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A Masterpiece by Midnight

Jazz has been called the purest expression of American democracy; a music built on individualism and compromise, independence and cooperation. Ken Burns follows the growth and development of jazz music from the gritty streets of New Orleans to Chicago's south side, the speakeasies of Kansas city and to Times Square.

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A Masterpiece by Midnight

Season 1 Episode 10 | 108m 32s | CC

During the Sixties, jazz is in trouble. Critics divide the music into "schools" - Dixieland, swing, bebop, hard bop, modal, free, avant-garde. But most young people are listening to rock 'n' roll.

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Funding provided by: General Motors;PBS; Park Foundation; CPB; The Pew Charitable Trusts; The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism; NEH; The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations; The Reva and David Logan Foundation; The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundations; NEA; Helen and Peter Bing