Explore the life of this pioneering jazz legend who charmed audiences with his bravado and showmanship. A singer, dancer and bandleader, Cab Calloway led one of the most popular African-American big bands during the jazz and swing eras of the 1930s-40s, with Harlem’s famous Cotton Club as his home stage.
In "Cab Calloway: Sketches," Emmy®-winning filmmaker Gail Levin explores Cab Calloway’s musical beginnings and milestones in the context of the Harlem Renaissance and segregationist America using archival footage, animation based on caricatures by famed illustrator Steve Brodner and French cartoonist Cabu, and interviews.
The animated Cab dances alongside Matthew Rushing, choreographer/principal dancer of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater ("Uptown"), who explains how modern Calloway’s movements were and his impact on hip-hop.
Additional interviewees include Calloway’s daughters Cecelia and Camay; grandson and Cab Calloway Orchestra bandleader Chris “Calloway” Brooks; horn player Gerald Wilson; and "The Blues Brothers" (1980) director John Landis and band members Steve Cropper, Lou Marini and Donald “Duck” Dunne. The film introduced Cab and his music to a new generation, when he acted and performed as The Blues Brothers’ mentor, Curtis.
“I am especially delighted to bring Cab Calloway to younger audiences – and he does become quite alive through the inventive animation in this film,” says Susan Lacy, AMERICAN MASTERS series creator and executive producer. “He, and his era, are such a vital part of our musical cultural heritage – and such an energetic one!”
“This film is not just another biopic in the sense of interviews and recollections, but a reinvigoration of the whole Calloway presence – a reprise of a timeless virtuoso,” adds Levin.
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