Clark Terry was one of the great secondary figures of jazz. The trumpeter was not among the artists most responsible for changing the shape of the music, but he mentored, inspired or sat in with many of the leading lights, including Quincy Jones, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis.
At age 90, Terry became the subject of director Alan Hicks’ documentary, Keep On Keepin’ On. The production received largely good notices from film and jazz critics for avoiding the usual biographical documentary format by showing the main arcs of his life through his current mentorship of a blind young pianist, Justin Kauflin.
The recently released soundtrack CD for Keep On Keepin’ On includes some original recordings for the movie, including music by Kauflin and snippets of conversation between the trumpeter and pianist. Most of the album serves a long-overdo best-of, collecting material from across the decades that testifies to Terry’s balance of diversity and consistency. He can play it cool, slip into boppy jive or tip his brim to New Orleans, all the while maintaining the good humored elegance that reflects his personality.
