Mo' Better Blues (1990)

Bleek Gilliam (Denzel Washington) is a hot-shot young trumpet player leading his own jazz quintet who loves the music and has a way with the ladies but can't figure out how to reconcile those two things.  He's also dating two women (Joie Lee, Cynda Williams) at the same time and can't commit to either of them.  He has also a manager (Spike Lee) who's a gambling addict and a saxophonist band-mate (Wesley Snipes) who has developed a rivalry with him.  So where does he go from here?  In this sprawling romantic musical drama, we follow his complicated story and hear a lot of great music along the way!  This was Oscar-Winner director Spike Lee's immediate follow-up to Do the Right Thing and even though it was a pretty unconventional choice to come right after such a seminal film, its reputation has only grown over the past thirty-five years thanks to several sterling peformances from its leads along with a stacked supporting cast including Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, John Turturro, NIcholas Turturro, Ruben Blades, Samuel L. Jackson, and the late, great Robin Harris in his last live action on-screen role. 

Host: Geoff Gershon
Edited By Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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