Movies Like Jammin' the Blues (1944)

Jammin' the Blues is a 1944 documentary, music film from Gjon Mili with a MovieMagicScore of 6.9/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Jam Session and Amy.

Documentary Music

Jam Session

1942

Duke Ellington and Orchestra perform 'C Jam Blues'.

6.2

MagicScore

Amy

2015

A documentary on the life of Amy Winehouse, the immensely talented yet doomed songstress. We see her from her teen years, where she already showed her singing abilities, to her finding success and then her downward spiral into alcoholism and drugs.

7.6

MagicScore

Chasing Trane

2017

An account of the life of the brilliant jazz musician John Coltrane (1926-67), a gifted saxophonist, an extraordinarily talented thinker whose original, avant-garde work has impacted and influenced people all over the world. A story about music's ability to entertain, inspire and transform.

7.3

MagicScore

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

2019

An immersive look at the eventful life and brilliant artistic career of visionary American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis (1926-1991).

7.2

MagicScore

Let's Get Lost

1988

Documentary about jazz great Chet Baker that intercuts footage from the 1950s, when he was part of West Coast Cool, and from his last years. We see the young Baker, he of the beautiful face, in California and in Italy, where he appeared in at least one movie and at least one jail cell (for drug possession). And, we see the aged Baker, detached, indifferent, his face a ruin. Includes interviews with his children and ex-wife, women companions, and musicians.

7.0

MagicScore

Soul

2020

Joe Gardner is a middle school teacher with a love for jazz music. After a successful audition at the Half Note Club, he suddenly gets into an accident that separates his soul from his body and is transported to the You Seminar, a center in which souls develop and gain passions before being transported to a newborn child. Joe must enlist help from the other souls-in-training, like 22, a soul who has spent eons in the You Seminar, in order to get back to Earth.

8.1

MagicScore

'Round Midnight

1986

Inside the Blue Note nightclub one night in 1959 Paris, an aged, ailing jazzman coaxes an eloquent wail from his tenor sax. Outside, a young Parisian too broke to buy a glass of wine strains to hear those notes. Soon they will form a friendship that sparks a final burst of genius.

7.1

MagicScore

Sweet and Lowdown

1999

In the 1930s, jazz guitarist Emmet Ray idolizes Django Reinhardt, faces gangsters and falls in love with a mute woman.

6.8

MagicScore

New York, New York

1977

An egotistical saxophone player and a young singer meet on V-J Day and embark upon a strained and rocky romance, even as their careers begin a long uphill climb.

6.6

MagicScore

#10

Young Man with a Horn

1950

Taken in by the musical world as a young orphan, Rick Martin grows up with a desire to play pure jazz instead of the commercial gigs he lands, whilst also coping with the problems caused by his tempestuous marriage to an aloof heiress.

6.4

MagicScore

#11

Blues in the Night

1941

A struggling band find themselves attached to a fugitive and drawn into a series of old feuds and love affairs, as they try to stay together and find musical success.

6.2

MagicScore

#12

Pete Kelly's Blues

1955

In 1927, a Kansas City, Missouri cornet player and his band perform nightly at a seedy speakeasy until a racketeer tries to extort them in exchange for protection.

6.1

MagicScore

#13

The Color Purple

1985

An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry. After Celie's abusive father marries her off to the equally debasing 'Mister' Albert Johnson, things go from bad to worse, leaving Celie to find companionship anywhere she can. She perseveres, holding on to her dream of one day being reunited with her sister in Africa.

7.7

MagicScore

#14

Shoot the Piano Player

1960

Charlie is a former classical pianist who has changed his name and now plays jazz in a grimy Paris bar. When Charlie's brothers, Richard and Chico, surface and ask for Charlie's help while on the run from gangsters they have scammed, he aids their escape. Soon Charlie and Lena, a waitress at the same bar, face trouble when the gangsters arrive, looking for his brothers.

7.2

MagicScore

#15

The Cotton Club

1984

Harlem's legendary Cotton Club becomes a hotbed of passion and violence as the lives and loves of entertainers and gangsters collide.

6.5

MagicScore

#16

They Shot the Piano Player

2023

New York, 2010. Jeff Harris, a music journalist, sets out to uncover the truth about Francisco Tenório Júnior, a young Brazilian samba-jazz pianist who disappeared in Buenos Aires on March 18, 1976.

6.4

MagicScore

#17

Jazzclub - Der frühe Vogel fängt den Wurm

2004

A musician tries to get by working several jobs.

5.7

MagicScore

#18

Daybreak Express

1953

Set to a classic Duke Ellington recording "Daybreak Express", this is a five-minute short of the soon-to-be-demolished Third Avenue elevated subway station in New York City.

7.3

MagicScore

#19

Hearts Beat Loud

2018

In the hip Brooklyn neighborhood of Red Hook, single dad and record store owner Frank is preparing to send his hard-working daughter Sam off to college while being forced to close his vintage shop. Hoping to stay connected through their shared musical passions, Frank urges Sam to turn their weekly jam sessions into a father-daughter live act. After their first song becomes an internet breakout, the two embark on a journey of love, growing up and musical discovery.

6.9

MagicScore

#20

Time Piece

1965

Dislocation in time, time signatures, time as a philosophical concept, and slavery to time are some of the themes touched upon in this 9-minute experimental film, which was written, directed, and produced by Jim Henson. Screened for the first time at the Museum of Modern Art in May of 1965, "Time Piece" enjoyed an eighteen-month run at one Manhattan movie theater and was nominated for an Academy Award for Outstanding Short Subject.

7.1

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Jammin' the Blues?

The top films similar to Jammin' the Blues by MovieMagicScore are Jam Session (6.2), Amy (7.6), Chasing Trane (7.3). Each shares documentary/music themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Jammin' the Blues worth watching?

Jammin' the Blues holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.9/10 from 30 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Jammin' the Blues?

Jammin' the Blues (1944) is a documentary, music film directed by Gjon Mili, starring Lester Young, George 'Red' Callender, Harry Edison.

Where can I find more recommendations like Jammin' the Blues?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more documentary recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Jam Session Movies like Amy Movies like Chasing Trane Movies like Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool Movies like Let's Get Lost Movies like Soul

About movies like Jammin' the Blues

This ranked list pairs Jammin' the Blues (1944), a documentary and music film from Gjon Mili, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Lester Young take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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