A Jazzman’s Blues Plot Synopsis
A Jazzman’s Blues is a romantic period drama movie on Netflix, centering on the forbidden romance between Bayou and Leanne who are best friends. Magic happens as soon as they cross paths, however the latter’s mom forbids their union and forcefully takes Leanne with her to Boston.
Leanne ends up wedding another guy and is currently passing as a Caucasian woman, whereas Bayou has become a well-known performer. Leanne relocates to her husband John’s home, where the former lovers’ paths cross once more and their childhood chemistry is rekindled after their unplanned split.
As soon as Leanne’s mom Ethel learns of their bond, she makes every effort to break them up, which ultimately pushes Bayou to move to Chicago. He is recruited as a performer by the renowned Capitol Royale. Bayou eventually establishes himself as Chicago’s voice and releases a song in memory of his former girlfriend, Leanne.
Throughout the movie, Bayou is cautioned not to continue pursuing Leanne by those surrounding him. Both of them were warned that matters could get out of hand if anyone learned about them, particularly for Bayou. Nevertheless, despite the challenges they encounter because of the racist community, the star-crossed lovers make every effort to reconcile. Even after Bayou fled Hopewell County, Leanne is adamant about starting a life with him, and they agree to flee together. Sadly, the couple’s past holds some devious mysteries that could permanently destroy their bond.
What happens after the star-crossed lovers are split apart?
Leanne and Bayou find comfort in one another’s company; she focuses on teaching him to read while he continues to show her affection. She flings paper airplanes with love letters in them into his window. Bayou and Hattie Mae are left on their own when his dad, as well as brother Willie Earl, leave for Chicago to pursue their ambitions of fame.
Leanne’s mom then drags her daughter forcefully to Boston. After a couple of years, Hattie Mae opens her own juke joint in which she and Bayou sing heartfelt songs. Bayou is fleetingly recruited into the army as well. He continues to write Leanne messages, all of which are brought back unopened. Leanne, who has light skin, is forced to marry off to the racist cop’s brother due to her harsh mother’s desire.
Why does Bayou return to Georgia?
Fate manages to bring Bayou and Leanne into the exact same house against all odds, sadly this time their love is specifically forbidden. When Bayou is accused of whistling at Leanne by her cruel mother, the cop, his brother, and several Caucasian men arrive with weapons to kill Bayou. Bayou, Ira, and Willie Earl flee the neighborhood.
Chicago treats Bayou well. Despite Willie Earl’s extreme envy, Bayou’s sweet voice wins him a prestigious gig there at Capitol Royale. However, Bayou’s success cannot satisfy his longing for Leanne. He is unable to avoid Georgia, so this train keeps moving forward with melodramatic inevitableness.
What is the root cause behind the siblings’ rivalry?
Willie Earl and Bayou display intense sibling rivalry right from the early stages of the movie, with the older sibling instigating the majority of it. Inside his household, Bayou is seen as an object of ridicule, and Willie Earl is preferred by his dad primarily because he mastered the trumpet more quickly.
Although Bayou has a lovely voice, he was never able to fulfill his father’s wishes, whereas Willie Earl even gave his life to the man. Willie Earl follows their dad when he departs for Chicago without batting an eye, despite being warned not to.
Willie Earl was protected by his dad, who raised him to think he was superior to Bayou in every aspect. He seems to have been a good trumpet player, but his skill didn’t set him apart. Willie Earl nonetheless had unrealistic expectations of his abilities, just like his dad. He had lofty goals, and he could have indeed achieved them, however, unlike Bayou, he was merely not committed enough to accomplish them.
Willie Earl intended to move to Chicago and pursue a career as a musician there. He stays in the city for years in vain. He believes he will attain success when he meets Ira. But when Bayou ends up traveling with them due to unforeseen circumstances, Willie Earl’s condition starts to spiral out of control.
Ira was aware that Willie Earl required more if he was to succeed as a musician. Ira discovers the passion he was missing in Bayou. When it’s his chance to prove himself in an audition, Bayou tends to stay and does so as contrasted to Willie Earl, who departs as soon as the first obstacle appears. However, Ira bags the job for both brothers in addition to a formal contract that Bayou signs.
