Black on White White and Black

Overview

An intimate and humorous look at the life and career of the legendary blues pianist Alex Moore, the first Black Texan to receive a National Heritage Fellowship. Moore taught himself to play the piano by watching others and practicing whenever he got a chance. Because he had no formal training Moore developed a distinctive improvisatory piano style that included elements of blues, ragtime, barrelhouse, stride and boogie-woogie. He combined steady left hand bass figures with fluid right hand melodies. His lyrics were both traditional and original and were a response to his playing of the piano and to the moment at hand. The film shows his mastery of the piano at a tribute held in his honor at the famous Majestic Theater-his last public performance.