Boogie woogie became a craze in 1940s America, having started as a piano form in the logging camps of Texas and Louisiana in the twenties. With a vintage parade of classic clips featuring the great exponents of boogie woogie – including Meade Lux Lewis, Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson – this programme gives a history of the distinctive style which energised popular music. As a climax, two of today’s leading Boogie artists, Big Joe Duskin and Axel Zwingenberger, stage a special jam session.
Lester Young
This portrait of the legendary saxophonist, known as ‘the Prez’, centres on a jazz opera inspired by his life. Interwoven with film of this ambitious work in rehearsal and performance are contributions from people who knew him – fellow Basieite Buddy Tate, master of ‘macvouty’, Slim Gaillard, the arranger and composer Gil Evans. Rare archive film of Lester Young reveals a shy, withdrawn man behind the musical giant.