Willie Earl’s professional career starts to go south as his younger brother soars. Additionally, he develops a drug addiction, which harms his integrity and professionalism. Bayou makes Willie Earl envious as he gains more excellence. Willie Earl begins to hate him for robbing him of what was rightfully his.
Willie Earl was the one who went the same route as their dad despite the danger and he spent many years in Chicago attempting to succeed. However, here came Bayou, who had it all handed over to him and he stole everything that Willie Earl had slogged for.
Once Willie Earl is fired, that is the tipping point for him. He fails to consider that his drug abuse and the issues he brought about at work could be factors that lead to him being fired. Alternatively, he holds Bayou solely responsible and demands that he be compensated. The older brother discovers his chance when Bayou makes the decision to return home.
Everybody was aware of how risky it would be for Bayou to be present there. However, according to Bayou sufficient time had passed and Leanne’s partner and his brother must have forgotten about him.
How does Willie Earl exact his revenge?
When Willie Earl returns to the neighborhood with Bayou, he goes right to the cops, and in addition to reminding him of everything concerning Bayou he also informs him of where to look for his brother. As a result, the mob surrounds Bayou and kills him.
Why wasn’t Leanne asked who the father of her child was?
Leanne had no desire to wed John. Her mom pressured her into it because she thought that by having her marry a wealthy Caucasian man, she could very well safeguard her life. Leanne had been reminded of her former true love when she encountered Bayou once more. She engages in an extra-marital relationship that ultimately proved fatal for Bayou.
Leanne subsequently became pregnant during this brief reunion. In order to protect his life, he was required to flee to Chicago and this happened right before she could inform Bayou about it. Leanne’s child was born with skin that could have been mistaken for white just like hers, therefore no one questioned whether he was her partner John’s child or not.
Who is Jonathan’s father?
Leanne regains faith when Bayou tends to come back several years later. She envisions being with the person she genuinely loves this time. Sadly, all of her desires and expectations are crushed once Bayou is brutally murdered by the mob which had been stalking him ever since her mom’s false claim. Leanne is forced to resume living her normal routine now that he is no longer there.
Jonathan, her child, is raised as a Caucasian man and has no idea who his actual dad was. He continues to run for mayor, imitating the footsteps of his ancestors. Eventually, Bayou’s mom, Hattie Mae, decides to confront him about his racist ideology after noticing how often he encourages it in his speeches.
She goes to his workplace and asks him to take charge of a murder case that took place more than forty years ago. Jonathan is obviously not keen on taking on a case involving the murder of a black man that occurred before his birth. But she nevertheless tends to leave the letters written by Bayou behind. Once he notices his mother’s name on them, he stops himself from throwing them. He learns everything concerning Leanne and Bayou from the messages.
Leanne seems to be alive when all is said and done. Even though she is getting older, her feelings are still strong. Once Jonathan gives her Bayou’s letters, she beams, and Jonathan only needs to see her response to know the truth. His actual dad wasn’t John; it was Bayou.
His mom had managed to keep this a secret her entire existence as she was aware that if it were to become public, she as well as her child would both be murdered. Jonathan is now seriously reconsidering who he is and what he has done as he makes a television pledge to advance the white nationalist agenda of his forefathers.
Read More: A Jazzman’s Blues Movie Review
I just saw this movie so I’m late, but I was like WTF!!! I won’t point out everything that pissed me off about this movie, but the biggest thing was the brother turning Bayou in to the white Sheriff, the Black woman passing as white (LeeAnn’s mother) who lied on Bayou to the white Sheriff knowing he’d be lynched, and LeeAnn who looked like an old woman with dementia at the end compared to Hattie Mae. And to those who said LeeAnn beamed when her son gave her the letters at the end, she didn’t look like she was beaming to me, she looked like OMG I’ve been caught how do i explain this to my son!!! Hopefully her white husband was dead. I guess for me the continuation of “Black on Black crime/hatred” was what sent me over the edge. I’m just so tired of Black people hating each other. I don’t want to see it in a movie cuz I see it every day.
