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Jam Session is a 1942 short film, directed by Josef Berne, which shows Duke Ellington and his orchestra performing "C Jam Blues".
Louis Thomas Jordan was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "the King of the Jukebox", he earned his highest profile towards the end of the swing era. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an "early influence" in 1987.
A soundie is a three-minute American musical film displaying a performance. Soundies were produced between 1940 and 1946 and have been referred to as "precursors to music videos". Soundies exhibited a variety of musical genres in an effort to draw a broad audience. The shorts were originally viewed in public places on "Panorams": coin-operated, 16mm rear projection machines. Panorams were typically located in businesses like nightclubs, bars, and restaurants. Due to World War II, Soundies also featured patriotic messages and advertisements for war bonds. More adult shorts, such as burlesque and stripteases, were produced to appeal to soldiers on leave.
The International Sweethearts of Rhythm was an American jazz ensemble, believed to be the first racially-integrated all-female band in the United States.
"Caldonia" is a jump blues song, first recorded in 1945 by Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five. Although credited to Fleecie Moore, his wife at the time, Jordan is the actual songwriter. The song was a hit for Jordan as well as several other musicians.
Tympany Five was a successful and influential American rhythm and blues and jazz dance band founded by Louis Jordan in 1938. The group was composed of a horn section of three to five different pieces and also drums, double bass, guitar and piano.
Rhythm in a Riff is a 1947 medium length musical film produced by William D. Alexander and directed by Leonard Anderson. The film stars Billy Eckstine and his band performing as well as Ann Baker, Hortense Allen Jordan, Sarah Harris, and Emmett "Babe" Wallace. The film is extant. The film was.made in New York City. It was released by Astor Pictures. The film was targeted to am African American audience, features an African American cast, and was produced and directed by African Americans. The film is also known as Flicker Up.
William Forest Crouch was an American director and writer of film, mostly shorts. His work includes Reet, Petite, and Gone (1947) made with an all-African-American cast. He was active during the 1940s.
Vannie Smith, known professionally as Vanita Smythe was an American blues and jazz singer and actress. She was professionally active between 1945 and 1950, making eight soundies, two motion pictures and releasing a couple of singles.
George Wiltshire was an American character actor He appeared on stage, film, and television. He was perhaps best known for portraying Ed Smalls, the proprietor of famed Harlem nightclub Smalls Paradise, in the 1945 film It Happened in Harlem.
Caldonia is a two reel American musical short film directed by William Forest Crouch and released by Astor Pictures in 1945. The film stars musician Louis Jordan and was produced by his manager Berle Adams. The film includes four songs performed by Jordan and his band: "Caldonia", "Honey Child", "Tillie" and "Buzz Me", which were also released individually by the Soundies Distributing Corporation of America.
All-American News was a film production company in the U.S. bringing war propaganda newsreels and entertainment films to African American audiences.
That Man of Mine is an American film released in 1946. Directed by Leonard Anderson, it features an African-American cast.
Leonard Anderson was an American film editor and film director, and he co-owned a film production company. Anderson's short films of African-American musical acts include footage of Anna Mae Winburn with the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, Lucky Millinder and his orchestra, and Henri Woode.
Alfred N. Sack was an American businessperson, newspaper publisher and the proprietor of film distribution, production, and the theater-owning business Sack Amusements in the United States.. He collaborated with Spencer Williams to make films with Black casts. Sack Amusement Enterprises was the leading distributor of this type of film between 1920 and 1950.
Look-Out Sister is a 1949 film featuring Louis Jordan. Directed by Bud Pollard, it is a satirical, Western-themed musical and "horse opera". The film was produced by Astor Pictures. John E. Gordon wrote the story. The film remains in existence and is available online.
Harlem Hotshots is an American short film from 1940 produced by Sack Amusements. The 20 minute film is a musical. One poster for the film includes a skyline of buildings and street sign for Lenox Avenue and 125th Street. The film was reissued in 1986 as part of Jazz Classics, No. 110; Harlem Harmonies Volume 1, 1940–1945.
Artie Francis Young was an African-American dancer, and actress of theater and film in the 1930s and 1940s. Her film work includes soundies. Young was considered one of the prettiest girls from Harlem in the 1940s. She went by many name variations, including Artie Brandon, Artie Brandon Young Reed, and Artie Young Davis.
Catherine Basie (1914–1983) was a dancer who performed with the Whitman Sisters and starred as a featured dancer in musical short films called soundies. She married the jazz composer and bandleader Count Basie and was an advocate for civil rights and for children with disabilities.
Roxie Joynes Campanella, was an American nurse, showgirl, socialite and philanthropist. As the third wife of baseball star Roy Campanella, she was active on behalf of people with spinal cord injuries.
References
- ↑ Pitts, Michael R. (April 19, 2019). Astor Pictures: A Filmography and History of the Reissue King, 1933-1965. McFarland. ISBN 9781476636283 – via Google Books.
- 1 2 "THE POLLARD JUMP Soundie". Library of Congress.
- ↑ "Weird Wild Realm: Twentieth Clutch of Soundies Reviews". www.weirdwildrealm.com.
- ↑ Scott, Ellen C. (2016). "Black Movement Impolitic: Soundies, Regulation, and Black Pleasure". African American Review. 49 (3): 205–226. doi:10.1353/afa.2016.0034. JSTOR 26444249. S2CID 163275693.
- ↑ "Chicago Stagebill Yearbook". September 8, 1947 – via Google Books.
- ↑ Jones, Chris (October 4, 2013). Bigger, Brighter, Louder: 150 Years of Chicago Theater as Seen by "Chicago Tribune" Critics. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226090719 – via Google Books.
- ↑ "HARLEM AFTER MIDNIGHT (1947)". Library of Congress.