History of Jazz: Oxygen for the Ears | movie | 2012 | Official Trailer - video Dailymotion

'Oxygen for the Ears: Living Jazz' is a story of the trials and triumphs of jazz in America. Every jazz tune has a start | dG1fN0VZeFJrLXYzNzA

Transcript

00:00Jazz cannot be defined.

00:16It's the only art form we have in the United States.

00:19General Morton was a guy who claimed that he invented jazz.

00:23It wasn't far from the truth.

00:25Jazz is America's classical music.

00:27Decapitated improvisation, that's the meaning of the whole thing.

00:30Before there was the Apollo, there was the Howard Theater.

00:32Before there was Harlem, there was U Street, Washington, D.C.

00:36It's one of those places where the sounds of 20th century America were being invented.

00:40Out of this inspiring environment, came the greatest musicians of all times.

00:45What we play is life.

00:58These artists express the joys and hardships of life and remind us how much all of us have

01:02in common.

01:03Jazz is certainly a cultural and political statement about what it means to be black.

01:07As a result of that murder of Dr. King, that was the most devastating blow that burned

01:12all of these areas out.

01:13There were black clubs and white clubs.

01:15That was it.

01:16That was a terrible time, man.

01:17I think jazz is dead.

01:18After the riots, you know, it was in the air.

01:27Dead, yeah.

01:30It's always going to be here.

01:31It's always going to be listened to.

01:33It's always going to be learned.

01:34It's always going to be loved and appreciated, you know.

01:44Jazz is definitely not dead.

01:47Well, it's like a breath of fresh air.

01:49What of this legacy do we want to bring forward?

01:53We don't want this music to die.

01:54Jazz is evolving.

01:56That is the nature of the universe.

02:03Jazz is life.

02:05It's like oxygen.

02:07I mean, it's the same.

02:08Oxygen for the ears, for the heart, for the soul.

02:14I love you.

02:15I love you.