If the letters were wrote by Bayou, how could he talk about his own death?
Article excerpt: “and Willie Earl is preferred by his dad primarily because he mastered the trumpet more quickly.”
The review is good, but missed mentioning the real (primary) reason the father seemed to hate Bayou was because he had a different biological father. The mother possibly had an affair or was raped, resulting in Bayou, and the father in the movie was still very angry about it. He favored Willie Earl in all ways and taught/encouraged him to abuse Bayou as well. They kept alluding to him having darker skin, even calling him blackie. So Bayou had to endure a form of racism even within his immediate family.
Great job, Tyler Perry and cast! A real tearjerker, though. It’ll make you ugly cry.
Yall making a lot of excuses for Leanne looking so much older than Hattie Mae. This was a mistake, plain and simple. If Leanne was 16 in 1937, she would’ve been 66 in 1987. They had her looking 90. Yes people with more melanin tend to age better but they could’ve shown that without going over the top. Is it possible? I guess. But that’s still putting a lot of work on the audience’s imagination. This was just a poor choice on the director’s part in my opinion.
Nothing ruins a movie more for me than bad casting. It’s an unnecessary distraction. And the worst casting in this movie was the daddy. If it was gonna come out that Bayou had a different daddy, it might’ve made more since to cast a lighter skinned actor to play the father or at least one that Bayou wasn’t the spitting image of. 🤷🏾♂️
Great movie. It was very emotional. I think the ending could’ve been better. I would like to know what happened to Bayou’s brother and did anyone figure out that he was responsible for contacting the sheriff. I think Leeanne’s character didn’t age well due to the unhappiness and stress she endured. Her mother abandoned her and it was extremely controlling.Her grandfather was sexually abusive and husband emotionally abusive. Bayou’s death was very heartbreaking..
I really feel it was a great movie. But it left us hanging. It should of shown the brother either killing himself or od. Citsy was in the pictures on the wall tht he stopped and looked at. She probably was long gone by then. Tyler could have took a few more minutes and put more stuff so it didn’t end the way it did. Like down to the son did he stop being prejudice and except his blackness. I think they knw in the movie tht willie earl set him up cause Citsy pointed to him cause whn thy heard the gun shots everybody in there ducked but him. And how he started crying. Ira should have looked at him like what did you do. But it’s all water under the bridge cause everybody were interested in is dead or old. But good movie T.P. I LUVED IT. BUT YALL WATCH PREMATURE WITH JOSHUA BOONE STARRING IT. WHEW ITS GOOD BUT THE ENDING STINK TOO
This was another really good movie from Mr. Perry! He is an amazing writer! If this movie had been based on a book, I would have purchased the book immediately. This movie made me sad and teary eyed, especially the ending. I agree with some of the other commenters; the brothers roles should have been reversed. I didn’t think about how old Leanne looked at the end until I read comments on here. I think she looked older because of the sadness and unhappiness of how her live was, and being married to a man she didn’t love and losing the only man that she ever loved in such a horrible manner. I wish we could have had more information at the end of how the other characters lives were after the tragic loss of Bayou, especially the nasty, jealous, and hateful brother; I wish he had overdosed or that Bayou had left him behind when he went back to get Leanne and the baby. So sad!
I’m indifferent about the movie. It started to get predictable towards the end. Also, Leanne looks older at the end because the lady playing her is an actual elderly woman. Hattie Mae looks younger because all they did was put make-up on the original (younger) Hattie Mae to make her look older.
I do love how it made the son rethink his whole life at the end. I truly hate that Bayou had to die.
Not horrible…but not my favorite either.
Loved this so much ty Tyler
Very interesting story with twists unforseen. Seemingly goes along like any other era themed story, however the ending wasnt something I was prepared for which was delightful and rang a sense of unspoken justice. Im pretty sure that that is Bayous baby and not the man she married because it was never made evident there were any other children created in that union. Apparently Leanne knew else she wouldnt have asserted Johnathan was.
As far as why Hattie Mae looks younger and walked at her age and why Leanne seemed to have aged considerably well you just dont understand melanated folks. I have classmates that look in their 70s while at 59 Ive been pegged for 40.
