Aspiring jazz musician Joe Gardner falls into a manhole and embarks on an unexpected journey from the streets of New York City to the cosmic realms.

An exploration into the musical achievements of fifteen living jazz artists profiles jazz as one of the most ephemeral and improvisational performing art forms, in an account that offers insight into the conceptual nature of jazz while drawing on interviews with such figures as Sonny Rollins, Ornette Coleman, and Branford Marsalis.

Sonny Rollins has long been considered an enigma. Known as the "Saxophone Colossus," he is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest jazz improvisers of all time, winning Grammys, the Austrian Cross of Honor, Sweden's Polar Music Prize and a National Medal of Arts. A bridge from bebop to the avant-garde, he is a lasting link to the golden age of jazz, pictured in the iconic "Great Day in Harlem" portrait. His seven-decade career has been well documented,...

Relates the story of jazz innovator Louis Armstong's rise from street waif to international superstar.

"London, 1950. With the war over and London still rebuilding, jazz musician Lawrie Matthews has answered England's call for labour. Arriving from Jamaica aboard the Empire Windrush, he's rented a tiny room in south London and fallen in love with the girl next door. Playing in Soho's jazz clubs by night and pacing the streets as a postman by day, Lawrie has poured his heart into his new home -- and it's alive with possibility. Until one morning, while...

Follows the beloved American jazz singer's rise to fame, describing the difficult historical and cultural factors that she overcame.