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JAZZ BRITANNIA: EPISODE 1 - STRANGER ON THE SHORE
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Though Britain had its first brush with jazz back in 1919 with the visit of the (all white) Original Dixie Jazz Band, it was not to be love at first sight.
Fearing riotous scenes, the authorities banned American dance bands from touring in the 1920s. Jazz remained exotic, only heard on highly prized, crackly shellac discs. Yet by 1960s the charts were being regularly topped by affable looking gentlemen playing clarinets or trumpets and wearing bowler hats. So what happened?
Stranger on the Shore uncovers the birth of Brit-jazz, with the help of many of its key figures. George Melly, Humphrey Lyttelton and Chris Barber appear from the first wave of trad jazzers, while Ronnie Scott and John Dankworth represent the first stirrings of a British bebop scene in thrall to Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.
As post-war Britain entered a period of massive social change and upheaval, jazz became the soundtrack for a new generation determined to enjoy itself. The programme follows both movements through the 1950s and early 60s; trad's commercial success and the birth of skiffle.
The arrival of Stan Tracey and Tubby Hayes signified a new level of artistry. Even more significant, however, was the influx of immigrant musicians such as Jamaican saxophonist Joe Harriott, whose revolutionary free jazz experiments were way ahead of the Americans. It seemed that British jazz was finding its own voice. Then the Beatles hit the Cavern Club...
 Jazz Britannia homepage
Previous music programmes
on BBC Four
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Free Form - Joe Harriott (Redial) 
