Exclusive: Tyler Perry talks about writing, directing and producing A Jazzman's Blues
Hitting Netflix this week is Netflix is A Jazzman’s Blues, written, directed and produced by Tyler Perry. The cast includes Joshua Boone, Amirah Vann, Solea Pfeiffer, Austin Scott, Milauna Jemai Jackson, Brent Antonello, Brad Benedict, Kario Marcel, Lana Young and Ryan Eggold.
A sweeping tale of forbidden love, A JAZZMAN'S BLUES unspools forty years of secrets and lies soundtracked by juke joint blues in the deep South.
In 1987, a stack of letters is delivered to a state attorney general, possible evidence in the long-unsolved murder case of Bayou (Joshua Boone). Leap back to 1947 Georgia, where Bayou first meets Leanne (Solea Pfieffer). They fall in love, but Leanne’s relatives forbid the relationship, and the couple are torn apart. When they meet again years later, Bayou has become a song-and-dance sensation and Leanne has married another man — and is passing as white. Their desire for each other reignited, they conspire to escape together, but dangerous secrets from their past threaten to destroy their relationship permanently.
Best known as the creator and performer of the Madea character in several successful films, A Jazzman’s Blues represents a departure and something new from Perry. This film has been long in development since Perry wrote the screenplay, his first, in 1995. It’s taken over two decades to get his passion project off the ground. It had its World Premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival and is now ready for the world to see.
Blackfilmandtv.com correspondent Sidnee Michelle spoke with Perry on his experience on finally having this film be seen.
