Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues
A Musical Journey

From Sept. 28 to Oct. 4, PBS will broadcast "Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues — A Musical Journey" on the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) channel in the US. Scorsese is the executive director of the series and directed the first film.

"The Blues Have A Truth"

"I have always loved the blues," Scorsese told Jack Newfield in an interview for Parade Magazine (9/24/03). "They have a truth, an emotional truth -- the condition of being human. The blues are American and worldly at the same time, and the blues have a kinship with film. They are both part of a culture of storytelling."

When did he first hear the blues?

"Radio, 1958," Scorsese replied in his exact staccato exuberance. "I heard Lead Belly sing 'See See Rider' and went out and bought a Lead Belly album the same day."

Scorsese is revered as as a film preservationist, and he says he approaches the blues with the same impulse.

"It's the thrill of discovering the roots of an art form and being able to preserve it for the next generation," he explained.

"I listen to the blues all the the time," Scorsese continued. "I listen while I'm working. I listen in hotel rooms. I listen late at night. Muddy Waters, Son House and 'Dust My Broom' by Elmore James move me as much as opera or Beethoven. They are my inspiration. Music is my muse."

Scorsese, a longtime blues devotee, is the executive producer of the show, PBS' flagship fall program. The episodes — each directed by a different well-known filmmaker — are intended as personal, sometimes impressionistic, reflections on the blues. The episodes air each night at 9 pm, Eastern Standard Time.

Sept. 28: "Feel Like Going Home," directed by Scorsese and written by Peter Guralnik, pays homage to the Delta blues though rare archival footage of Son House, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker and new performances by Willie King, Taj Mahal, Otha Turner and Ali Farka Toure. Bluesman Corey Harris travels through Mississippi and West Africa, where he explores the roots of the music.

Sept. 29: "The Soul of a Man," directed by Wim Wenders, explores the lives and music of Blind Willie Johnson, Skip James and J. B. Lenoir; the first two are examined via a surprisingly moving fictional film-within-a-film and rare archival footage. Original recordings alternate with contemporary covers by such artists as Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams, Lou Reed, Cassandra Wilson and Los Lobos.

Sept. 30: "The Road to Memphis," directed by Richard Pearce and written by Robert Gordon, features B.B. King, Bobby Rush, Rosco Gordon and Ike Turner, as well as historical footage of Howlin' Wolf and Rufus Thomas.

Oct. 1: "Warming by the Devil's Fire," directed by Charles Burnett, is a fictional narrative about a young boy's encounter with his family in Mississippi in the 1950s, and intergenerational tensions between the heavenly strains of gospel and the devilish moans of the blues.

Oct. 2: "Godfathers & Sons," directed by Marc Levin, finds Marshall Chess, son of Leonard Chess and heir to the Chess Records legacy, and hip-hop legend Chuck D of Public Enemy, touring Chicago and its grand blues history as they produce an album bringing together veteran blues players and contemporary hip-hop stars.

Oct. 3: "Red White & Blues," directed by Mike Figgis, revisits the music of the early '60s British Invasion that reintroduced the American blues sound that had been pretty much ignored at home. Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Van Morrison and Tom Jones perform and talk about inspirations such as Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and Freddie King.

Oct. 4: "Piano Blues," directed by Clint Eastwood, explores his lifelong passion for piano blues.

The DVD and CDs are now available for sale.