Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues

"Like one of Armstrong’s great solos, it feels packed with dynamics, sprinkled with astonishing high notes, and immensely pleasurable."

"If Black & Blues returns to the same melody a few too many times, it doesn't diminish the overall achievement..."

"The film is a trove of Armstrong’s love of music and his labour."

"Jenkins’ lively and provocative documentary Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues takes in the totality of the man..."

"Jenkins does the most important thing he could do in Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues: He lets Louis Armstrong be messy."

"It's a gripping and essential addition to the historical record..."

"(Armstrong) deserves a deeper contextual exploration. But so much of Black & Blues is glorious..."

"It is a daring work, a worthy and affectionate statement about the most important single figure in American popular music..."

"Delightful, provocative and far too short."

"(It) provides a nuanced, sympathetic rebuttal of the crude accusations of Uncle Tom-ism that Armstrong faced."