June 25 movie: New Orleans. I could talk about the plot, but if you've ever heard of this movie then you know there are two reasons to watch it: Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday. They have secondary roles and the movie lights up whenever they're on screen. Armstrong plays the bandleader at the nightclub where most of the action takes place, and Holiday plays Armstrong's sweetheart and (surprise, surprise) the white family's maid. They do three songs together, plus Armstrong sings "Dixie Music Man" and Holiday does part of a song by herself.
Okay, so the movie is a fictionalized telling of the closing of the red light district in New Orleans in the late teens, the migration of musicians to Chicago, and the resulting introduction of jazz to white audiences. Unfortunately, in this version King Oliver (Louis Armstrong early mentor, who brought him to Chicago) doesn't exist. Instead of King Oliver, Armstrong's mentor is a white guy who calls himself "The King of Basin Street." Oliver was dead by that point so I guess they felt free to steal his name and use it to inject white people into the story of early jazz.
On the bright side, Armstrong plays with an all-star band and introduces them by name during the movie: Kid Ory, Zutty Singleton, Barney Bigard, Red Callendar, Charlie Beal, and Lux Lewis. Woody Herman and his band also make an appearance.
If you want to see just the good parts of this movie, follow the links below:
Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans
The Blues are Brewing
Dixie Music Man
Farewell to Storyville
1 Comments
Just to get all nit-picky, Meade Lux Lewis doesn't show up until the action moves to Chicago. He's not part of Armstrong's NO band. Since he describes his piano playing as Chicago style, I guess he's not supposed to be part of the New Orleans diaspora.
I love how (as you pointed out) this movie anticipates the basic plotline of every rock & roll movie ever made.