Keep On Keepin’ On, 2014.
Directed by Alan Hicks.
SYNOPSIS:
A documentary that follows jazz legend Clark Terry over four years to document the mentorship between Terry and 23-year-old blind piano prodigy Justin Kauflin as the young man prepares to compete in an elite, international competition.
Do you still have greasy lips? A strange question to ask you may think, but it’s one that is asked many times throughout Alan Hick’s wonderful documentary Keep On Keepin’ On, which tells the story of renowned jazz trumpet player Clark Terry. An exceedingly warm and genuine character, Terry has become a legend through the 20th century life span of the American Jazz scene, and his long-standing influence is still felt massively even now in his 93rd year, and it’s no surprise why.
Co-funded by a Kickstarter campaign and the influence of producer Quincy Jones, it’s one of those great documentaries that should be seen by all, even if you know nothing about jazz or Terry. Once those first few chords of music grab hold, it’s impossible not to be drawn it. Beginning in 1920 Missouri, Terry came from poverty-stricken beginnings (one of eleven siblings) until the great Duke Ellington and his famous band took hold of him in his youth and never let go.
Forming a trumpet from scraps he found in junkyards (including a mouth piece made of poisonous led), his sound was far from perfect, his neighbours collectively pooling their spare pennies to buy him a real trumpet from a pawnshop. From then on, it was all Terry knew, and soon enough he was rubbing shoulders with his idols Ellington and Count Basie, before it was he who was the idol to a young man named Quincy Jones.
After an opening salvo charted Terry’s career, Keep On… focuses on his later life as a teacher, helping to form the current jazz schools across America and find some the hidden gems, nurturing their talents. Once such boy was Justin Kauflin, an Arkansas boy who sadly lost his sight from a rare disease. But after their initial meet, he and Terry become inseparable despite the age range and distance, and through the course of the final hour of the film, we follow their ever-growing bond over the thing they love most.
The greatness of Hick’s film is that while it is certainly a biographical documentary by nature, it’s focus on Terry’s tender mentorship and tutelage of Justin both inspires and enthrals. It’s a story of friendship, kinship and family, about people sharing a common love and embracing each other’s thoughts and opinions, making themselves stronger and stronger as they pursue their own dreams.
Such is Terry’s passion of jazz that even though he has known reached an age and medical condition that has discontinued his own personal performances, he still has the energy and love for the music that he can stay up until 4am with his students, listening, moulding, tutoring them to strive to be better, helping them reach the top of the mountain, even if he can’t join them right to the top. It’s a tender, warm story with many ups and downs, but what remains constant is their enduring friendship that continues apace even today.
We are also treated, of course, to some wonderful music and memories from those around Terry. Jones, Terry’s loving wife Gwen, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Dianne Reeves, even Bill Cosby share their thoughts and anecdotes on both Terry and his relationships with fellow artists and students. And the music – superb. We defy anyone not to keep their feet from tapping, their legs from twisting or indeed leave the cinema “mumbling” along to Terry’s signature tune.
Powerful, tender and hugely enjoyable, Keep On Keepin’ On is a joy from start to finish, encapsulating not just a great biographical look at Clark Terry’s life, but also a warm, genuine friendship between two people who both jazz and each other. Easily one of the most enjoyable experiences of the year, Keep On… rightfully takes its place with Life Itself and Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films as the stand-out documentaries of 2014.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Scott Davis
Originally published September 25, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
