Birth of the Blues

An egotistical saxophone player and a young singer meet on V-J Day and embark upon a strained and rocky romance, even as their careers begin a long uphill climb.

Clarinetist Stan has a nightmare about killing a man in a mirrored room. But when he wakes up and finds blood marks on himself and a key from the dream, he suspects that it may have truly happened.

A young trumpeter rises through the jazz world and finds love.

Dixieland cornetist Red Nichols runs into opposition to his sound, but breaks through to success. He marries a warm, patient woman and even finds time to raise a family. Then tragedy strikes when their daughter contracts polio.

Billie Holiday spent much of her career being adored by fans. In the 1940s, the government targeted Holiday in a growing effort to racialize the war on drugs, ultimately aiming to stop her from singing her controversial ballad, "Strange Fruit."

A painter suffering from amnesia convinces himself that he's a famous bandleader and finds romance with a pretty singer. Comedy with music.

It is the story of Ted Lewis, popular band leader and clarinettist. The music for the film was written by Harry Akst and Grant Clarke, except for "St. Louis Blues" by W. C. Handy and "Tiger Rag". The film's title comes from Lewis's catchphrase "Is everybody happy?" The film's soundtrack exists on Vitaphone discs preserved at the UCLA Film and Television Archive, but the film itself is considered a lost film, according to the Vitaphone Project website. A five minute clip from the film can be found on YouTube.

During the 1960s, two American jazz musicians living in Paris meet and fall in love with two American tourist girls and must decide between music and love.

A son seeking to fulfill his late father’s dream takes his band from the storied city of New Orleans to the shores of Cuba, where — through the universal language of music — dark and ancient connections between their peoples reveal the roots of jazz.

A struggling band find themselves attached to a fugitive and drawn into a series of old feuds and love affairs, as they try to stay together and find musical success.

In this 1957 biography film of the jazz-great Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, he and his band tour the world as American good-will ambassadors bring jazz at its best to the people of the world. Within the film, the life of Louis Armstrong is portrayed through the music. One of the outstanding scenes in this "biography/docudrama" shows blind songwriter W. C. Handy, with tears streaming down his face, as Armstrong, backed by Leonard Bernstein leading the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, play Handy's immortal "St. Louis Blues."

A gambling hall owner relocates from New Orleans to Chicago and entertains his patrons with hot jazz by Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Woody Herman, and others.

This lively film is an unforgettable portrait of legendary vocalist Betty Carter, one of the greatest living exponents of jazz. Uncompromised by commercialism throughout her long career, she has forged alternative criteria for success — including founding her own recording company and raising her two sons as a single parent. Parkerson's special film captures Carter's musical genius, her paradoxical relationship with the public and her fierce dedication to personal and artistic independence.

New Orleans has the No. 1 per capita murder rating in the nation. A decade earlier, the city was dubbed the "Murder Capital of the Country". Drugs and violence controlled the streets, taking a toll on the city's law enforcement, neighborhoods, and its people. "Death Toll" illustrates this dark chapter in the city's history.

In 1927, a Kansas City, Missouri cornet player and his band perform nightly at a seedy speakeasy until a racketeer tries to extort them in exchange for protection.

Jefferson Pierce is a man wrestling with a secret. As the father of two daughters and principal of a charter high school that also serves as a safe haven for young people in a New Orleans neighborhood overrun by gang violence, he is a hero to his community.

Follow an elite circle of friends who were born into prominent families and live a New Orleans' lifestyle of exclusive parties where you know everyone and everyone knows you. The music and beat of Bourbon Street fades as viewers get a look at the exclusive community of wealth, rich culture and deep traditions.

Tremé takes its name from a neighborhood of New Orleans and portrays life in the aftermath of the 2005 hurricane. Beginning three months after Hurricane Katrina, the residents of New Orleans, including musicians, chefs, Mardi Gras Indians, and other New Orleanians struggle to rebuild their lives, their homes and their unique culture.

Memphis Beat is an American drama series that debuted on TNT on June 22, 2010 and ended on August 16, 2011. Memphis Beat was officially canceled on October 14, 2011.

Spike Lee returns to New Orleans five years after Katrina to see how the ambitious plans to reinvent the Crescent City are playing out.

An explosive 1930s drama following a jazz band in London at a time of huge change.

When Michelle Hathaway relocates to New Orleans to open a bakery with her daughters Taylor and Frankie, they quickly learn that life in the “Big Easy” is very different. Unbeknownst to them, their new home is already occupied by a ghost family comprised of jazz musician father Ray Preston and his sons Miles and Louie. After agreeing to live under one roof, they come to care about and rely on one another while driving each other crazy – just like any normal family would. Though leery at first, the Hathaways soon discover how much fun life can be when living with ghosts.

A drama about the local field office that investigates criminal cases affecting military personnel in The Big Easy, a city known for its music, entertainment and decadence.

In 1970s New York, jaded record exec Richie Finestra tries to resurrect his failing label and fractured personal life while keeping his finger on the pulse of the city's new sound.

Offers a reappraisal of "yacht rock", a critically neglected era of music popularized by a boom in FM radio stations and its smooth sound. The gleaming yacht sound was, in part, always defined by a group of LA-based session players and composers who worked across a range of yacht bands, informing their specific tone and level of musicianship. Some of these artists talk about the yacht phenomenon and being part of the scene back in the day. The series explores how the music adapted from the the bearded sensitivity of the '70s to the bombast of the MTV '80s, and how a satirical online drama contributed to a revival of interest and enthusiasm for these sounds in the digital era.

The owner of a Paris jazz club gets tangled up with dangerous criminals as he fights to protect his business, his band and his teenage daughter.

Based on actual events from Hurricane Katrina. When the floodwaters rose, power failed, and heat soared, exhausted caregivers at a New Orleans hospital were forced to make profound, heart-wrenching decisions.

Louis de Pointe's epic story of love, blood, and the perils of immortality, as told to the journalist Daniel Molloy. Chafing at the limitations of life as a black man in 1900s New Orleans, Louis finds it impossible to resist the rakish Lestat De Lioncourt's offer of the ultimate escape: joining him as his vampire companion.

Masters of American Music is a multi-award-winning television series, as entertaining and memorable as it is educational, it is a must have for any true music fan. The series celebrates a pantheon of the greatest musical innovators with individual programmes tracing the lives and works of master musicians who defined the course of American’s musical history. From the birth of the blues in New Orleans to Swing, Big Band, Bebop, Free Jazz and beyond – all of this rich tapestry is explored with sensitivity and unique depth. The featured artists come to life through conversations with their contemporaries, exciting and rare live performances, period footage and vintage photographs, all of which have been meticulously produced.

Before Barenaked Ladies, Broken Social Scene and Rush rose from Toronto's music scene, there was Rompin' Ronnie Hawkins, Robbie Robertson and Gordon Lightfoot making a name for themselves on Yonge Street. This three-part documentary reveals the history of how Toronto's main drag became the leading destination for singers, musicians and music fans not only in the city but across Canada as well. It began in the mid-1950s and flourished until the early '70s, and in between such artists as David Clayton-Thomas, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Levon Helm, Led Zeppelin and Jeff Beck performed on Yonge Street. In addition to archival audio and video footage, featured interviewees include Hawkins, Robertson, Lightfoot, music producer Daniel Lanois and festival promoter John Brower.