In this course, we trace the symbiotic development of jazz--the quintessential American art form--and modern American and European cinema and examine the ways jazz has transformed the modern cinematic experience. The class studies jazz as musical accompaniment to the gilded hedonism of the Jazz Age, the social and political contradictions of the Swing Era, and the hardboiled crime dramas of film noir. The class explores the role of jazz in cinema through the study of documentaries, biographical films about jazz musicians, and fictional narrative films. Students learn to identify cinematic elements influenced by jazz, like rhythm, composition, and improvisation, and develop an appreciation for the structure and aesthetic of jazz music. The class analyzes the films of John Cassavetes, Louis Malle, Shirley Clarke, Jean-Luc Godard, Claire Denis, and Otto Preminger and the music of Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Max Roach, and Billie Holiday.