Gary Giddins

Bing Crosby was, without a doubt, the most popular and influential multi-media star of the first half of the twentieth century, pulling audiences in with his intimate, laid-back voice and innate charm. Narrated by Stanley Tucci and directed by Robert Trachtenberg, this film explores the life and legend of this iconic performer, revealing a personality far more complex than the image the public had only thought they'd known.

Throughout the 1950s, Tab Hunter reigned as Hollywood’s ultimate male heartthrob. But throughout his years of stardom, Tab had a secret. Tab Hunter was gay, and spent his Hollywood years in a precarious closet that repeatedly threatened to implode and destroy him. Tab Hunter himself shares first hand, for the first time, what it was like to be a studio manufactured movie star during the Golden Age of Hollywood and the consequences of being someone totally different from his studio manufactured image.

This recently produced behind-the-scenes documentary digs into Gershwin's original work, the genesis of the cinematic adaptation, casting, the shoot, and the eventual reception of the film.

Louis Armstrong is one of the most recognizable figures in jazz, with his incomparable trumpet playing and beaming smile. This video profiles Armstrong from his humble beginnings in New Orleans through his career as America's Ambassador of Good Will. Film clips, vintage photographs and interviews with family, friends, fellow musicians and Armstrong himself are woven together to tell the story of this legendary personality.

Jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams was a genius ahead of her time. From child prodigy to "Boogie-Woogie Queen" to groundbreaking composer to mentoring some of the greatest musicians of all time, she never ceased to astound those who heard her play. But for a Black woman in the early 1900s, life as a star did not come easy.

Tenor saxophone master Sonny Rollins has long been hailed as one of the most important artists in jazz history, and still, today, he is viewed as the greatest living jazz improviser. In 1986, filmmaker Robert Mugge produced Saxophone Colossus, a feature-length portrait of Rollins, named after one of his most celebrated albums.

What is the influence of Jazz on Brazilian music and the influence of Brazilian music on Jazz? The documentary Zuza Homem de Jazz draws a parallel between the two universes, featuring the renowned Brazilian musicologist Zuza Homem de Mello as the protagonist. It offers an intimate look at the writer and music journalist and highlights his long connection with Jazz, that dates back to the 1950’s, when Zuza was a student at the Julliard School of Music. The film was also shot in New York, where Zuza meets old friends in the jazz circuit and revisits memorable stories.

'Black Orpheus' introduced an international audience to the sights and sounds of Rio de Janeiro. In this program, jazz historian Gary Giddins and Brazilian author Ruy Castro recall the roots of the film’s score and the role it played in popularizing the bossa nova sound.

A documentary on the making of the 1936 film Swing Time, featuring interviews with jazz and film critic Gary Giddens, dance critic Brian Seibert, and Dorothy Fields biographer Deborah Grace Winer. This is an all-encompassing feature covering the evolution of the Hollywood musical, Astaire's and Rogers' work, and the film's music, written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields.