Denzel Washington and Wesley Snipes were trained to mimic the playing of the instruments they play in the film (trumpet and saxophone), by musicians Terence Blanchard and Donald Harrison. Washington later admitted that he was lucky if he could play three notes of a simple tune prior to filming, and ended up being able to correctly mimic most of the songs performed in the film, as did Snipes.
Halle Berry was considered to play Clarke Bentancourt, but turned it down after she found out the character had sex scenes.
Denzel Washington's trumpet is played by Terence Blanchard. Branford Marsalis plays the sax for Wesley Snipes. The music you hear in the movie when the actors are "playing" was performed by Branford's working band which was used for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992) when Jay Leno took over.
Permission to use the film's original title, "A Love Supreme", was denied by Alice Coltrane, the widow of John Coltrane, the composer of the four-movement composition.