OC, a specter saxophonist, saunters onto the Jitterbug! page and stage blowing The Artist in America out of his horn whenever my obstinate hero Billy Rhythm gets a beating from members of his ex-gang, The Jolly Fellows. Ornette Coleman's music is used as the soundtrack to the violence. Although recorded in 1972-- 40+ years after the events in Jitterbug!-- it honors and spotlights the evolution of jazz music and dance found throughout the play.  

This excellent video reminds us about the connection between Ornette Coleman's free jazz and the work of abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock. Coleman, the inventor of "free jazz," likens his own improvisational music to Pollock's work by saying Pollock "knows what he is doing. He knows when it is finished but it still is free form."

​How cool it would be to slash and drip the stage with a Jackson Pollock painting, projection mapped with flashing lights augmenting the music, dance, and violence in this very American work!

​If not familiar with The Artist in America, you can hear it here.

Here's a great example of my call for choreographers to "reach into the future" for dance steps to win Jitterbug!s climatic dance contest at the legendary Savoy Ballroom. Yeah, the clip is using Bruno Mars' hit instead of music from the '30's, but I think you get the idea. If you turn on the subtitles, you can discover the film names. Props to @Daryl_Roth for bringing this to my attention. What a great antidote for the political times we live in if you're American. Thanks for reminding us Broadway via Hollywood about this nation's continuing contribution to making the world a place you want to sing and dance in.