The Cry of Jazz

For more information and to download this film, please visit “The Cry of Jazz“ is a 34-minute, black-and-white short subject that is now recognized as an early and influential example of African-American independent filmmaking. Director Ed Bland, with the help of more than 60 volunteer crew members, intercuts scenes of life in Chicago’s black neighborhoods with dramatic scenes of dialogue between blacks and whites. With performance clips by the jazz composer, bandleader and pianist Sun Ra and his Arkestra, the film may be seen as a political interpretation of African American cultural expression which, unlike an earlier trend to present African American artistic production as equal to that of white artists, emphasizes that jazz is uniquely African American and should be judged on its own terms. Named to the National Film Registry in 2010.