REVIEWS & MEDIA COVERAGE
“This is not a documentary interested in crowning a single hero or freezing jazz in amber. Instead, it treats Detroit itself as the main character. A subject deserving to be the centre of the story. What becomes clear early on is that this film understands jazz as a consequence, not an accident. Detroit’s sound did not appear in a vacuum. It grew out of labour, migration, segregation, ambition, and survival.”
—Tony Asankomah, GhMovieFreak, December 23, 2025
4.5/5
“It’s more than a music documentary – it is a strong-willed and unapologetic spotlight on American culture and racial history illuminated by an art form that is bound to the fabric of the country.”
—Patrick Foley, UK Film Review, December 23, 2025
9.5/10
“You don’t need to give a fig about jazz to totally love this movie. That is because the material here is built as meticulously as cities are developed, with each section establishing another floor with more stairs carrying you higher.”
—Michael Talbot-Haynes, Film Threat, December 2, 2025
“Loewenthal weaves in interviews with archival footage and live performances to create a dizzying network of historical truth and moving anecdotes, which come together to create a beautiful portrait of world-class musicians and the legacies they’ve left behind.”
—Debopriyaa Dutta, High on Films, December 27, 2025
“The Best of the Best-Jazz from Detroit is a love letter to the city where the sound was born out of perseverance and community.”
—Tatyana Arrington, Yahoo Entertainment, December 5, 2025
“An amazing tour-de-force of utterly vibrant, wholly fascinating, and musically adept lessons about a city … and humanity.”
—Kirk S. Fernwood, One Film Fan, November 20, 2025
“The Best of the Best: Jazz From Detroit is a beautiful touchstone for all things Detroit and the music that has risen from its iconic history. In presenting the stories of the many jazz greats that have been born and raised in the city, it also paints an intimate portrait of Black culture and community. It is a skillfully woven tale of great joy and great tragedy.”
—Paul Rauch, All About Jazz, December 1, 2025
“A high point of the film is the mentorship component as central to Detroit’s jazz history. Like Harris, the late trumpeter Marcus Belgrave helped shape the jazz community by mentoring accomplished protégés like Regina Carter, Karriem Riggins, Robert Hurst, Kenny Garrett, Rodney Whitaker and Geri Allen.”
—Veronica Johnson, Jazz Times, December 23, 2025
“As thorough and entertaining a documentary on a regional jazz scene as you could ask for, The Best of the Best: Jazz from Detroit makes a case for the Motor City as a hub for the music on par with NYC, New Orleans, Kansas City and Chicago. … The life blood of the film is its careful and thoughtful dissection of that music community, of its need to carry forward the music through connection and education, and how it continues today. … Director Daniel Loewenthal draws on the traditional documentary paintbox to make his point, with talking-head interviews, news footage and smartly-crafted graphics illustrating the rise of the city during the Great Migration, spurred on by the auto industry.”
—Paul Gaita, The New York City Jazz Record, August 2025 (page 25)
“In addition to a wealth of concert footage, the film is also packed with fascinating historical details. …It’s also well-paced and is full of lovely little moments.”
—Matthew Turner, Action Reloaded, December 18, 2025
“The film moves at a brisk and engaging pace, taking us through the history of the city and the history of the music. When it gets into general release it will not just be a must-watch for fans, but also a superb introduction to jazz for the uninitiated.”
—Ethan Iverson, Transitional Technology, November 5, 2024
“The Best of the Best is a remarkable documentary that shines a spotlight on a corner of America that is often underlooked for its contribution to jazz.”
—Simone Goldstone, Newport Beach Independent, October 11, 2024
“The Best of the Best: Jazz From Detroit tells the story of Detroit’s innovative and influential jazz musicians.”
“The film beautifully reflects and balances the city’s fascinating, complex history — through the Great Migration, the building of the black middle class, the 1967 riots and the collapse of the auto industry — while substantiating its deep connection with jazz music.”
—Brandon Berry, Dayton Daily News - October 1, 2024
“Jazz and its roots come from the Black community...and as the sound spread throughout the South, the Great Migration and the promise of a better life brought that sound to the North: and Detroit became a mini-haven for jazz and expanding sound…The Best of the Best: Jazz from Detroit wants to remind audiences and lovers of jazz of the rich history of artists that Detroit has shared with the world.”
—The Metro, WDET - April 3, 2024 - (Interview with Writer/Producer Mark Stryker, beginning at 33:06)
“In the vivid new documentary The Best of the Best: Jazz From Detroit, the Motor City’s musical heritage comes alive.”
—Nate Chinen, WRTI Spotlight - March 13, 2024 (Philadelphia)
“‘The lively, probing documentary searches for the elusive alchemy by which Detroit’s brilliant jazz musicians have distilled the struggles and triumphs of the city’s industrial, political and cultural life into an astonishing variety of musical forms and styles.”
—Lawrence Cosentino, City Pulse, October 10, 2025 (Lansing, MI)
“The Best of the Best: Jazz From Detroit dives into the rich and monumental history of Detroit’s jazz community and its impact on the entire global genre.”
“A new documentary now streaming on Prime Video chronicles the extraordinary jazz history of Detroit and the dynamic city that produced it.”
—Inside Art, KSDS, December 29, 2025
27-minute interview with writer/producer Mark Stryker