Between 1955 and 1960, rhythm and blues and rock ' roll erode jazz' audiences but the music still enjoys tremendous creativity. Saxophonist Sonny Rollins and trumpeter Clifford Brown make their marks while Duke Ellington emerges stronger than ever and Miles Davis and John Coltrane make legendary albums. Louis Armstrong jeopardizes his career when he condemns the government for its failure to act on racism in Little Rock, Ark. Drummer Art Blakely and others attempt to win back R & B audiences to jazz. As stars such as Billie Holiday fade out, others such as Sarah Vaughan burn brightly and newcomers such as Ornette Coleman begin to push the music into uncharted territories.