In other words, true black dont crack baby.
I saw the evil of racism while growing up in the South in the 50s and 60s. People marched, died, and legislation seemed to make changes, but sadly, this movie could be based on the news today. The ugliness is back in the open, and the lessons were not learned so people are suffering more again. Tyler made a lovely, poignant, powerful movie. I watched most of the movie through tears. Only a hard heart would not be moved. I hope the movie gets the play and the acclaim it deserves.
I have a feeling that LeAnn’s mom was abused by the grandfather too. That’s maybe why she left LeAnn. only came back cause she’s of age and could marry her off on someone and be taken care of. She was definitely in denial when picking her up from grandfather, talking about she knows what bayou being doing to her . I felt like movie was unfinished. another 20-30 mins to wrap everything up was needed. like what happened to the remaining main characters?? I don’t do Tyler Perry movies, but this was a decent one, not predictable at all, like the most of his movies.
How do we know it was bayou son she was sleeping with the grandfather also makes no sense to me a lot of different things made me confused bayou was called a half breed but willie ear fit the part more and why did they treat bayou like that if they had the same mother and fathe …. Weird
Everyone is making comments about Leanne looking older than Hattie Mae and black not cracking” and that being the reason Leanne looks older. Y’all do realize Leanne was also black right? Just fair skinned like lots of black women. Black posing as a white woman.
This was absolutely wonderful. I did not want it to end. Need more info on Leanne’ s mom. I just want more. It was sooooooo good. Love love loved it. Thank you Mr Perry.
To add to my first comment, I thought the cast was great! Everyone played their part to the T. I mean they all had me thinking about it like this was real and like I’m looking through a window as it is playing out. Great job playing your roles. Tyler and staff really were creative and thoughtful with this story. I’m telling you it got to me… Pulled on my heart strings and plucked at all of my emotions. 😥 Whew, great job everyone it could not have worked or come across correctly without the entire cast and crew.
The ending is not satisfying. Need more depth, details, and closure. I was having an anxiety attack as the credits rolled. That was very painful to watch. The rape, incest, putting a divide between two brothers, a black adult mistreating a minor, light bright close to white acting high and mighty, white people hating black people for no reason, white people acting superior… It was just painful to watch. But stories like this need to be told. It will take a while before I give the movie a second take. I have to recover from the truth of things… My God, why are people so mean, deceitful, and hateful? I know this is just a movie, however, actions like this are still happening in America all over not just in the south. So, yes that was shattering.
Overall, I thought it was a good movie and I enjoyed it. One common theme is that Leanna looks older than Hattie Mae. One thing to consider is that they may not have been that far apart in age. When the movie starts, Bayou is 17, Leanna is 16. Hattie Mae could have been between 32 and 35 as people tended to have children younger during those times. If you have one woman who may be 16-18 older than another depending on genes, lifestyle, health, etc. they could appear very close in age.
Tyler did an great job on the movie. He told a story that sadly happened more than we want know back then and is still happening. Dysfunction, racism, passing, incest, hatred…sad and evil. I was really rooting for Bayou to succeed and to move on with someone else.
I think the two sons roles should,have been reversed. Then it would have made sense for Leeane’s son to pass as white and Willie Earls jealousy and the father’s disdain would have made way more sense.
Movie was better than regular TP fare. Hattie Mae may have been old when she made the long trek in the beginning, but she was on a mission and was probably used to it. (Remember the long walk Miss Jane Pitman made to the white water fountain).
I found it distracting that the two characters passing for white, didn’t look white. In reality they would have been spotted and outed in no time.
A great movie!!! However, I must just point out that this is the 1st time I see a Tyler Perry movie that doesn’t have some sort of Karma at the end.
A typical Tyler Perry movie style would’ve showed us what happens to each character at the end, particularly Willie Earl.
A Tyler Perry movie would’ve taught Leanne’s mother a lesson; it would’ve showed us how Willie Earl dies; how Bayou’s life becomes a success against all odds.
