Jackie Jazz

“It’s not what you’re going to do with your life, but what you’re going to do in your life that matters.”

From its complex harmony and syncopated beats to its rhythm, heart and soul, for Jackie Cavanagh, jazz has become a part of his very core. Much like jazz, the charismatic Jackie lives in the present, goes with the flow, improvising at times, and always focuses on what makes him happy even when facing adversity—much to the dismay of his older brother. A successful lawyer, Marty wonders how Jackie will ever succeed in life without going after big goals and achieving wealth and status. To him, the easygoing and good-natured Jackie spends too much time with his hobbies—listening to jazz records, making mixtapes for friends, and volunteering for the local football team—and not enough time working towards a better career. But what Marty fails to see in Jackie is the answer to the question that haunts him every day: what am I really living for?

Set in Edmonton, from post-World War II to the 1990s, Jackie Jazz follows the life of one man whose resilience, love of life, and positivity not only infect all those around him, but make him as legendary as the musicians he loves.