As the film "Born to Be Blue," based on Chet Baker's life, opens in Germany, here are 10 movies that have captured the true essence of jazz.
Image: Alamode Film
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10 great jazz films
Whether based on real-life music legends or fictional characters, these 10 movies are a tribute to the power of jazz.
Image: Alamode Film
'Born to Be Blue'
The American trumpeter and vocalist Chet Baker (1929 - 1988) is a jazz legend. Baker was one of the few white musicians to find a place among jazz greats such as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk. The Canadian filmmaker Robert Budreau focused on the last years of Baker's life in his film "Born to Be Blue," starring Ethan Hawke.
Image: Alamode Film
'Let's Get Lost'
Among the different films about the world's greatest jazz musicians, there are also several remarkable documentaries. "Let's Get Lost" (1988) is an exceptional one. It covers several decades of Chet Baker's career. The film was nominated for an Oscar.
This film did win an Oscar, in 1955. Directed by Anthony Mann, "The Glenn Miller Story"
stars James Stewart as the big band leader and trombonist Glenn Miller. The film tells a melodramatic love story, but music naturally plays a leading role in it. It is also a great Technicolor movie.
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'Sweet and Lowdown'
Woody Allen, who's also an avid clarinet player, demonstrated with this 1999 film that a jazz film can be captivating without being based on real-life musicians. "Sweet and Lowdown" tells the story of a gifted swing and jazz guitarist (Sean Penn) in the 1920s. The comedy also humorously integrates documentary-style interviews with critics and biographers of the fictional musician.
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'The Cotton Club'
Francis Ford Coppola likewise looked back at the 1920s jazz scene in his film "The Cotton Club" (1984), which was also the name of a famous New York City night club from 1923 to 1935. Combining music and a gangster story, the film starred among others Richard Gere and Diane Lane (picture). The film was nominated for several awards, but flopped at the box office.
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'Kansas City'
A decade later, Robert Altman directed a film with a similar concept as that of his colleague Coppola. "Kansas City" also tells a gangster story set in a jazz scene hot spot - this time in Kansas City in 1934. Harry Belafonte and Jennifer Jason Leigh (picture) were among the movie's stars.
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'Round Midnight'
One of the best films about jazz ever made is by French director Bertrand Tavernier. "Round Midnight" (1986) is set in Paris in the 1950s and tells the story of an alcoholic saxophone player. The director (right) wanted authentic music in the film, and it features several musicians, among them Dexter Gordon (left) in the lead role.
Clint Eastwood paid tribute to the legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker in his 1988 biopic, "Bird." Forest Whitaker's performance in the lead role was brilliant, earning him the best actor award in Cannes. The movie features atmospheric sequences covering Parker's life between music and drugs, up until his early death at the age of 34.
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'Mo' Better Blues'
Director Spike Lee is also a great jazz fan. His musical drama "Mo' Better Blues" (1990) is set in Brooklyn in 1969 and portrays the career of the fictional trumpeter Bleek Gilliam, played by Denzel Washington (left), pictured here with the filmmaker, who also starred in the film.
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'La La Land'
And finally, this year's great winner at the Oscars is a film about jazz - even though "La La Land" most famously borrows from Hollywood's musical genre. The story of Sebastian Wilder, the struggling jazz pianist depicted by Ryan Gosling, is also a tribute to the history of jazz and its commercialization over the last decades.
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The first feature film with a soundtrack to be released commercially was "The Jazz Singer," in October 1927. At the time, it was a sensation to hear the voice of the lead actor of the film, Al Jolson, right when he moved his lips. The recorded music score was also a new phenomenon. Until then, silent films were accompanied by live orchestras.
The history of different jazz styles in film
In "The Jazz Singer," Al Jonson depicts a Jewish singer who defies his family's traditions to follow his aspirations and become a Broadway star.
Al Jonson in "The Jazz Singer," the first feature-length film with a musical soundtrackImage: picture-alliance/akg
Addressing not only the conflicts between traditional values and modernity, the 1927 film also deals with the clashes between those who believe music should be restricted to religious purposes and those who want to entertain with it - reflecting debates that still exist to this day.
In the Oscar-winning film "La La Land," the struggling jazz pianist Sebastian Wilder (Ryan Gosling) has to position himself between classic jazz and the more popular genres that emerged from those standards later on.
The Netflix series "The Get Down" also portrays the conflict between an aspiring musician and her religious father. Those issues were already covered in "The Jazz Singer."
Ethan Hawke as Chet Baker in 'Born to Be Blue'
Later on, filmmakers started exploring the lives of jazz greats, whether in documentary films or motion pictures.
"Born to Be Blue," which now opens in German cinemas, is only the most recent one. In many cases, these films combine a strong soundtrack and cinematic aesthetics, pleasing both movie and music lovers.
Whether Forest Whitaker as Charlie Parker in Clint Eastwood's "Bird," Dexter Gordon in Bertrand Tavernier's captivating film "Round Midnight" or Ethan Hawke as Chet Baker in "Born to be Blue," these films transmit the true spirit of jazz onto the big screen.
Click through the gallery above to discover more films that do so.
