Notions of Freedom

Synopsis

Ulysses Jenkins charts the history of jazz—what he calls “the first true American art form"—from its beginnings in New Orleans and the American South to the classic work of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington and through the major innovations of Ornette Coleman, Sun Ra, and Miles Davis. Also included are clips of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, explicitly linking the development of jazz to the Civil Rights Movement. Motion-capture animated figures are seen dancing, superimposed, over the archival footage of the musicians. Wearing colorful costumes, they perform Jenkins’ original choreography. The dancers exert a powerful influence over the historical documentation as their movements extend across the decades and, finally, into the future.

Main Cast

Cheryl Banks-Smith

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Ulysses Jenkins

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Crew

Department	Role	Name
Directing	Director	Ulysses Jenkins
Visual Effects	Animation	Mugen Suzuki
Crew	Motion Capture Artist	Lisa Naugle
Sound	Recording Supervision	Ross Whitney
	Music	Kei Akagi
Department	Role	Name

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