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"Burns, Ken"
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Country music : an illustrated history
\"The rich and colorful story of America's most popular music and the singers and songwriters who captivated, entertained, and consoled listeners throughout the twentieth century--based on the ... eight-part film series ... on PBS\"--Publisher's description.
Book
The American revolution. Episode six, The most sacred thing (May 1780 – onward)
The British Army under General Cornwallis struggles to pacify the southern states. Meanwhile, one of the most respected American generals betrays the cause and defects to the British. Supported by the French Army and Navy, Washington's Continental Army wins the decisive victory at Yorktown. Peace is restored, independence is won, and Americans aspire for a more perfect union.
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Grover Cleveland, again! : a treasury of American presidents
\"A treasury of American Presidents by historian Ken Burns\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Our Language
As the stock market continues to soar, jazz is everywhere in America, and now, for the first time soloists and singers take center stage, transforming the music with their distinctive voices and the unique stories they have to tell. In this episode we meet Bessie Smith, Empress of the Blues, whose songs ease the pains of life for millions of black Americans and help black entrepreneurs create a new recording industry around the blues; Bix Beiderbecke, the first great white jazz star, who is inspired by Louis Armstrong to dedicate his life to the music and in turn inspires others with solos of unparalleled lyric grace, only to destroy himself with alcohol at age 28; and two brilliant sons of Jewish immigrants, Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw, for whom jazz offers an escape from the ghetto and a chance to achieve their dreams. In New York, we follow Duke Ellington uptown to Harlem's most celebrated nightspot, the gangster-owned, whites-only Cotton Club, where he continues blending the individual voices of his band members to create harmonies no one has imagined before, then gets the break of a lifetime when radio carries his music into homes across the country, bringing him national fame. And in Chicago, where he has returned to find himself billed as 'The World's Greatest Trumpet Player,' we listen as Louis Armstrong combines the soloist's and vocalist's arts to create scat singing, then watch as he charts the future of jazz in a series of small group recordings that culminates in his masterpiece, West End Blues. Called 'the most perfect three minutes of music' ever created, Armstrong's astonishing performance lifts jazz to the level of high art, where his genius stands alone.
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The war : an intimate history, 1941-1945
The story of World War II captured in the hearts, minds, words, and deeds of those who made history at its most essential level: on the battlefields and on the home front.
Book
The Adventure
In the late 1950s, America's postwar prosperity continues, but beneath the surface run currents of change. Families are moving to the suburbs, watching television has become the national pastime, and baby boomers have begun coming of age. For jazz, it is also a period of transition when old stars like Billie Holiday and Lester Young will burn out while young talents arise to take the music in new directions. Jazz still has its two guiding lights. In 1956, the first year Elvis tops the charts, Duke Ellington recaptures the nation's ear with a performance at the Newport Jazz Festival that becomes his best-selling record ever. The next year, Louis Armstrong makes headlines when he condemns the government's failure to stand up to racism in Little Rock, Arkansas, risking his career while musicians who dismissed him as an Uncle Tom remain silent. Meanwhile, new virtuosos emerge to push the limits of bebop: saxophone colossus Sonny Rollins; jazz diva Sarah Vaughan; and the drummer Art Blakey, whose Jazz Messengers will become a proving ground for young musicians over the next forty years. But the leading light of the era is Miles Davis \"” a catalyst constantly forming new groups to showcase different facets of his stark, introspective sound; a popularizer whose lush recordings with arranger Gil Evans expand the jazz audience; and a cultural icon whose tough-guy charisma comes to define what's hip. As the turbulent Sixties arrive, however, two saxophonists take jazz into uncharted terrain. John Coltrane explodes the pop tune My Favorite Things into a kaleidoscope of freewheeling sound, while Ornette Coleman challenges all conventions with a sound he calls ;free jazz.' Once again, the music seems headed for new adventures, but now, for the first time, even musicians are starting to ask, Is it still jazz?
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