Movies Similar to The Cry of Jazz

A Beat to Rest(2025)

Late into his career, an elderly jazz drummer is forced to come to terms with aging after a bandmate suggests he retire.

Show Girls(1998)

Show Girls celebrates Montreal's swinging Black jazz scene from the 1920s to the 1960s, when the city was wide open. Three women who danced in the legendary Black clubs of the day - Rockhead's Paradise, The Terminal, Café St. Michel - share their unforgettable memories of life at the centre of one of the world's hottest jazz spots. From the Roaring Twenties, through the Second World War and on into the golden era of clubs in the fifties and sixities, Show Girls chronicles the lives of Bernice, Tina and Olga - mixing their memories with rarely seen footage of the era.

One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga(2021)

A new concert special honoring the musical legacy and enduring friendship of Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga. Filmed at Radio City Music Hall, the live concert brings together the two incredible entertainers performing duets and solo songs honoring their shared love of the Great American Songbook.

Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool(1994)

A musical documentary accompaniment to the 1994 benefit compilation album concerning AIDS in the African-American community.

More Than Jazz(2016)

A tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland, with Nina Simone, Miles Davis, Etta James, Marvin Gaye, David Bowie, and many more geniuses on tape; a cool Quincy Jones and a laughing Herbie Hancock; sweaty musicians, crazy audiences, and some very rare files.

Whiplash(2013)

A ferocious, bullying music teacher teaches a dedicated student.

Nina(2016)

The story of the late jazz musician and classical pianist Nina Simone including her rise to fame and relationship with her manager Clifton Henderson.

The United States vs. Billie Holiday(2021)

Billie Holiday spent much of her career being adored by fans. In the 1940s, the government targeted Holiday in a growing effort to racialize the war on drugs, ultimately aiming to stop her from singing her controversial ballad, "Strange Fruit."

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool(2019)

An immersive look at the eventful life and brilliant artistic career of visionary American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis (1926-1991).

Electro Deluxe au Trianon(2013)

Starstruck: Gene Kelly's Love Letter to Ballet(2021)

In 1960, American dancer and actor Gene Kelly created for the Paris Opera Ballet an original choreography that was highly acclaimed at the time, yet rarely performed thereafter; a genius work that the Scottish Ballet, accompanied by the stirring and evocative score by composer and pianist George Gershwin, epitome of orchestral jazz, brings back to life sixty years later.

Knights of Swing(2023)

Set in 1947, Knights of Swing is a feature film that chronicles a group of young jazz musicians whose dream is to form a “really swingin’ Big Band”. Unfortunately, things prove much more complicated when the community objects to the diversity of the band. Alliances form, and lines are drawn. What follows is soul searching, uplifting, and through music, our story illuminates forgiveness, healing and unconditional love.

Frank Zappa: Peefeeyatko(1991)

For the past ten years Zappa in composing has turned away from Rock and Roll music - for which he first became famous - and has been working on new, contemporary, orchestral electronic music; in solitude and beyond any commercial conventions or commitments. It is the first time that Zappa has allowed a film crew to study him during compositional work, actually filming the first moments of a new compositional process. By contrast, in a staged interview Zappa gives comments on music. This film seeks to reveal the sensetivities of Zappa's personality and character also beyond narrative content.

Celebrating Bird: The Triumph of Charlie Parker(1989)

A documentary about the legendary Jazz player Charlie (Bird) Parker.

Les Paul - Live in New York(2010)

This Final Performance Tribute began on Les Paul's 90th birthday when luminaries from the musical world gathered to celebrate at New York's historic Iridium Jazz Club. Les and friends jammed every Monday for the next four years until the legend left us. Great moments from many of those cool sessions are presented in this tribute to the man who created a sonic boom with the solid-body electric guitar. About the Collector's Edition: Les jams live with special guests like Keith Richards, Steve Miller, and José Feliciano. Musical luminaries Bonnie Raitt, Tony Bennett, Sonya Hensley and others share their thoughts on Les. Includes 23 songs played by Les, like "Tennessee Waltz", "Route 66", "Back Home Again in Indiana", and the original rendition of "How High the Moon" with wife Mary Ford.

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)(2021)

During the same summer as Woodstock, over 300,000 people attended the Harlem Cultural Festival, celebrating African American music and culture, and promoting Black pride and unity. The footage from the festival sat in a basement, unseen for over 50 years, keeping this incredible event in America's history lost — until now.

Motian in Motion(2020)

Motian In Motion is a documentary film about iconic jazz drummer Paul Motian, with rare footage of Paul playing and recording at the world renowned Village Vanguard, Birdland and other venues.

Grass Is Greener(2019)

Weed. Marijuana. Grass. Pot. Whatever you prefer to call it, America’s relationship with cannabis is a complicated one. In his directorial debut, hip hop pioneer Fab 5 Freddy presents an unparalleled look at the racially biased history of the war on marijuana. A range of celebrities and experts discuss the plant’s influence on music and popular culture, and the devastating impact its criminalization has had on Black and Latino communities. As more and more states join the push to legalize marijuana, this documentary dives deep into the glaring racial disparities in the growing cannabis market.

Candy Dulfer - Live in Amsterdam(2001)

2001 Live Recording. Includes A Selection of Classics Like 'Bob's Jazz', 'Pick Up The Pieces', 'Sax-A-Go-Go' and A Completely Reworked Version of 'Jamming', Plus Recent Tracks Like 'Island Lady' and '2025'. Soul Diva Angie Stone Guests On The Isley Brothers Classic 'For The Love of You'. Eurythmic Dave Stewart Guests On Their Hit 'Lily Was Here' & Together They Debut A New, Catchy Track Titled 'Synchrodestiny'.

The Crimson Canary(1945)

When a conniving female singer turns up dead, with the evidence pointing to the band’s drummer, jazz trumpeter Danny Brooks attempts to clear him—only to implicate himself and the rest of the band in the process. Can a jazz-loving police detective and Danny’s fiancée solve the case before the next downbeat?