For the third part of his American Trilogy--following THE CIVIL WAR and BASEBALL--Ken Burns takes on "that most American of art forms": jazz. The 10-part, 19-hour film begins with the music's roots in post-Civil War New Orleans and concludes roughly a century later. The story focuses not only on the personalities and events that helped define the music but also on the social and cultural climate in which they emerged, making KEN BURNS' JAZZ a film about more than just music.

Ken Burns takes the viewer on a 19-hour visual and aural tour. Find out why jazz was, and may still be, one of the most revolutionary musical--and artistic--expressions around.

TELEVISION RELEASE (PBS): JANUARY 2001.

Ken Burns's thorough exploration of jazz music includes:
- 500 pieces of music
- 75 interviews
- 2400 stills
- more than 2000 films clips...

The episode/original air date breakdown is as follows:

1/8/2001 - GUMBO (BEGINNINGS TO 1917)
1/9/2001 - THE GIFT (1917-1924)
1/10/2001 - OUR LANGUAGE (1924-1928)
1/15/2001 - THE TRUE WELCOME (1929-1935)
1/17/2001 - SWING: PURE PLEASURE (1935-1937)
1/22/2001 - SWING: THE VELOCITY OF CELEBRATION (1927-1939)
1/23/2001 - DEDICATED TO CHAOS (1940-1945)
1/24/2001 - RISK (1945-1955)
1/29/2001 - THE ADVENTURE (1956-1960)
1/31/2001 - A MASTERPIECE BY MIDNIGHT (1961-THE PRESENT)

DVD Features:

Region 1
10-Disc Boxed Set - Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
Dolby Digital Stereo - English
Subtitles - English - Closed Captioned
Additional Release Material:
Behind the Scenes - "Making of JAZZ"
Interactive Features:
Pop-Ups - "Playlist" (Including Additional Footage on Discs 2, 7 & 9)
Scene Selection
DVD-ROM:
Web Links - Official Site
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Ken Burns: Documentarian

Lynn Novick: Producer/Documentary
Ken Burns: Documentarian

Peter Miller: 

Geoffrey C. Ward: BASEBALL cowriter with Ken Burns
Ken Burns: Documentarian

Paul Barnes: EDITOR

"...Mr. Burns's elegiac thoroughness...is given a big lift by the artfully assembled music....JAZZ is full of dreams."
"...This epic production surrounds its stories and civic lessons with an almost unquenchable torrent of great music..." -- 3 out of 4 stars