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Episodes 4-6 in the twelve episode series.
Episode Four – The True Welcome, 1929 – 1934:
In 1929 the stock market collapses and the Great Depression begins. New York is now America’s jazz capital. On Broadway, Louis Armstrong revolutionises the popular song and his flair for showmanship makes him one of the top entertainers. Meet bandleader Chick Webb, a new dance called the Lindy Hop, and a revived Duke Ellington. Visit LA’s Palomar Ballroom where the dancers go wild over Goodman’s Big Band beat. By the end of the night, the Swing Era has begun.
Episode Five – Swing: Pure Pleasure, 1935 – 1937:
As the Great Depression drags on, jazz provides entertainment and escape for a people down on their luck. It has a new name now – Swing – and for millions of young fans, it will be the defining music of their generation. Benny Goodman is hailed as the ‘King Of Swing’ while teenagers jitterbug just as hard to the music of his rivals – Tommy Dorsey, Jimmie Lunceford and Glen Miller. Billie Holiday begins her career as the greatest of all female jazz singers.
Episode Six – Swing: The Velocity of Celebration, 1937 – 1939:
As the 30s come to a close, Swing-mania is still going strong but some ears are tuned to a new sound. Pulsing, suffused with the blues, it’s the Kansas City sound of Count Basie’s band. Teenage singer Ella Fitzgerald emerges as the first lady of jazz, and old sax-master, Coleman Hawkins startles the world with his “Body and Soul”.
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