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Dante James Film on Jazz on PBS Tonight

Duke artist-in-residence explores post-WW I European exodus of American jazz greats

"Harlem in Montmarte," a new film directed and written by Duke artist-in-residence Dante James will premiere as part of PBS' Great Performances series at 8 p.m. tonight on UNC-TV.

Harlem in Montmartre tells the story of the long-forgotten "extraordinary ones," who left America to create the jazz age in Paris between the First and Second World Wars. After peace was signed at Versailles, many black Americans remained in Europe rather than return to the brutal segregation and racism of America.

Over the next two decades, they formed an expatriate community of musicians, entertainers and entrepreneurs, primarily congregating in Paris' hilly Montmartre neighborhood. Some achieved enduring fame, while others faded into history.

Inspired by the book /Harlem in Montmartre: a Paris Jazz Story/ (University of California Press) by historian William A. Shack and utilizing rare archival material from both France and America, this remarkable performance- driven documentary features the stories and music of such key figures as James Reese Europe, Josephine Baker, Sidney Bechet, Bricktop, Eugene Bullard, Django Reinhardt and more.

Directed by James, with performance sequences directed by Olivier Simmonet, the production was written by James and Simmonet with Allan Miller.

For more, click here.