Jazz. Part 9, The Adventure / Public Broadcasting Service (U.S.)

Amid the rise of suburbia, television, rock 'n' roll, and the baby boom generation, jazz lost a beloved and burned-out star: Billie Holiday. But the music still had its two guiding lights. In 1956, the first year Elvis topped the charts, Duke Ellington recaptured the nation's ear with a performance at the Newport Jazz Festival. The next year, Louis Armstrong made headlines when he condemned racism in Little Rock, Arkansas-risking his career while musicians who dismissed him as an Uncle Tom stayed silent. But the leading light of the era was Miles Davis-a catalyst constantly forming new groups to showcase different facets of his stark, introspective sound. Then, as the turbulent Sixties arrived, two saxophonists took jazz further into uncharted terrain-John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman.

8 & up.

Title from distributor's description.