The Best of the Best: Jazz from Detroit

‘We make cars and we make Jazz musicians’ is a killer of a tagline for The Best of the Best: Jazz from Detroit. Indeed whilst New Orleans or New York might take a lot of the glory for America’s jazz legacy, Detroit’s musical history has been neglected for too long (unless you are an Eminem fan). This proud documentary seeks to right that wrong – and offers a passionate and forceful case for the importance of the city, culture and people who honed jazz through the 19th and 20th century.

Providing a double narrative that follows both the story of the city of Detroit itself and the music that accompanied it, The Best of the Best shows how culture, politics, race and entertainment are inherently intertwined – with a spectrum that reaches from beauty to malice resulting from it. Decades of attempts to repress black inhabitants have failed to silence the voices of great artists who refuse to have their music quieted, and the result is a vibrant, storied history in a city renowned for steel.

Most viewers of Best of the Best will have a familiarity with jazz and its background – particularly in relation to black communities in America. But Detroit’s part of this story is more than worth its own focus. “Detroit doesn’t have black communities. Detroit is a black city” says contributor Marsha Music – a quote that sums up why Detroit became such a hotbed of resistance to top-down efforts to supress black voices and art by authorities throughout the years. Best of the Best does a brilliant job of contextualising this and bringing the history to life, taking its audience on a journey through time to explain the factors that caused racial politics to become a hotbed issue in the city and how these were combatted by residents – from its origins in the Black Bottom neighbourhood through to the clubs that spawned legends like Charlie Parker.

Whilst the tempestuous history is the fire in the film’s belly, there is also an educated love and respect for the craft of jazz itself that flows throughout the documentary. Nowhere is this more notable than in a moving highlight of pianist Barry Harris – both performer and mentor to a generation of musicians from Detroit. Concepts and styles are discussed in-depth, as is the intricacies around Detroit itself and why the city’s soul crafts its music in a unique fashion. But the ode to Harris is a truly touching and affectionate tribute to the individuals who were essential for the innovation and preservation of the musical identity. It manages to do all this without getting overly technical or obtuse – meaning newcomers and nerds alike will find enjoyment in its breakdown of the music itself.

Jazz can sometimes feel like an intimidating world to outsiders, but Best of the Best shows how to make both the music and the history behind it welcoming and invigorating without losing any of the passion or complexity that underlines both its composition and history. It’s more than a music documentary – it is a strong-willed and unapologetic spotlight on American culture and racial history illuminated by an art form that is bound to the fabric of the country. Capturing that importance is no mean feat – but this film accomplishes it effortlessly.