Queens of Jazz: The Joy and Pain of the Jazz Divas
Top 8 Billed Cast
Self (archive footage)
Self (archive footage)
Self (archive footage)
Self (archive footage)
Self
Self
Self (archive footage)
HomePage
Overview
The documentary tracks the diva's difficult progress as she emerges from the tough, testosterone-fuelled world of the big bands of the 30s and 40s, to fill nightclubs and saloons across the US in the 50s and early 60s as a force in her own right. Looking at the lives and careers of six individual singers (Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone and Annie Ross), the film not only talks to those who knew and worked with these queens of jazz, but also to contemporary singers who sit on the shoulders of these trailblazing talents without having to endure the pain and hardship it took for them to make their highly individual voices heard above the prejudice of mid-century America.
Release Date
2013-05-10
Average
0
Rating:
0.0 startsTagline
Genres
Languages:
EnglishKeywords
Similar Movies
Der Pastor mit der Jazztrompete(de)
When the Lutheran pastor Roland retires, the young priest Roll shall replace him. He plays the trumpet, loves Jazz and his methods are unconventional: From the first day on he offends the village's notables, but he doesn't care so much since he especially targets the youths, wants them to get back to the church again. However the mayor agitates against him, manages to endanger Roll's success. The conflict leads to vandalism and open violence against Roll.
The Blues Brothers(en)
Jake Blues, just released from prison, puts his old band back together to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised.
Low Down(en)
The daughter of jazz pianist Joe Albany witnesses her beloved father's struggle -- and failure -- to kick his heroin habit.
The Self-Destruction of Gia(en)
Filmmaker JJ Martin explores Gia Carangi's life through rare home movies and photos, previously unseen interviews with Gia, and contemporary interviews with family, friends, and associates.
The Distant Drummer: A Movable Scene(en)
Robert Mitchum narrates an anti drug propaganda film.
Almost Famous(en)
In 1973, 15-year-old William Miller's unabashed love of music and aspiration to become a rock journalist lands him an assignment from Rolling Stone magazine to interview and tour with the up-and-coming band, Stillwater.
In Delusion: Trump and the American Catastrophe(de)
In 2020, the USA experienced a multiple catastrophe: No other country in the world was hit so badly by the coronavirus pandemic, the economic slump was dramatic, and so was the rise in unemployment. A rift ran through society. In the streets there were protests of both camps with violent riots, authoritarian traits were evident in the actions of the leader of the nation. And all of this in the middle of the election year, when the self-centered president fought vehemently for his re-election. From the start of his presidency, Donald Trump had divided American society, incited individual sections of the population against one another, fueled racism, hatred, xenophobia and prejudice, insulted competitors and denigrated critical journalists as enemies of the people. The documentary shows how this could happen and what role the targeted disinformation of certain sections of the population through manipulative media played.
Bill Evans Time Remembered(en)
A biographical film featuring the music and times of Bill Evans with interviews from Tony Bennett, Jack Dejohnette, Billy Taylor, Paul Motian, Jon Hendricks, Orin Keepnews, Bobby Brookmeyer, Pat Evans and more, including family and friends who knew Bill Evans well.
Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn(en)
The 30-year legacy of the murder of black teenager Yusuf Hawkins by a group of young white men in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, as his family and friends reflect on the tragedy and the subsequent fight for justice that inspired and divided New York City.
Page Deleted(pt)
Questions about celebrating 200 years of independence from Brazil with 300 years of slavery.
Blues in the Night(en)
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.
Methadonia(en)
Shot over the course of 18 months in New York City's Lower East Side, METHADONIA sheds light on the inherent flaws of legal methadone treatments for heroin addiction by profiling eight addicts, in various stages of recovery and relapse, who attend the New York Center for Addiction Treatment Services (NYCATS).
The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files(en)
David Olusoga opens secret government files to show how the Windrush scandal and the ‘hostile environment’ for black British immigrants has been 70 years in the making.
Echoes in the Rink: The Willie O'Ree Story(en)
Echoes in the Rink: The Willie O'Ree Story is a documentary on the triumphal life story of the first Black player in the National Hockey League. Like Jackie Robinson in professional baseball, O'Ree faced many obstacles to achieving his dream; but unlike Robinson, his achievement would go unnoticed for forty years.
Elvis & Priscilla: Conditional Love(en)
Elvis and Priscilla are one of the most famous celebrity couples of all time. But the story that lies beneath the glamorous facade is more toxic than what first meets the eye. Elvis has defined Pricilla's life. His comment that she was "young enough that he could train her any way he wanted", in the end, came true. Though their relationship was bound by true love, what were the conditions that let it flourish?
Good Stock On The Dimension Floor: An Opera(en)
A collectively made filmic opera in 35 parts. The Black and predominantly queer art collective, an evolving line up of poets and artists from across the world, abstracts and reimagines opera in any traditional conception. Set to hip-hop, blues, noise, R&B and electronica, the piece uses the voice (chanting, singing, screaming; written by poet and activist Dawn Lundy Martin) as its primary tool, verbalising centuries of alienation, vulnerability and protest in the global African diaspora through its disruptive libretto.
Leitmotif(en)
A lonely musician living trough his music and the daily visits of a cat. One day the nostalgia takes over; he gets a crazy idea.
Too Young To Die: River Phoenix(en)
On the night of October 30, 1993, River Phoenix is set to play with his band at the Viper Room on Sunset Boulevard when he dies suddenly of a drug overdose on the sidewalk outside the club. "Stand By Me" was his breakthrough, "Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade" popularized him, and "My Own Private Idaho" solidified him as an idol for an entire generation.