I think that maybe if Bayou’s character was done by Tyler Perry himself, we would have seen a rags-to-riches and Karma kinda things
Ok, so I just watch the movie, and cried. I thought it well told…at the end tho, I kinda was pissed, cause, now Jonathan knew his father was a black man who his mother loved deeply,,,,,and their on that porch,,,,that damn racist flag,,,,blowing in the wind!!!!!!,,,,I felt like,,,” so now whatcha got to say , nigga”!!!!!!!”,,,,,,yeah I was pissed,,,,,Excellent Work. Bravo Tyler Perry!❤💪🏾
I enjoyed the movie. It was very different from what Tyler Perry typically does. I expected a better ending though. Leanne bursting into tears and the son walking away kinda left me needing more closure. Then I was confused on how is Leanne elderly AND Bayou’s mom still alive????
A great great movie…… hope to actually in one of your movies someday.
It was so good, although difficult to be reminded of how much evil exists in our world. The music by Terrance Blanchard was fantastic and helped make every scene heartfelt.
It was a great movie. One of your best Tyler. I assumed that Leanne may have had some type of illness caused by everything she had gone through. I think she was a woman in love, that had been sexually abused, her mother left her only to return and allow her to live her life as she chose. Image those things happening to you how would you look. That lady never had a good day. She was worried every single day of her life. I felt for her but her mother she should have been hung along with Bayou’s evil brother.
A good movie overall. Do the subject matter I will not watch the movie again. However, I believe the story was well told and I give it a 8/10. I found myself was annoyed by the lip singing, it was hilarious horrible.
What was the make and model of the car that Leanne was driving ?
OMG! I loved the movie. I watched it with my husband. There are many people that can relate to this movie. I read “White like her” where a black woman passed as a white woman and made her daughter make a promise that she would not tell anyone until she died. We all know that this exists in the African American community and throughout many places in this world. I noticed that people are asking about the aging of the characters, but do not forget that Tyler chose to begin the story as the letters reaches to the hands of Jonathan. He is reading and the story is unfolding at the same time for the viewer to envision what happened.
Why is the comment about Leanne getting off the bus is a factor. We all Know if she had gotten off the bus that would’ve been the death of her as well as her son especially being that Bayou had just come off of the bus. I believe that Leanne lived a lie to save not only herself but her son. Which I think any mother would do in regards of saving their child.
Around the beginning the dad made some type of reference of Bayou not being his. Then when Bayou was helping his brother get dressed, Willie Earl said that Bayou was a “half breed.” So, who was Bayou’s father?
I want to know what happened to Bayou brother he was so evil, he was the cause of his own brother getting killed, also Leanne mother was terrible wanted to have a good life so bad that she could have put her daughter life in danger, if they would have found out her daughter was mixed with black, but what I can’t understand and this movie you could look at the mother and see she was black,it just really saddened my heart to see Leanne mother acting like that ,treating Bayou like that and her own daughter.
This was a good movie,but I can’t understand why that could not see that Leanne mother was black ,she looked like a light skin woman, she was so evil, I wish they would have found out she was black,and Bayou brother was terrible turning his own brother in like that,Tyler needs to have a part 2 I would like for Leanne mother to see her mistake.
Tyler Perry Has Done It Again 🙏 Amazing Story ❤
GREAT, GREAT, GREAT MOVIE! HATS OFF BRO. TYLER PERRY! THIS MOVIE SHOULD BE A TEACHABLE MOMENT and Required FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS to Watch…. THIS MOVIE DISPLAYED THAT….LIFE IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS TO BE ALWAYS. CRITICAL THINKING IS REQUIRED IS ALL SITUATIONS.
As an educator- well done my brother!
Just finished this movie, and it was a 8/10 to me. There definitely was a lot going on, but I’m sure stuff like this happened often but not publicly of course. As I look at these comments on here about the movie, everyone is talking about how Hattie Mae looks Younger than Leanne when they grow old. Caucasians don’t tend to age well from what I’ve seen. Also, when you do something really ugly, overtime you can become ugly just like the thing you’ve done. And y’all should know Tyler Perry knows all about black not cracking! Overall, Leanne had choices (very few) and she made her decisions based off what could protect her and her child, and what SHE truly wanted in life. Which was her True love. I wouldn’t blame her for that at all. But none of that is an excuse for how things went versus how they could’ve gone. And the thing with Willie Earl, I honestly was thinking he’d overdose and die. So him telling on his brother really caught me by surprise. I really hate that part of the story about his own brother turning on him after Bayou did so much regardless of how Willie Earl hated him. This is the part that I can’t get through my head. And no one knows he did it really. Very sad movie, that I will never watch again.
