The upcoming Netflix film is a sweeping tale of forbidden love spanning over 40 years.
The first trailer for Tyler Perry's upcoming Netflix drama, A Jazzman's Blues, is finally here. Set in the 1940s Deep South, the film follows star-crossed lovers Bayou and Leanne, whose forbidden love is the backdrop for 40 years of secrets and lies.
"That was our first kiss," Bayou says in the trailer. "Ain't nothing felt that good in all my life. You asked me not to tell nobody, but I sure wanted the world to know."
The two-minute video highlights the rise of Bayou and Leanne's young romance before the two are separated by family and circumstance. Despite Leanne's marriage to a well-to-do white man and Bayou's rise to stardom as the singing and dancing sensation known as "the Bayou Boy," the two find their way back into each other's arms in the form of secret encounters. But nothing stays a secret for long, and the two are soon forced to contend with the dangerous consequences of their actions.
Written, directed and produced by Perry, A Jazzman's Blues features stars Joshua Boone and Solea Pfeiffer as the troubled lovers alongside an ensemble cast that includes Amirah Vann, Austin Scott, Milauna Jemai Jackson, Brent Antonello, Brad Benedict, Kario Marcel, Lana Young and Ryan Eggold.
The film also features the original song "Paper Airplanes," performed by Ruth B., songs arranged and produced by multi-GRAMMY winner and two-time Academy Award nominee Terence Blanchard, music by Aaron Zigman and choreography by Debbie Allen.
Earlier this month, Perry told Shadow & Act that he penned the screenplay for A Jazzman's Blues in the '90s, making it the first screenplay that Perry ever wrote. The project was originally bought in 2006 but never came to fruition until recently.
"The landscape never agreed to it," he told the outlet. "I wrote it in 1995 and waited for the right time to do it. I never figured out when was the right time because I was building the brand and doing the things that I knew my audience wanted. My focus was always making sure we had a hit. Because, as a Black person, it could change your whole career if you have a flop. But watching what's happening now, many people in politics want to rewrite Black people's history, marginalize it, change it, and water it down. I thought, 'Here's the time to tell the story.'"
A Jazzman's Blues will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 11. It will debut on Netflix Sept. 23.
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