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The True Welcome

Jazz has been called the purest expression of American democracy; a music built on individualism and compromise, independence and cooperation. Ken Burns follows the growth and development of jazz music from the gritty streets of New Orleans to Chicago's south side, the speakeasies of Kansas city and to Times Square.

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The True Welcome

Season 1 Episode 4 | 118m 57s | CC

In 1929, America enters a decade of economic desperation, as the Stock Market collapses and the Great Depression begins. Factories fall silent, farms fall into decay, and a quarter of the nation's workforce is jobless. In these dark times, jazz is called upon to lift the spirits of a frightened country, and finds itself poised for a decade of explosive growth.

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Funding provided by: General Motors;PBS; Park Foundation; CPB; The Pew Charitable Trusts; The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism; NEH; The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations; The Reva and David Logan Foundation; The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundations; NEA; Helen and Peter Bing