Today’s movies are filled with several different plots especially Tyler Perry movies there’s always a lot going on. My issue was Leanne she was exactly like her mother. She went along with passing and marrying Jackson using him for money. Remember the mom said she told me about him the day she met him. She just didn’t know they would move back to GA. After the move she became distressed about passing because she could be recognized. She sees Bayou and he becomes her way out. She was so concerned about what would happen to her if her truth was discovered but she showed no concern for what could happen to Bayou if they were caught. She never got off the bus. Then she went back to her comfortable life. Who cares if at the end she listened to his song and she was happy to see the letters. That was just one aspect of her life that served as a good time. It’s kind of funny that all the comments I have read was all about who looked older and Hattie Mae’s long walk. Willie Earl’s was the obvious villain but Leanne was just as villainous. Was it because she was light skinned, pretty and she was sexually abused that no one saw through her?
I think he wanted to stress the point of Bucket being stressed and depressed for 40 years thats why he made her an old looking lady. That opening scene became crazy once we figured out it was Hattie Mae. Lol
Not trying to be funny but for everyone asking why Hattie Mae looks younger than Leeanne, I assume it’s along the line of black not cracking. Plus, one’s age doesn’t necessarily determine health. The main thing that annoyed me about the movie is Hattie said it was a murder in 1947 and that’s the year Bayou went back home to his mama after the Army. So allllll of these events happened in a year’s time…and there wasn’t even a weather change?
What a sad and horrible story. I didn’t like this movie at all.
Is such an interesting story,but I wish they would have explained what happened to bayou brother
I just don’t get how Hattie Mae (Bayou’s Mama) walked a rather long way to deliver the letters to Jonathan and spoke with strength and conviction while her Bayou’s baby momma was knocking on death’s door. Timeline is just…weird
I liked the movie but after watching it I was upset to find out that Bayou’s mother was the one delivering the letter’s 😕 Leanne was old herself but Hattie Mae made that LONG walk as old as she was. I wished there was something on what happened to Willie Earl and Citsy.
Having watched the entirety of this movie. I have to say there are some in accuracy regarding times-line and accounts. Bayou enlisted and was discharged due to an injury. He wasn’t attempting to avoid recruitment.
I’m slightly mystified as to how Hattie Maie being that much older than Leeann was able to make that journey to her grandson’s office. Where as Leeann is seemly more aged and fragile.
I disagree about there being no REAL PLOT. Yes lots of narratives here, about toxic and dysfunctional relationship, passing, siblings rivalry, Colourism, prejudice, Racism, Incest and abuse.
Despite all of these conflicting details, I was once again bold over by Mr Perry’s storytelling. I’m glad I took time to watch this on the suggestion of a friend. Despite knowing it wasn’t going to end well. It didn’t preclude me from viewing.
I hope I never love anyone that much, but it was a great movie.
I am personally tired of seeing Black people being tormented, hanged, murdered. And treated like crap. It’s not like we don’t have to deal with this deal today.I’m tired of white supremacy. It’s depressing!
Natalie… it’s impossible for the nurse to be Sitsy. She would have been just as old as Bayou and Leanne.
This movie was OK, it was centered around so many plots that the movie have no REAL PLOT. What the plot about the relationship? White passing? Sibling rivalry? Racism? What happened to Willie Earl? Where is Citsy? Why does LeaAnn look older than Hattie Mae?
OMG!! The best movie I have seen in a very long time. It is not easy to watch but worth every minute that you sit there, knowing the end will be tragic.
Tyler Perry, you go boy. I loved the movie and I’ve called 20 relatives an asked them to call friends, co-workers, in- laws a everyone else they could think of to watch this ❤️ felt picture
Was the nurse at the end of the movie citsy?