Keep on Keepin' On

This film will tug at your heart strings. Clark Terry is a beautiful human being who has made a difference one person, one note, at a time. You will walk away from this film and find yourself thinking about it for a long time after. It is the story of how our lives intersect with people and the difference that even one relationship can make for a lifetime. Watching the relationship between CT and the young prodigy, Justin (and Candy) leaves you wishing you could be in the room with them breathing in whatever they are putting out. There are multiple relationships taking place during the film and each is just as important as another. It is a film showing real life with all of its joy, sorry, fear, anxiety, pain, love, and compassion. I have seen this film twice and can't wait to see it again and share it with everyone I know. I am also keeping an eye out for whatever is around the corner for the talented Justin Kauflin.

This is an extraordinary movie. It is a documentary about Clark Terry (CT) a well respected jazz musician. Who until this documentary, I hadn't heard of. I would describe this documentary as a love story of his music students about their teacher, Clark Terry (CT).

I learned in this documentary that Clark Terry is about 93 years old. He's well respected in his field. He has played in many jazz bands from Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Quincy Jones, the Tonight Show Bands, etc. He's received many accolades over the years. Both Quincy Jones and Miles Davis call Clark Terry their first mentor. He's a musician's musician. But Mr. CT is also a teacher and has taught for decades thousands of students. The document shows you how he teaches one of his students Justin Kauflin a 23 year old who happens to be blind. The entire story is uplifting and inspirational.

Not only is it a great story, the archive film footage is exceptional and rare. Whether you like jazz or not this is a great story for anyone to enjoy. I highly recommend watching this film.

Excellent movie, uplifting, inspirational, and brave. Will leave you thinking and feeling better about humanity. Do not want to add more to what others have posted but in general for both Jazz and music lovers and also people interested in movies about the human spirit. Clark Terry was a mentor to many of the current Jazz greats and he continues to mentor up and coming musicians despite being in his 90's and in poor health. Justin is a young pianist who lost his sight when he was 11 and aims to be a top jazz pianist. Movies details their lives and relationship and their trial and tribulations.

Highly recommended.

Keep on keepin' on is a project that took over 4 years of filming, and another 2 years of editing. A labor of love, this is a monumental work of film making history. The film crew often slept on the sofa of Clark Terry's house, and matched their hours to those of the nocturnal Mr. Terry - who often teaches his students in after midnight sessions.

Jazz great Clark Terry is a national treasure, and has taught thousands of students for over 7 decades - a legacy of music. Many of his students, such as Quincy Jones and Miles Davis, have had stellar careers.

Highly recommend this very uplifting and inspiring documentary! I have seen it twice, and look forward to seeing it many more times.

"Keep on Keepin On" is a documentary that beautifully depicts the relationship between iconic trumpet player Clark Terry, and his protégé, aspiring 26 year old pianist Justin Kauflin. In an interesting parallel, Kauflin went blind at a young age, and aging Terry ("CT") is in the process of losing his sight from diabetes. What comes through in the movie is the kinship between the two men, as well as with other members of the jazz community, as they pass along wisdom through the generations. It turns out that the first "student" that Clark Terry ever had in his long career was a young wet behind the ears trumpet player named Quincy Jones. Kauflin and Terry develop a father-son type of bond, as we watch Terry struggle with health problems, and Kauflin attempt to establish himself as a successful jazz pianist.

The one problem I had with the documentary, was that we learn much more about Justin the person than we do about Justin the musician. While obviously he is a highly gifted musician, there was so little footage of Kauflin performing on stage (or with a group), I left the film without any real sense of his strengths as a jazz musician. For example, is a composer? Is he a future bandleader who makes everyone around him better? Is his forte that of reworking the classics? I frankly have no idea. As an example, there may have been many trumpeters who could play faster, or cleaner than a young Miles Davis. But none of them could have produced "Kind of Blue" or "Sketches of Spain". The documentary told me that Justin Kauflin is a great person, but who is he as a musician?