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Summary:

"At the time of this concert in 1960, Quincy Jones was considered a young genius of the international jazz scene. He had developed around cats like Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton and Ray Charles, and was now a bandleader in his own right. Indeed, one of the reasons he moved to Paris in 1957, three years before this performance, was to break free from the final restrictions placed on black composers in the US (like writing for strings), and complete his evolution into the multifarious music maestro we know him as today. During this period he studied classical music Nadia Boulanger, and later got the opportunity to assemble his own big band for the Broadway show, Free and Easy. It was a great opportunity, yet disaster struck while he was on the road - the production went bankrupt. Stranded with seventeen musicians to pay, and huge debts piling up, they decided to play on despite it all. ""We had the best jazz band on the planet, and yet we were literally starving,"" Quincy later reflected. This show is unique, therefore, as it shows the vitality and promise of a penniless young prospect who would, in the following few years, become an essential figure in the history of 20th century music. Part one sees the group, including the likes of Clark Terry and Budd Johnson, roll out classics like ""Cherokee"" and ""Air Mail Special"" with poise, bounce and unstoppable, overflowing character. Rowan Standish Hayes. A personal note from Quincy Jones: Man let me take y'all back 60 years, when I was a young jazz cat who had just been asked to assemble a big band for Stanley Chase's "Free and Easy" Broadway show. We were on the road around Europe and the show closed meaning we were left with a choice...do we stay or go home?? I spoke to my band and they stuck with me for 10 MONTHS as we travelled the continent like vagabonds with no plan, money, agent, manager, itinerary, nothing! We travelled by bus, car (even on foot in Yugoslavia) and played everywhere we could. Man, it was a tough run but I wouldn't have traded it for anything, even though I accumulated debts that took me 7 years to pay off! I almost lost my life & sanity trying to pay, house, & feed 70 musicians, but it taught me the power of jazz as a uniting force."

Contributors:

Spann, Les, 1932-1989 , instrumentalist

Kilbert, Porter, 1921-1960 , instrumentalist

Jones, Quincy, 1933- , instrumentalist

Standifer, Floyd, 1929-2007 , instrumentalist

Harris, Joe , instrumentalist

Bown, Patti , instrumentalist

Persson, Åke , instrumentalist

Cleveland, James , instrumentalist

Catlett, Buddy, 1933-2014 , instrumentalist

Johnson, Lennie , instrumentalist

Averty, Jean-Christophe, 1928-2017 , director

Terry, Clark , instrumentalist

Woods, Phil , instrumentalist

Johnson, Budd , instrumentalist

Bailey, Benny, 1925-2005 , instrumentalist

Richardson, Jerome , instrumentalist

Shihab, Sahib , instrumentalist

Watkins, Julius , instrumentalist

Languages:

English

Language Notes:

Item content: English

Subjects:

Jazz

Big band music

Genres:

Online media

Internet videos

Concert films

General Notes:

Streaming media.
Restricted to the University of North Texas System.
Title from video title screen (viewed May 27, 2023).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (1 video file (27 min.)) : sound

Audio Characteristics:

digital

Digital Characteristics:

video file

Call Numbers:

Online Video

OCLC Numbers:

1399440639

Other Control Numbers:

[Unknown Type]: QwestTV143