<I>Jammin' the Blues</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1944
name: label: Directed by
content: Gjon Mili, Albanian American, 1904 - 1984
label: Distributed by
content: Warner Bros. Pictures, American, founded 1923
label: Subject of
content: Lester Young, American, 1909 - 1959
label: Subject of
content: Red Callender, American, 1916 - 1992
label: Subject of
content: Sidney Catlett, American, 1910 - 1951
label: Subject of
content: Marie Bryant, American, 1919 - 1978
label: Subject of
content: Archie Savage, American, 1914 - 2003
label: Owned by
content: Ernie Smith, American, ca. 1925 - 2004
notes: label: Description
content: A short film with the title Jammin' the Blues. It consists of a single reel of positive, black-and-white, 16mm acetate film with bilateral variable-area optical sound. It opens with the narrator saying "This is a jam session. Quite often, these artists gather and play ad lib pop music. It could be called a midnight symphony." As he speaks, Lester Young appears on the screen wearing a pork pie hat. Next, Red Callender can be seeing playing the bass. Eventually, all members of the band become visible. As the camera focuses on Harry "Sweets" playing the trumpet, Marie Bryant walks on stage and sings the lyrics to "On the Sunny Side of the Street." Bass player Red Callender stands beside her as she sings. In the next scene, Sid Catlett is seated at a drum set. He is approached by Jo Jones who takes the drum sticks from Catlett and proceeds with a solo performance. The other band members then join him in performance. Marie Bryan and dancer Archie Savage then begin to do a dance routine. The camera focuses on different instrumentalists throughout the performance.
place: label: Place made
content: United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Film
label: Topic
content: Jazz (Music)
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Time-based Media - Moving Images
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Anonymous Gift in memory of Ernest (Ernie) R. Smith, Jazz Historian
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2015.275.28.1a
objectType: label: Type
content: black-and-white films (visual works)
label: Type
content: short subjects
label: Type
content: 16mm (photographic film size)
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Warner Brothers Pictures
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: acetate film
label: Dimensions
content: Duration (digital file): 00:10:44
label: Dimensions
content: Physical extent (film): 360 ft