Masters of American Music

This award-winning television series of ten shows celebrates a pantheon of the Masters of American Music - the greatest innovators in jazz.

As the first TV series devoted to jazz, the series dispensed with critics and historians to focus on the musicians: dozens of them telling the story of Jazz in their own words. Music performances are allowed to play out, entertaining moments are illuminated, and the irrepressible nature of the music and its greatest innovators shines through.

An ear-opening view of musical genius

Individual programmes trace the lives and works of master musicians who defined the course of America's classical music. From its birth in New Orleans, to swing, the big bands, bebop, free jazz and beyond: all of it is explored with sensitivity and in unique depth, illuminating its impact on popular music across the 20th Century.

More than 80 interviews were filmed in the making of the Masters of American Music, and featured artists come to life through these interviews, exciting rare performances, period footage and vintage photographs meticulously reproduced. A who's who of Jazz historians such as Albert Murray, Gary Giddins, Robert Palmer, Dan Morgenstern, Robert O'Meally and Phil Schaap bring their passions and insights to these shows.


The Story of Jazz
A colourful look at the history of jazz, using a rich weave of sounds, rare film clips, stills, and interviews to follow the people, places and sounds that have shaped the genre that has been called America’s greatest contribution to the arts over the last century.

Celebrating Bird - The Triumph Of Charlie Parker
This first and only authorised documentary about Charlie Parker is a revealing look into how the great saxophonist changed the face of jazz despite his lifelong addiction to heroin and untimely death at 34. Featuring the only interview on record with his first wife Rebecca.

Louis Armstrong - Satchmo
Satchmo - very few people in the world would not recognise that name. Born at the turn of the century, Louis Armstrong was a living symbol of twentieth-century American culture. This definitive film features his own memorabilia and photos never before seen by the public.

Lady Day -The Many Faces Of Billie Holiday
The poignant story of a jazz icon who broke away from her bleak life on the streets to rise to fame with her emotional and spirited vocals. Billie Holiday is often featured as the sad victim of hard times and drugs, but mining a treasure trove of new material this documentary sets the record straight.

The World According to John Coltrane
Documentary about the life and art of the most innovative and influential jazz saxophonist of the 1960’s. Showing that he was all that and much more, the film traces Coltrane’s musical growth from his roots through forty years of life and beyond.

Thelonious Monk III - American Composer
A look at the life of the legendary jazz musician and composer who was famed for his quirky improvisational style and as the pianistic ringleader of the bebop revolution. A misunderstood man, often portrayed as not simple eccentric but crazy, this reveals the first fully rounded portrait of Monk.

Sarah Vaughan - The Divine One
Profile of the Grammy Award-winner whose wondrous contralto voice lit up the jazz world and went on to inspire singers of today including Amy Winehouse. Featuring live performances that span the stellar singer’s entire career

Ray Charles – The Genius of Soul
The fascinating story, told in words and music, of one of the twentieth century’s great musical figures. Never-before-seen interviews with family, friends and Ray himself reveal the heartbreak and humour of a man who overcame all odds, moving through tragedy to triumph.

Count Basie – Swingin’ The Blues
No other musician was ever more completely committees to the proposition of stomping, shouting, swinging, jumping and dragging away the blues than Count Basie. From 1938 to 1984 he led one of the most enduring swing bands of all time, and today his legacy lives on. Basie alumni come together to lend us their insight.

Bluesland – A Portrait in American Music
The blues is a celebration, joyful, complex and compelling music built on self-expression and entertaining. This film travels the expansive landscape of the music, tracing its roots from the beginning of the twentieth century featuring memorable footage of some of the blues’ greatest players.