ReConnect: The Untold History of Jazz (Documentary)

Hi, my name is Doug Harris, and I’m a documentary filmmaker celebrating my 25th year of producing engaging films that educate and entertain public television audiences.

"ReConnect: The Untold History of Jazz" is a documentary for public television that I’m producing which explores the fascinating story of how jazz evolved into a popular music genre from its early roots in New Orleans, Louisiana.

This untold story is centered around author Nick Douglas’ book “Finding Octave” that explores his Creole family members who were heavily involved in the Crescent City’s diverse music community. It all started with the migration of the Tio brothers (Lorenzo and Louis) from Mexico. The Tios were trained musicians that performed professionally, and taught music lessons throughout the New Orleans Creole community.

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The inception of jazz began in the late 1800s, when a confluence of musical genres merged together to create a new and unique art form that emphasized improvisation. The Creole families at the forefront of this new sound were the Tios, Pirons, Picous and the Pavageaus who were all relatives.

Lorenzo Sr. and Lorenzo Tio Jr. were responsible for teaching and influencing several of the greatest jazz clarinet players of all time. Their list of students included: Sidney Bechet, Johnny Dodds, Omer Simeon, Barney Bigard, Alphose Picou, along with many others. This happened during the era when the clarinet was recognized as the lead instrument in many of the early jazz bands.

Lorenzo Tio Jr. was a firm believer that one must first learn the basic fundamentals of good technique, and then the artistry of improvisation will follow. This basically became the covenant of jazz as we know it today.

Your financial support is needed

At this point, our project team is in need of help to get the documentary project completed, so we can share this exciting story with television viewers around the country and internationally through our targeted public television broadcasts.

Your kind donations will help us to raise the needed funding to:

• Film the remaining key interviews

• Acquire licensing for archival film & photos

• Develop and arrange the documentary’s musical soundtrack

• Complete all post production/editing

• Acquire errors & omissions insurance for broadcasts

Working closely with Nick Douglas and traveling several times to New Orleans to produce this amazing story has been an incredible experience for me. I'm most excited about the potential impact this documentary will have as a music education tool for folks like myself who love jazz.

Thanks for your kind consideration in helping us to complete this historical documentary.

Doug Harris

Producer/Director

www.dougharrismedia.com