Austin Scott Reveals Why ‘The World’ Is ‘Ready’ For Tyler Perry’s ‘A Jazzman’s Blues’: It’s A ‘Place To Connect’

Front A Jazzman’s Blues drop on Netflix, Austin Scott joined HollywoodLife for an EXCLUSIVE interview to discuss the film, which was a 27 year long project for Tyler Perry. “It’s definitely something he’s kept in his heart for a long time,” the actor, who plays Willie Earl in the film, explains. “It was a project where he said, ‘I don’t want to give this to the world until they’re ready for it.’ And he really wants to beat us all with his creative depth. His passion for this is just contagious. “

A Jazzman’s Blues following an unsolved murder that leads to a story of a forbidden love set to the soundtrack of juke Joint blues in the deep South. In it, Austin takes on the role of Willie, a trumpeter whose limelight is starting to fade. Perry wrote the script in 1995, his first screenwriting project, but production stalled in the mid-2000s before starting again in 2022. “I don’t think there’s one thing in particular. somehow made him restart the project. “I think everything that happened during the pandemic with George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, set the atmosphere to the point where Tyler said: ‘I think we’re ready for this story. We are ready to go there. ‘ I think this story will be well received and appreciated for what it is,” Austin explained.

“Each character is so different and the movie has done a really great job of addressing the concept of resilience when it comes to love, the human spirit, dreams, all the other things. this distinction. I think that’s especially poignant right now with what we’ve been through,” he continued. “I just hope that people see themselves in this movie in some way, whether it’s the character or the setting or the moment. I hope that people are in a place where they connect with it and feel that it resonates with them in some way, and maybe it helps them get through something they didn’t even know they knew. experienced. “

The actor moved from Broadway in The girl from the North of her hometown to Savannah, Georgia to tell the story of Willie Earl. In doing so, he picked up a trumpet for the first time, and although he wasn’t as likely to learn how to perform as his character, Austin memorized the fingers for Willie’s solo numbers, so his moves are always authentic and true to the scene and the music. “I wanted to build a really deep relationship with not only the jazz of that period, but also with the great trumpet players of that period. So I started to just listen and immerse myself in it constantly,” he told HL. “I knew right away that I didn’t want to just move the trumpet around, I wouldn’t be able to take myself seriously.”

A Jazzman’s Bluesstarring Austin Scott, along with Solea Pfeiffer, Ryan Eggold and Joshua Boone, premieres on Netflix on September 23, 2022.