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Painted Desert, The
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(DVD - Code 1) (US-Import)
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The All-Musical Tribute To The Birth Of Jazz
Music's greatest legends re-enact the birth of jazz in this song-filled tribute to the town where it alI began: New Orleans
Arturo de Cordova stars as Nick, the proprietor of a Bourbon Street gambling joint, and artistic haven for African-American musicians. When he falIs for an opera-singing socialite, Nick reaIizes that only through music wilI he gain respectability, and launches a campaign to bring jazz to the highbrow American stage.
A refreshing rediscovery, New Orleans is especiaIly noteworthy for its lack of racial stereotypes, as weII as the high caIiber of performances deIivered by its stelIar cast, including Louis Armstrong, Woody Herman, Kid Ory, Meade Lux Lewis and more. Perhaps the fiIm's most memorabIe number is "Farewell to StoryvilIe", a haunting bIues meIody sung by BilIie HoIiday as she leads a procession of bIack musicians exiIed from the city - a sequence that beautifuIly captures the melancholy and grace of Holiday's inimitable performance style. Other musical highlights incIude HoIiday's rendition of "New OrIeans", Armstrong's "Endie" and "Where The Blues Were Born", and their duet "The Blues Are Brewin".
Also included in this DVD are two musicaI shorts from Paramount Studios (A Rhapsody ln BIack And Blue featuring Armstrong and Symphony In Black with HoIiday and Duke Ellington) as welI as an essay on the making of New Orleans, which originated as a project for Orson Welles. |
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