Using archival footage, historic photographs, filmed performances, and recorded interviews with musicians and historians, this ten part documentary series explores the history of jazz and its influence on American music.

Originally produced as a television mini-series and first broadcast on PBS in January 2001. Each disc includes a music-information mode with information on jazz songs from each episode, record company info, and music & photo credits. Episode 1 includes The making of Jazz featurette; episode 2 includes a bonus performance from 1933 of "I cover the waterfront" by Louis Armstrong; episode 7 includes a bonus performance from 1942 of "C-Jam blues" by Duke Ellington; episode 9 includes a bonus performance from 1959 of "New rhumba" by Miles Davis. Detailed jacket notes only in Episode 1.

episode 1.Gumbo (87 min.) -- episode 2. Gift (107 min.) -- episode 3. Our language (111 min.) -- episode 4. True welcome (120 min.) -- episode 5. Swing : pure pleasure (87 min.) -- episode 6. Swing : the velocity of celebration (102 min.) -- episode 7. Dedicated to chaos (116 min.) -- episode 8. Risk (122 min.) -- episode 9. Adventure (112 min.) -- episode 10. Masterpiece by midnight (109 min.).