Cab Calloway Music

Since there is no description of this video in amazon's catalog, let me provide a little. It will also serve as google bait for kids doing their Harlem Renaissance homework.

This is a low budget but nonetheless delightful look back at famous black jazz entertainers of Harlem in the 1930s. Archival footage is intercut with an interview of reminisces by an aged Cab Calloway, fresh from his triumph in _The Blues Brothers_ movie. (BTW, this film was released in 1981, not 1931) His massive, expressive face softens when talking about dear old friends like Fats Waller, and lights up when talking about brown bombshells like Dorothy Dandridge.

The archival footage is taken from old musicals, along with newreel footage of crowds outside clubs and theaters. There are performances by Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Calloway himself, lots of dance numbers featuring Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, some wild lindy hoppin', even a house rent party scene from some movie. My favorite bits are the numbers featuring Fats Waller, his over-the-top mugging for the camera quite overshadowing his two-fisted musical mastery. But all of it is a must-see for the uninformed. You may see this footage in other film presentations, but you won't get a more knowledgeable host than Calloway.

The film wraps up with the genial old Calloway back on the Harlem street, giving and receiving hugs and pecks from passersby, making his exit. Hi-de-hi-de-hi-de-ho...