The episode was to be a brief dramatization of the history of jazz performance, from its roots to its place in American culture in the 1940s. Cast as himself, Louis Armstrong would play the central role; jazz pianist Hazel Scott was to portray Lil Hardin. Aspects of Armstrong's biography would be interspersed with filmed performances at venues ranging from New Orleans to Chicago to New York. The work of Joe Sullivan, Kid Ory, King Oliver, Bessie Smith and others would also be spotlighted, and Ellington's original soundtrack would connect the various elements into a whole.