Harlem Renaissance

A major degree of caveat emptor is required on Harlem Renaissance, which claims to "trace the roots of the music of the Harlem Renaissance, its social impact on society, and its eventual acceptance in mainstream culture." For anyone who has even a passing knowledge of 20th century African-American history and culture, this film will raise the most crimson-hued of flags, as the jazz music presented here was specifically not stirred up in the extraordinary atmosphere of intellectual and artistic achievement of the 1920s Harlem Renaissance (and no serious music scholar has ever advanced Harlem as the birthplace of jazz). But if one overlooks the inconvenience of the documentary's shaky grasp on music and African-American history, there is still plenty to enjoy here in vintage performance footage of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, and two incredible young beauties named Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge. Many of these clips (some of which display the considerable wear-and-tear typical of public domain offerings) will be familiar to fans and all of it was produced well after the Harlem Renaissance's influence had permanently waned. Nonetheless, Harlem Renaissance boasts such a surplus of musical treasures that one can almost forgive the loose kick-around of facts from historians and performers inserted between the songs. A strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)