'Oxygen for the Ears: Living Jazz' is a story of the trials and triumphs of jazz in America. Every jazz tune has a start | dG1fN0VZeFJrLXYzNzA
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00:00Jazz cannot be defined.
00:16It's the only art form we have in the United States.
00:19General Morton was a guy who claimed that he invented jazz.
00:23It wasn't far from the truth.
00:25Jazz is America's classical music.
00:27Decapitated improvisation, that's the meaning of the whole thing.
00:30Before there was the Apollo, there was the Howard Theater.
00:32Before there was Harlem, there was U Street, Washington, D.C.
00:36It's one of those places where the sounds of 20th century America were being invented.
00:40Out of this inspiring environment, came the greatest musicians of all times.
00:45What we play is life.
00:58These artists express the joys and hardships of life and remind us how much all of us have
01:02in common.
01:03Jazz is certainly a cultural and political statement about what it means to be black.
01:07As a result of that murder of Dr. King, that was the most devastating blow that burned
01:12all of these areas out.
01:13There were black clubs and white clubs.
01:15That was it.
01:16That was a terrible time, man.
01:17I think jazz is dead.
01:18After the riots, you know, it was in the air.
01:27Dead, yeah.
01:30It's always going to be here.
01:31It's always going to be listened to.
01:33It's always going to be learned.
01:34It's always going to be loved and appreciated, you know.
01:44Jazz is definitely not dead.
01:47Well, it's like a breath of fresh air.
01:49What of this legacy do we want to bring forward?
01:53We don't want this music to die.
01:54Jazz is evolving.
01:56That is the nature of the universe.
02:03Jazz is life.
02:05It's like oxygen.
02:07I mean, it's the same.
02:08Oxygen for the ears, for the heart, for the soul.
02:14I love you.
02:15I love you.