Black and Tan
About Black and Tan
Duke Ellington cannot book the band, and the piano is about to be taken. Dancer Fredi Washington gets a club date for herself and the orchestra and insists on being the star turn. She dances to Cotton Club Stomp with a bad heart and collapses. She dies in the apartment while the band plays Black and Tan Fantasy.
Cast & crew
More about Black and Tan
Dudley Murphy wrote and directed the short, and RKO released it on 8 December 1929. Wikipedia gives 19 minutes. It is Fredi Washington's film debut and the first picture of Duke Ellington and His Orchestra playing as a jazz band.
Themes
In film history
The National Film Registry selected it in 2015.
Music
Duke Ellington and His Orchestra play Cotton Club Stomp, Black and Tan Fantasy, and Black Beauty, with the Hall Johnson choir.
Preservation
A print is on Wikimedia Commons. The National Film Registry listed it in 2015.
Notes
- The Hall Johnson choir sings on the track.
- Black Beauty is also heard.
- The Library of Congress placed the short on the National Film Registry in 2015.
- Ellington appears as himself, not under a character name.
Scenes
- Movers come for the piano.
- Washington falls during Cotton Club Stomp.
- The band plays Black and Tan Fantasy in the apartment as she dies.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (Black and Tan (1929).webm)
