Symphony in Black

Symphony in Black A Rhapsody of Negro Life is a nineandahalf minute musical short produced in 1935 that features Duke Ellingtons early extended piece, A Rhapsody of Negro Life. The film, Billie Holidays screen debut, was directed by Fred Waller and distributed by Paramount Pictures.

Symphony in Black depicts black life in America and the composition itself A Rhapsody of Negro Life is divided into four parts The Laborers, A Triangle, A Hymn of Sorrow and Harlem Rhythm. A Triangle features the vocals by Holiday and solos by jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist Barney Bigard and Ellington Orchestra regular, trombonist Tricky Sam Nanton. It is important to note that while Symphony in Black is the title of the Paramount film, A Rhapsody of Negro Life is the actual title of Ellingtons composition. The piece has been largely overshadowed by its successor, perhaps Ellingtons most best known extended composition, Black, Brown, and Beige and thus significantly less documentation exists concerning it.Despite that, on October 19, 1935, The Chicago Defender published an article entitled Spotlites of Harlem, that announced the release of Symphony in Black among other current musical events of interest to readers. The film won the Best musical short subject Academy Award for its year. ........

Source: Wikipedia