Directed by Edward Bland • 1959 • United States
Starring George Waller, Dorothea Horton, Melinda Dillon
Featuring music by Sun Ra and his Arkestra, this landmark semi-documentary explores—via a heated conversation between a group of Black and white jazz aficionados—the relationship between jazz and race in America. Touching on the development of jazz as a distinctly African American art form born of Black struggle and the insidious co-option of Black culture by white people, THE CRY OF JAZZ proved explosively controversial both for its frank discussion of race and its bold proclamation that “jazz is dead.”
Up Next in Music Shorts
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Shake! Otis at Monterey
Directed by D. A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus • 1986 • United States
Redding, a venerable star of Memphis’s Stax record label, seduced the "love crowd" in one of his best, and last, performances. SHAKE! OTIS AT MONTEREY, feature the entire set of this legendary musician, a performance that has ...
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Sprout Wings and Fly
Directed by Les Blank • 1983 • United States
Fiddling legend Tommy Jarrell shares his gifts with a new generation.
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When it Rains
Directed by Charles Burnett • 1995 • United States
Charles Burnett paints a jazz- and poetry-inflected portrait of African American community and resilience via the story of a mother who enlists a musician’s help when she is evicted on New Year’s Day.
