New York, NY (Top40 Charts) In celebration of the Golden
Globe and SAG Award-winning film, Ma Rainey's
Black Bottom, Netflix in partnership with the GRAMMY Museum present Ma Rainey: Mother of the Blues, a half-hour television special about the music icon and trailblazer.
Airing on Monday, April 12th at 7:00pm PT on KCBS in Los Angeles, Ma Rainey: Mother of the Blues features filmmakers Denzel Washington, Todd
Black and
George C. Wolfe; the SAG winner and Oscar-nominated actress Viola Davis; music legends Bonnie Raitt, Branford Marsalis,
Melissa Etheridge and Jimmy Jam; the Oscar-nominated hair, makeup, and costume team responsible for creating Ma's distinctive look; and various cast members of the acclaimed Netflix film, which garnered lead actor SAG wins for Viola Davis and the Chadwick Boseman this past weekend.
Tensions and temperatures rise over the course of an afternoon recording session in 1920s
Chicago as a band of musicians await trailblazing performer, the legendary "Mother of the Blues," Ma Rainey (Academy Award� winner Viola Davis). Late to the session, the fearless, fiery Ma engages in a battle of wills with her white manager and producer over control of her music. As the band waits in the studio's claustrophobic rehearsal room, ambitious trumpeter Levee (Chadwick Boseman) - who has an eye for Ma's girlfriend and is determined to stake his own claim on the music industry - spurs his fellow musicians into an eruption of stories revealing truths that will forever change the course of their lives.
Adapted from two-time Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson's play, MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM celebrates the transformative power of the blues and the artists who refuse to let society's prejudices dictate their worth. Directed by
George C. Wolfe and adapted for the screen by
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, the film is produced by Fences Oscar nominees Denzel Washington and Todd Black. Colman Domingo, Glynn Turman, Michael Potts, Taylour Paige, and Dusan Brown co-star alongside GRAMMY winner Branford Marsalis' score.
An inspiring tribute to the artist herself, Ma Rainey: Mother of the Blues takes a deeper look at the real Ma Rainey - an incredible musician and pioneer, way ahead of her time, who overcame obstacles dealing with rights to her music, her sexuality, and her worth as a female in the 1920's struggling to keep her band together. The special follows Ma Rainey's story from her traveling minstrel shows to becoming one of the most powerful women of her time.
Following its airing on KCBS, the special will be available on COLLECTION:live�, the GRAMMY Museum's official streaming platform, beginning April 13 through May 1. Educators, through their relationship with the GRAMMY Museum, will have access to a treasure trove of materials about Ma Rainey and have the opportunity to host "History of the Blues" workshops, which will be taught to students throughout the school year.
Ma Rainey's
Black Bottom is available on Netflix. The film is nominated for five Oscars, including Best Actress (Viola Davis), Best Actor (Chadwick Boseman), Best Production Design (Karen O'Hara, Mark Ricker, Diana Stoughton), Best Costume Design (Ann Roth), and Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Mia Neal, Jamika Wilson,
Sergio Lopez-Rivera). With their nomination, Neal and Wilson made history as the first
Black women to be nominated in the makeup and hairstyling category.
