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Queens of Jazz: The Joy and Pain of the Jazz Divas

Queens of Jazz: The Joy and Pain of the Jazz Divas

20130h 59m

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.

Directed by Chris Rodley
Produced by Chris Rodley
0

Top Cast

Peggy Lee

Peggy Lee

Self (archive footage)

Sarah Vaughan

Sarah Vaughan

Self (archive footage)

Nina Simone

Nina Simone

Self (archive footage)

Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald

Self (archive footage)

Annie Ross

Annie Ross

Self

Melody Gardot

Melody Gardot

Self

M

Madeleine Peyroux

Self

Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday

Self (archive footage)

Themes & Keywords

jazzdrug addictionracism

About Queens of Jazz: The Joy and Pain of the Jazz Divas

Queens of Jazz: The Joy and Pain of the Jazz Divas is a documentary, music film released in 2013 exploring themes of jazz, drug addiction, racism. Directed by Chris Rodley, it stars Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone. 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.

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