
Film
Queens of Jazz: The Joy and Pain of the Jazz Divas
2013 · 59m · Documentary · Music
- IMDb
- 7.1
On Vescene
No Vescene ratings yet — sign in and be the first.
Overview
The documentary tracks the diva's difficult progress as she emerges from the tough, testosterone-fuelled world of the big bands of the 30s and 40s, to fill nightclubs and saloons across the US in the 50s and early 60s as a force in her own right. Looking at the lives and careers of six individual singers (Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone and Annie Ross), the film not only talks to those who knew and worked with these queens of jazz, but also to contemporary singers who sit on the shoulders of these trailblazing talents without having to endure the pain and hardship it took for them to make their highly individual voices heard above the prejudice of mid-century America.
Cast

Peggy Lee
Self (archive footage)

Sarah Vaughan
Self (archive footage)

Nina Simone
Self (archive footage)

Ella Fitzgerald
Self (archive footage)

Annie Ross
Self

Melody Gardot
Self
Madeleine Peyroux
Self

Billie Holiday
Self (archive footage)
Crew
- Chris RodleyDirector · Producer
- Mark CooperExecutive Producer
- Sheryl SandlerEditor
Details
- Release date
- May 10, 2013
- Status
- Released
- Original language
- English
- Runtime
- 59m
- Rated
- U
- Genres
- Documentary, Music
Similar films

Megacities
1998

The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story
2000

Saxophone Colossus
1986

Bird
1988

André 3000: New Blue Sun (Listening)
2023

Methadonia
2005

Straight Outta Compton
2015

Chris Botti in Boston
2009

The Case of the Wrong Man
2017

Diana Krall | Live at the Montreal Jazz Festival
2004

Keith Jarrett Open Theatre East
1993

Sita Sings the Blues
2008
Rate it on Vescene
Rate films and shows on two axes — quality and fun — and share taste with friends.