Jazz in DC

Washington, DC saw an influx and outflux of some of Jazz's greatest talent. In the final episode the series, Taylor and Wess talk about the relative anonymity of some originators, including Billy Eckstine and others who enjoyed only a short-lived celebrity.

The Crystal Caverns, the Howard Theatre, and other venues in Washington, DC allowed the teenage Wess and Taylor opportunities to see their idols in concert. In this episode, they discuss the great musicians who frequented these monuments of jazz history.

Teacher Mary Reese Europe was the sister of James Reese Europe, who brought jazz to France in WWI. In this episode, jazz legends Billy Taylor and Frank Wess expound upon the influence of the two siblings, and Mary Reese Europe's teachings about singer Roland Hayes in prejudiced Germany prove an inspiration to her students.

Jazz legends Billy Taylor and Frank Wess talk about the upsides and down-sides of being African-American in the segregated Washington, DC of their childhood. Segregated theatres and restaurants, racist neighbors, and predujiced law-enforcement made life in Shaw difficult. Despite this, African American-owned establishments in DC afforded a respite from some of these hardships— one of these havens being the prestigious Dunbar High School.

Henry Grant was a music teacher who taught in Washington DC's black public high schools. Among his students count luminaries of Jazz history, including Duke Ellington‚ Billy Taylor and Frank Wess, who remember him here.

DC jazz legends Billy Taylor and Frank Wess reflect on DC as a jazz incubator-- and Dr. Taylor talks about the first time he saw his idol Fats Waller coming out of the Lincoln Colonnade.

Billy Taylor and Frank Wess share memories of Dunbar High School, long-gone DC clubs... and jazz legends Jelly Roll Morton and Lester Young.