This is the first of three clips introducing young people from London to music, specifically swing jazz music. I wanted to connect this American music with Europe and so it begins in London with Samuel Coleridge Taylor, a black British musician and composer of orchestral music who made 3 successful tours of America and was even invited to the Whitehouse by President Theodore Roosevelt. He achieved the success and status that was denied to African-Americans. He became a symbol of hope for many.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was not a jazz musician. He drew from traditional African music, aiming to integrate it into the classical orchestral music he wrote. This was what Bela Bartok would do with Hungarian folk-music, and this process of synthesising various musical influences is also what made jazz music.
Written, directed and narrated by Geoff Johnston. Animation in this piece was made by Jarek Radecki.