Synopsis
Released by Transvideo Corporation of America, "Harlem After Midnight" was produced by Alexander, a distributor of African American films in the 1940s. The film features Billy Eckstine and his band with vocals by Eckstine and Ann Baker, and dancing by Nicky O'Daniel and Al Guster. The film was made in 1940 and photographed by Don Malkames. William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing era. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. The New York Times described him as an "influential band leader" whose "suave bass-baritone" and "full-throated, sugary approach to popular songs inspired singers like Joe Williams, Arthur Prysock and Lou Rawls." Eckstine first came on the scene when he joined Earl Hines' Grand Terrace Orchestra in 1939. He stayed with the band as vocalist and trumpeter until 1943. By that time, Eckstine had begun to make a name for himself through the Hines band's juke-box hits such as "Stormy Monday Blues", and his own "Jelly Jelly." In 1944, Eckstine formed his own big band and it became the finishing school for adventurous young musicians who would shape the future of jazz. Included in this group were Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Charlie Parker, and Fats Navarro, as well as vocalist Sarah Vaughan. Tadd Dameron, Gil Fuller and Jerry Valentine were among the band's arrangers. Both were awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. Ann Baker…
Uploader's description on archive.org
Details
- Running time
- 8 minutes
- Collection
- Ephemeral Films
Subjects on the Internet Archive
- Harlem After Midnight
- Harlem
- 1947
- Jazz
- Vocalist
- Billy Eckstine
- African American Big Band
- Stock Footage
- Periscope Fiml
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