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.
Credits
Queens of Jazz: The Joy and Pain of the Jazz Divas Cast
| Name |
Character |
|
Annie Ross
She was 82, now 94 years old
|
as Self/Archive Footage |
|
Peggy Lee
She was 92, 81 years old when she died
|
as Self/Archive Footage |
|
Sarah Vaughan
She was 89, 66 years old when she died
|
as Self/Archive Footage |
|
Nina Simone
She was 80, 70 years old when she died
|
as Self/Archive Footage |
|
Ella Fitzgerald
She was 96, 79 years old when she died
|
as Self/Archive Footage |
Queens of Jazz: The Joy and Pain of the Jazz Divas Crew
