I really wanted to like this film. Buddy Bolden is largely unknown, but his legacy is immense. I love Jazz and love New Orleans and have visited many times- the combination of Jazz, New Orleans and the story of Buddy Bolden had the potential to make a great film, sadly this was not the case.
The facts of Bolden's life are sparse, so there was a lot of room to tell a story. Racism was touched on, but should have been explored more fully. What you get is an impression and very little story telling. The story seems to be told in the first 20-30 minutes of the film, and then just repeated to the end.
I was expecting more of the music, given Wynton Marsalis's involvement, but was again disappointed. There was very little of New Orleans itself in the film- again a missed opportunity.
Overall, extremely disappointing.
