''Bolden'' is a 2019 American
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
based on the life of
cornet
The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a so ...
ist
Buddy Bolden
Charles Joseph "Buddy" Bolden (September 6, 1877 – November 4, 1931) was an African American cornetist who was regarded by contemporaries as a key figure in the development of a New Orleans style of ragtime music, or "jass", which later ...
(1877–1931). 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.
The musical drama is directed by
Daniel Pritzker
Daniel Pritzker (born 1959) is an American billionaire heir, musician, film director, and member of the Pritzker family.
Early life
Pritzker was born to a Jewish family, the son of Marian (née Friend) and Jay Pritzker. He is the grandson of A. ...
, and features original music written, arranged and performed by
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Awar ...
. The film stars
Gary Carr as Bolden, and co-stars
Erik LaRay Harvey,
Reno Wilson,
Yaya DaCosta
Camara DaCosta Johnson (born November 15, 1982), better known as Yaya DaCosta, is an American actress and model. She was the runner-up in Cycle 3 of ''America's Next Top Model''. DaCosta eventually went to star in ABC's daytime drama series ''Al ...
,
Ian McShane
Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor, producer and director. He is known for his television performances, particularly as the title role in the BBC series '' Lovejoy'' (1986–1994), Al Swearengen in ''Deadwood'' (20 ...
and
Michael Rooker
Michael Rooker (born April 6, 1955) is an American actor known for his roles as Henry in '' Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer'' (1986), Chick Gandil in '' Eight Men Out'' (1988), Frank Baily in '' Mississippi Burning'' (1988), Terry Cruger in '' ...
.
The score by Marsalis includes vocalists
Catherine Russell,
Brianna Thomas, Don Vappie, and instrumentalists including
Wycliffe Gordon
Wycliffe A. Gordon (born May 29, 1967) is an American jazz trombonist, arranger, composer, band leader, and music educator at the collegiate-conservatory level. Gordon also sings and plays didgeridoo, trumpet, soprano trombone, tuba, and piano. ...
,
Victor Goines,
Marcus Printup, and others. The film contains performances by
Reno Wilson playing Louis Armstrong (acting and singing).
''Bolden'' was released in theaters on May 3, 2019, by Abramorama.
Cast
*
Gary Carr as Charles "Buddy" Bolden
*
Erik LaRay Harvey as Bartley
*
Ian McShane
Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor, producer and director. He is known for his television performances, particularly as the title role in the BBC series '' Lovejoy'' (1986–1994), Al Swearengen in ''Deadwood'' (20 ...
as Judge Leander Perry
*
Michael Rooker
Michael Rooker (born April 6, 1955) is an American actor known for his roles as Henry in '' Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer'' (1986), Chick Gandil in '' Eight Men Out'' (1988), Frank Baily in '' Mississippi Burning'' (1988), Terry Cruger in '' ...
as Pat McMurphy
*
Yaya DaCosta
Camara DaCosta Johnson (born November 15, 1982), better known as Yaya DaCosta, is an American actress and model. She was the runner-up in Cycle 3 of ''America's Next Top Model''. DaCosta eventually went to star in ABC's daytime drama series ''Al ...
as Nora Bolden
*
Reno Wilson as
Louis Armstrong
*
Robert Ri'chard as
George Baquet
*
Karimah Westbrook as Alice Bolden
* Breon Pugh as Willie Warner
*
Ser'Darius Blain as
Willie Cornish
William Cornish (August 1, 1875January 12, 1942) was an early jazz musicianknown for his being very active on the New Orleans scene playing, leading bands, and teaching music for decades.
Career
He was a member of Buddy Bolden's pioneering ...
Reception
On
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 50 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
References
External links
*
*
2019 films
African-American biographical dramas
African-American drama films
Films shot in New Orleans
Films shot in North Carolina
Films scored by Mark Isham
2010s English-language films
2010s American films
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