.

Musicians who advance early jazz in New Orleans include Creole pianist and composer Jelly Roll Morton, cornetist Buddy Bolden and clarinet prodigy Sidney Bechet.

Composer W.C.

Handy codifies the blues through his popular compositions.

The Original Dixieland Jazz Band makes the first jazz recordings.

Their enormous popularity spreads the sounds of jazz across the country and, eventually, the world.

At the end of the episode, viewers meet an 11-year-old New Orleans boy, Louis Armstrong, who will emerge from the city's toughest streets to become jazz music's greatest star and transform American music.