The evolution isn't the only process examined; Kwait also looks at the instruments popular to jazz and blues and their ancestry, as well as how the playing evolved. The harmonica is an example of one such instrument. It started out as something the musician would blow into to obtain the notes, until early jazz and blues players began drawing to get different tones. Later amplification and manipulation bought out a saxophone-similar resonance needed to achieve complex melodic lines.

Though jug band music may be considered the roots of American music, it is popular behind the boarders this country. The film makers also spend some time in Japan, attending the shows of modern performers, who are preserving and still performing the music, and work with some of them to execute a tribute show.

The music showcased is well presented, especially when you take into consideration the age of many of the recordings. The recent performances and tributes are both enjoyable and nicely filmed.

For anyone who has an interest in not only the history of music and how it developed and genres were defined, this film will be enjoyable. If you are also a fan of blues, jazz, and American roots — or jug — music it's not to be missed. Chasin' Gus' Ghost is premiering at the Bearsville Theater on 291 Tinker Street on October 13 at 10:00 pm as part of the Woodstock Film Festival. Tickets are $10.00. Dates and times of future screenings can be found at the film's website.