The Last of the First

Duration: 88 min
Release date: 2004-05-02
IMDB

The Harlem Blues & Jazz Band during its sunset years: 87-year-old Al Casey, who had worked closely with Fats Waller throughout the 1930s; guitarist Lawrence Lucie, 95 years young, from the bands of Louis Armstrong, Benny Carter and Duke Ellington; saxophonist Bubba Brooks, 79, who was with Bill Doggett; Edwin Swanston, 80, pianist with Louis Armstrong's Orchestra; 91-year-old drummer Johnny Blowers, ex-Bunny Berigan, Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra; Ivan Rolle, 85, bassist with Jonah Jones; and 88-year-old Laurel Watson, one-time vocalist with Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Baron's cameras record the musicians through their tours and concerts, capturing their joy in performing together. A celebration of the jazz spirit.

Documentary

The Last of the First

Similar Films

  • New Orleans: City of Jazz
  • Daybreak Express
  • Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America
  • Nalen
  • Komeda, Komeda...
  • #Rucker50
  • Every Night's a Saturday Night
  • What Difference Does It Make?
  • Väkivaltajazzia Pohjoisesta
  • Crownsville Hospital: From Lunacy to Legacy
  • Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities
  • Cairo Jazzman
  • Spirits of Havana
  • A Night In Havana: Dizzy Gillespie In Cuba
  • Where are the African Gods?
  • Race War
  • Hidden Colors 5: The Art of Black Warfare
  • In the Shadow of Hollywood: Race Movies and the Birth of Black Cinema
  • Toronto Jazz

NextFilm 2025