One of the seminal figures in jazz history, Bolden left no surviving recordings, having been committed in 1907 at age 30 to the Louisiana State Insane Asylum, where he spent the rest of his life after a diagnosis of acute alcoholic psychosis.

[2] The film stars Gary Carr as Bolden, and co-stars Erik LaRay Harvey, Reno Wilson, Yaya DaCosta, Ian McShane and Michael Rooker.

The score by Marsalis includes vocalists Catherine Russell, Brianna Thomas, Don Vappie, and instrumentalists including Wycliffe Gordon, Victor Goines, Marcus Printup, and others.

[3] The film contains performances by Reno Wilson playing Louis Armstrong (acting and singing).

[5] On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 70% based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10.