A fascinating look at the decades-long musical career of the late Alberta Hunter, a legendary blues singer and jazz vocalist.

This classic TV program, produced for the CBS Festival of Lively Arts for Young People and hosted by Dionne Warwick and Joe Williams, features jazz greats such as Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, Herbie Hancock, Max Roach, Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan and Dizzy Gillespie.

Ever wonder why Jews and Rastafarians both use the Star of David and make references to Zion? This exuberant documentary explores the surprising connections between reggae culture and Judaism.

This video explores a disreputable but popular musical genre from the Dominican Republic. Bachata, which derives from Latin American traditions of guitar music, is commonly viewed as "vulgar" or "low class," the "poor people's music."

Tells the story of Eddie Torres, who recruits the best of New York's salseros-Hispanic club and street dancers-and, with the musical collaboration of Tito Puente, molds them into a professional dance troupe.

The 1950 debut of Eugene Ionesco's The Bald Soprano, a "mixture of social satire, Alice in Wonderland-type logic, verbal delirium and surrealist farce," stirred a sensation in Paris.

This cinéma-vérité documentary, shot in high definition video, follows seven Russian teenagers who came to America to become country music stars.

This biographical video traces the career of one of Hollywood's most successful composers of film and television scores, including "Conan the Barbarian," "The Blue Lagoon," "Free Willy," "Robocop," "Starship Troopers" and "Lonesome Dove."

An acclaimed documentary about the life and music of Townes Van Zandt, perhaps one of the greatest singer/songwriters of all time, who inspired artists from Bob Dylan to Norah Jones.

This feature-length video features Harold Hayslett, a retired pipefitter and master builder of violins and cellos, and documents in fascinating detail, from start to finish, the entire process of his construction of a cello.

Examines the dangers of hearing loss from listening to or performing loud music, featuring interviews with American and European rock musicians as well as rock music fans, sound engineers and audiologists.

A documentary portrait of Andrew F. Boarman, a 78-year-old West Virginia instrument maker and musician, featuring a number of lively musical performances and an illustration of Boarman's skills as a master craftsman of banjos, guitars, fiddles, and dulcimers.

Chronicles the 1987 U.S. tour by the National Symphony Orchestra of the People's Republic of China, including interviews with conductor Zuohuang Chen, a survivor of the Cultural Revolution who studied music in the U.S.

This biographial profile of a woman whose career has successfully combined gospel and popular music moves from smoky clubs to a Sweet Inspirations reunion concert, from nostalgic gospel singing with The Drinkard Singers to a sold-out concert with Cissy's daughter Whitney.

This behind-the-scenes documentary chronicles the collaborative efforts of young composer Peter Lieberson, pianist Peter Serkin, and conductor Seiji Ozawa as they shape Lieberson's first orchestral piece for debut by the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

This music and dance spectacular, sung and danced by members of the award-winning Beija Flor Samba School and photographed during the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, dramatizes the legend of genesis according to Yoruba mythology.br>

This cinema-verite documentary explores the realities of life as a classical musician through the story of Hexagon, a newly-formed chamber ensemble.

This video, which documents one of the oldest cultural festivals in the Western Hemisphere, celebrates the vitality of calypso music today on the island of Barbados.

Escape from Luanda follows a group of students at a musical school in Angola as they prepare for their first-ever music recital; while considering whether this type of program, and others like it, have the ability to help kids overcome their immediate surroundings.

This contemporary portrait of folkloric traditions in Cuba, focusing on the everyday life of musicians and dancers.

Examines both the continuity and the changes that have affected Irish traditional music since the turn of the century.

Features the musical traditions and verbal recollections of eight retired African-American railroad track laborers, whose occupational folk songs were once heard along the railroad lines that crisscross the South.

This video features conversations with Oscar and Grammy Award winning composer John Corigliano and Tony and Obie Award winning playwright and librettist William Hoffman, who discuss the challenges they faced in creating their first opera, The Ghosts of Versailles.

This video profiles members of Banda Dida, an all-girl drumming and vocal group in Salvador, Brazil.

This musical biography is a documentary-style recreation of the life of Thomas Moore (1779-1852), Ireland's greatest national lyric poet, whose melodies and poems were revered throughout 19th-century Europe.

A profile of the colorful singer who uses the street Spanish of Cuba to sing, swagger and slang her way into the hearts of her audience.

Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers was an enormously popular rock and roll group of the '50s and one of the first black groups whose music broke the color barrier.

This video offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse into one of the country’s top opera schools, Indiana University’s School of Music, where young singers prepare for one of the world’s riskiest careers.

This concert, performed at the elegant 18th-century Dublin residence of the American Ambassador to Ireland, Jean Kennedy Smith, features tenor James W. Flannery, accompanied by pianist William Ransom and harpist Cormac DeBarra, who perform a wide range of Irish favorites.

This first video from the "Journey in Music" series surveys the history and musical heritage of string instruments, from ancient times to the present day, including string instruments from China (Zheng), Iran (Santuri), Greece (Buzuka) and Spain (Guitar).

This video portrays the big-band era in American entertainment, profiling the Lee Williams Band which, from 1938 to 1952, barnstormed throughout the Midwest, bringing Swing music to rural America.

Under the stage name "Le Petomane," Joseph Pujol was the toast of turn-of-the-century Paris. Audiences at the Moulin Rouge where first shocked, then won over, by this tall, mustachioed man in a red velvet suit...a suite with a hole cut in the derriere to release his remarkable talent.

