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THEY TOOK A BLUE NOTE
S Television's "Odyssey," the new Public Affairs program which dram
the adventures and experiences of nicy as mankind progressed from tone Age to the Atomic Age, ex[1 the Southern backgrounds and jources of jazz on "They Took a ^sfote," Sunday, January 13. pyssey" drew on untapped sources, |ered deep in rural areas of AlaI Louisiana and Mississippi where cimitive musical plaintives of Negro I laid the foundation for modern l Through jubilees, hymns, field Is, ragtime songs played on battered
and the early blues, CBS Television as traced the growth of jazz from Won fields to New Orleans' marches.
irles Collingwood narrated the s opening from the graveside of "Papa" Celestin.
Probing the backgrounds of American jazz, "Odyssey" traveled through the Southern fields to the cabin of aged Horace Sprott. With a rare capacity for recollecting early lyrics and melodies and a voice typical of the old-time slave farmers, Sprott described the life of Africans shipped to America and sold into slavery at Sprott Plantation in Perry County, Alabama.
The show was the fullest and fairest treatment of Jazz yet to be shown on television. There was a sincere and respectful attempt to show logical growth. Unfortunately, limitations of time prevented a smooth chronological sequence historically. The producers were forced to imply that sudden transitions were made from slave songs to crude band efforts to relatively sophisticated marching music. Many things were omitted, including any reference to European music, white band music, etc. Also, inasmuch as the program
dealt exclusively with Southern Negro roots of jazz, it seemed rather inappropriate to feature a jazz band composed of Lou Stein, Max Kaminsky, Sol Yaged, Kai Winding, Cliff Leeman, and Jack Lesberg.
There was an exciting film showing Alphonse Picou with the Eureka Brass Band.
We are presenting the entire script, including cues and still shots from the film, in the hope of preserving permanently as much as possible the content and flavor of this very important document.
The "Odyssey" broadcast was filmed as result of explorations in the rural south by Frederic Ramsey, Jr., in cooperation with the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and the Tuskegee Institute at Tuskegee, Alabama. Fred deserves much credit for his devoted and valuable work in this field.