Ours is a detective thing. Even in our Constitution, Thomas Jefferson wrote about the pursuit of happiness, not American entitlement to happiness itself, he noted.
Jazz is a native, a constant that changes with each generation.
He interviewed hundreds of subjects, from musicians who played with Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington to contemporary jazz musicians and teachers, before making excruciating decisions and narrowing the field to 75 interviews on film, he said. And take over it does as driving beats serve as background music for old photographs, old film footage, and cherished artists, white and black. Equally riveting were Burns' own remarks about his work, about his desire to get at the heart of an issue when he films it, and about how the American treatment of people according to race always seems to be a major force. Skip Roberts of General Motors also attended the screening. He said GM will distribute JAZZ to schools where 6 million high school musicians will work with this documentary to further their education.