Edward Bland facts for kids
Edward Osmund Bland (born July 25, 1926 – died March 14, 2013) was an American composer and a director of music. He was known for creating various musical pieces and for his important film, The Cry of Jazz.
About Edward Bland
Edward Bland was born in Chicago, Illinois, on the South Side. His father, also named Edward Bland, worked for the postal service. He was also a talented writer who taught himself about literature. He had famous friends like the authors Ralph Ellison, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Langston Hughes.
Edward Bland's father sadly died in 1944 during World War II, in a battle called the Battle of the Bulge. Edward Bland himself also served in the Army for a short time during World War II. After the war, he went to college. He studied at the University of Chicago and the American Conservatory of Music. He was able to do this thanks to the G.I. Bill, which helped soldiers pay for their education.
His Music and Films
Edward Bland created many different kinds of music. One of his pieces was a concerto for an electric violin and a small orchestra. A concerto is a musical piece where one instrument plays a main part with an orchestra.
He also wrote music for movies and TV shows. He composed the music for the 1989 TV play A Raisin in the Sun. He also wrote the music for the 1984 film A Soldier's Story. Another important musical work he created was Sketches Set Seven for piano.
Besides music, Edward Bland also made films. In 1959, he wrote, directed, and produced a documentary film called The Cry of Jazz. A documentary is a film that tells a true story or gives information about a topic.
Years later, in the 1990s, people rediscovered this film. Scholars, who are people who study a lot about a topic, realized how important it was. They celebrated it as an early example of independent black filmmaking. This means it was a film made by black creators, outside of the big Hollywood studios.
The Cry of Jazz was later fixed up and released again on DVD in 1996. In 2010, the Library of Congress added it to its National Film Registry. This is a special collection of films that are important to American history and culture. They called it "a historic and fascinating film." They said it talked about racism and how some people used jazz music without truly understanding its artistic and cultural roots.
