Monochrome: Black, White And Blue

Storyline

MONOCHROME: Black, White and Blue What you didn't know about the blues... What you didn't know about Slavery and the Civil Rights movement.... What you didn't know about black culture in America ... all rolled into 3 nights of captivating Television This 3 part series re-sets trends of thinking about blues music and its roots. There have been and will continue to be documentation on 'Blues Music'. However, what Director Jon Brewer (BB King: The Life of Riley, Nat King Cole: Afraid of the Dark), discovered in his extended encounters in America's Deep South is that there was no music called 'blues' when the original creators stepped into a new feel of musical expressionism... there was simply pain and oppression and plenty of it, and the music was the salve that, if only momentarily, set them free. Starting in the early 1800's Louisiana - slave trading and transportation of slaves from Haiti and Africa, bring with them a drum beat musical style and a destiny towards which together with the influences present from Spain and France later co-mingled with voodoo, gospel, slavery and civil war all became major factors in the bubbling cauldron of musical expressionism emerging at the time in New Orleans. This series lovingly defragments the history of not only blues music but the plight of the people in America's South; it tells the story of the places that brought blues to life through powerful interviews*, live musical references and sweeping landscapes. At the same time, largely unknown facts are presented to the audience that separate this series from just another take on blues music. (Ex. Did you know that blacks also had black slaves?) -Artists such as Dr. John, Aaron Neville, Buddy Guy, Alan Toussaint, Eric Clapton, Bill Wyman, Jake Bugg, B.B. King and many others, as well as historical experts who have given their lives to the subject... Throughout, references to the Mississippi Blues Trail markers are made, and these are positioned all over the South telling about the Bluesmen and Women and how the places where they lived and times in which they existed - and continue to exist- influenced their lives and therefore their music. These sites vary from city streets to cotton fields, train depots, cemeteries, and clubs to churches. The Gateway to the Blues Mississippi Blues Trail starting point Slavery, the abolition of slavery, and the Civil Rights Movement feature heavily in parts of this series, as they were pivotal moments in black history thus the evolvement of blues music. As newly-freed slaves began to move out of the Delta towards cities like Chicago, Detroit and New York the music changed to evoke the times and the new lives of the people. New instruments and techniques were added - the introduction of black radio brought blues to its widest audience yet and this means whites too began to hail the power and presence of blues, which brought with it an entirely new set of social issues. Harriet Tubman far left, with slaves she helped rescue, during the American Civil War. Incredibly, the blues crossed over to England by way of late 50's early 60's rock band's enthusiasm for the genre who then brought it back to its home as fans to remind and honour its hallowed ground for the irrepressible, irreplaceable art their people and history had birthed. Today, Blues music is found referenced and in fact re-recorded by the world's top rock and roll bands such as Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, The Rolling Stones, to name just a few. Visiting America's major blues hotbeds, Memphis, Nashville, Jackson, New Orleans, Chicago, 'this 3 Part Series unveils the passion of a people that endured through means organic and spiritual. We have the by product of this in the many songs that carved a piece of history in America, and continues to foster inspiration to musicians and music lovers to this day. In Summary The objective is to create a 3 part series made for Television that will follow through with Internet Streaming/TVOD, Box Set DVD release, with all ancillary rights (air, ship, hotel) available for exploitation, Worldwide.