When Jason Crigler, a young musician, suffered a brain hemorrhage, the doctors' prognosis was dire: if he survives, there won't be much left of him. Incorporating footage shot by hospital staff, this acclaimed documentary follows Jason's extraordinary rehabilitation and recovery. In the process, it opens an window into the workings of the human mind.

Kalmanoff, who studied composition at Harvard with Walter Piston, has written over fifty-four works for the musical theater, including seventeen operas, all of which feature lyrical, witty and inventive music.

A portrait of Maxine Sullivan (1911-87), the legendary jazz singer who rose from humble origins in Pittsburgh to become one of the foremost black vocalists in America.

Uses archival images plus interviews with scholars, harp players and composers to survey the religious, cultural and social functions of the instrument throughout its 5,000 year history.

This video profiles artists throughout the world, especially those working outside mainstream culture, who have committed their lives to opposing war and barbarism through their art.

Takes us to the heart of the Andes to capture the atmosphere of the annual music festivals, showing ceremonies of the Aymara Indians who dress as devils, bears and sacred spirits that come to life at carnival time.

In this offbeat mockumentary, Thompson Merrimack, Chairman of WorldWide Monitor, hosts a performance of the Surveillance Chamber Music Society in a celebration of Jeremy Bentham, whose architectural design of the Panopticon revolutionized systems of penal surveillance in the eighteenth century.

Portrays a summer bagpipe school in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, where piping enthusiasts from all over North America gather to learn the craft and music of the traditional instrument of the Scottish highlands.

Kalmanoff, who studied composition at Harvard with Walter Piston, has written over fifty-four works for the musical theater, including seventeen operas, all of which feature lyrical, witty and inventive music.

This documentary surveys the revolutionary new developments in American puppet theater, profiling many of puppetry’s most imaginative contemporary artists.

This video features a performance of French composer Olivier Messiaen's famous quartet by The Houston Symphony Chamber Players under the direction of Christoph Eschenbach (piano), accompanied by Eric Halen (violin), Desmond Hoebig (cello) and David Peck (clarinet).

Tells the story of Joe Hill (1879-1915), a Swedish immigrant to America who became a songwriter, cartoonist and labor organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and whose 1915 execution by the state of Utah for a crime he probably did not commit transformed him into a martyr for the labor movement and an international folk hero.

This video offers an unusual look at the current political and economic crisis in Colombia—including a decades-long civil war, a rampant drug trade, kidnapping for ransom, and financial scandal at the highest levels of the government—through the eyes of young Colombians, in particular the country’s finest rap musicians, DJs and breakdancers.

This second video from the "Journey in Music" series chronicles the philosophy, history, and techniques of percussion instruments, focusing on drums and other musical instruments from West Africa, the Caribbean, Japan and India.

Captures the spirit and charm of the legacy of Elvis Presley by accompanying a fan through Elvis country, from Tupelo, Mississippi to Memphis, Tennessee.

This documentary chronicles the experience of three quirky young men who desire to make their own distinctive mark in the world of popular music.

This video traces the forgotten roots and celebrates the continuing legacy of Blues music in the Mississippi Delta, interweaving rare archival footage of the South's sharecropping era with performances by Blues veterans.

This documentary profiles three women who are reviving a musical legacy, a birthright, which so many of have lost the simple act of singing.

This video follows the world-famous Chicago Children's Choir on their 1996 tour of South Africa and shows how music can convey a message of peace.

Examines the role of culture in the struggle for national liberation in South Africa by interspersing performances by the Amandla Cultural Ensemble with footage of the mass singing of resistance songs on the streets of South Africa and interviews with leading cultural workers of the African National Congress.

Examines the role of black resistance to apartheid in South Africa through a look at two of the nation's leading cultural activists and popular performers--poet Mzwakhe Mbuli and writer/ performer Gcina Mhlophe.

Examines the history and legends of the Shuar Indians, formerly known as the Jivaro or ‘head-hunter’ Indians, of Ecuador, focusing on their centuries-long history of resistance to the armed might of the Inca and Spanish empires and the preservation of their current way of life.

A colorful and entertaining survey of protest music in Central America, from Mexico City to Managua, where popular music has become a forum for social commentary and political protest.

Hosted and narrated by singer Linda Ronstadt, this entertaining and informative look at ethnic music in America offers a rich sampling of the nation's culturally diverse musical styles, featuring performances of Irish, Greek, African-American, Jewish, Central Asian, Chinese and Puerto Rican music.

This video features legendary musicians Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Hinton and Jonah Jones, who clear up the mystery of a fabled incident in jazz history in the early Forties when the three were members of Cab Calloway's famous band.

This prize-winning musical comedy/documentary, blending documentary, musical theater and personal memoir, is about three Native American sisters growing up in Brooklyn during the 1930s and '40s.

Throw Down Your Heart follows American banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck on his journey to Africa to explore the little known African roots of the banjo. This exuberant musical adventure provides a glimpse of the beauty and complexity of Africa - a picture that is very different from what is often shown in the media.

This behind-the-scenes documentary examines the working relationship of choreographer Eric Hyrst and composer Webster Young, observes Hyrst's rehearsals with the dancers and features excerpts from several of the ballets.

Featuring poetry performances that often resemble contemporary rap, this film examines an important aspect of Afro-Caribbean cultural heritage.

Profiles Roy Smeck, a former vaudeville star known as "The Wizard of the Strings" because of his virtuoso talents on the guitar, banjo, ukelele and Hawaiian guitar, and who is shown to be still active, in his mid-80s, teaching students and giving occasional public performances.