7 Jazz Documentaries to Stream at Home

This week, the Full Frame team pulled together a list of festival alums that highlight jazz and the artists behind the music. Anyone who loves the music, art, and culture of jazz will enjoy these seven extraordinary documentaries.

Never Too Late: The Doc Severinsen Story

Never Too Late: The Doc Severinsen Story (Full Frame 2020) | Directors: Kevin S. Bright, Jeff Consiglio

Stream: PBS American Masters

For three decades, bandleader and master trumpeter Doc Severinsen was a mainstay of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Treasured for his exceptional talent, he is equally remembered for his eccentric outfits and charismatic banter with the show’s beloved host. Now in his nineties, and still performing and teaching, Severinsen lights up this radiant film about his life and career, which weaves together archival footage; recollections from friends, family, and fans; and intimate conversations with the man himself, whose passion for music remains evergreen.

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool (Full Frame 2019) | Director: Stanley Nelson

Stream: Netflix

Navigating his professional and personal lives, this remarkable study of the jazz musician unfolds through reflections from musicians, scholars, lovers, and friends. Davis’s own reflections—and the music itself—narrate his extraordinary genius and sometimes turbulent life.

The Jazz Ambassadors

The Jazz Ambassadors (Full Frame 2018) | Director: Hugo Berkeley

Stream: Amazon Prime

During the Cold War, the U.S. government deployed some of its greatest jazz musicians around the world to promote democracy, even as many of them suffered Jim Crow racism in their own country. Rich archival material and powerful interviews delve into the deep conflict at the heart of the story.

The Ballad of Fred Hersch

The Ballad of Fred Hersch (Full Frame 2016) | Directors: Charlotte Lagarde, Carrie Lozano

Stream: Vimeo On Demand

This portrait of one of today’s greatest jazz pianists illuminates the creative process of a musical genius and the challenges of life as an AIDS survivor.

The Jazz Loft According to W. Eugene Smith

The Jazz Loft According to W. Eugene Smith (Full Frame 2016) | Director: Sara Fishko

Stream: Amazon Prime

From 1957 to 1965, an obsessive photographer documented the jazz musicians who stopped by his Manhattan loft to play all night.

The Case of the Three Sided Dream

The Case of the Three Sided Dream (Full Frame 2014) | Director: Adam Kahan

Stream: Tubi

Rahsaan Roland Kirk, an extraordinary musician who preferred the term “black classical music” to “jazz,” lived in a world of sound and dreams—and action.

Thunder Soul

Thunder Soul (Full Frame 2010) | Director: Mark Landsman