Movies like Free the Jazz (2014)
The best movies like Free the Jazz (2014) are Sweet and Lowdown (1999), 'Round Midnight (1986) and The Only Girl in the Orchestra (2023). If Free the Jazz hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Free the Jazz
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWhiplash (2014)8.4/10 from 17,382 votes
- NewestKöln 75 (2025)Released 2025
Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
In the 1930s, jazz guitarist Emmet Ray idolizes Django Reinhardt, faces gangsters and falls in love with a mute woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this'Round Midnight (1986)
Inside the Blue Note nightclub one night in 1959 Paris, an aged, ailing jazzman coaxes an eloquent wail from his tenor sax. Outside, a young Parisian too broke to buy a glass of wine strains to hear those notes. Soon they will form a friendship that sparks a final burst of genius.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Only Girl in the Orchestra (2023)
Trailblazing double bassist Orin O'Brien never wanted the spotlight, but when Leonard Bernstein hired her in 1966 as the first female musician in the New York Philarmonic, it was inevitable that she would become the focus of much interest and fascination. Now 87 years old and recently retired, Orin looks back on her remarkable life and career, insisting that a fuss should not be made, much preferring to play a supporting role to the family, students, friends, and colleagues that surround her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLet's Get Lost (1988)
Documentary about jazz great Chet Baker that intercuts footage from the 1950s, when he was part of West Coast Cool, and from his last years. We see the young Baker, he of the beautiful face, in California and in Italy, where he appeared in at least one movie and at least one jail cell (for drug possession). And, we see the aged Baker, detached, indifferent, his face a ruin. Includes interviews with his children and ex-wife, women companions, and musicians.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhiplash (2014)
Under the direction of a ruthless instructor, a talented young drummer begins to pursue perfection at any cost, even his humanity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Terminal (2004)
An Eastern European tourist unexpectedly finds himself stranded in JFK airport, and must take up temporary residence there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIt Might Get Loud (2008)
A documentary on the electric guitar from the point of view of three significant rock musicians: the Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bloody Hundredth (2024)
Meet the real-life airmen who inspired Masters of the Air as they share the harrowing and transformative events of the 100th Bomb Group.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCoffee and Cigarettes (2004)
An anthology of eleven vignettes featuring star-studded casts of extremely unique individuals who all share the common activities of conversing while drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWoody Allen: A Documentary (2011)
An intense portrait of the iconic filmmaker, writer, actor, comedian and musician Woody Allen: his life, family and friends; his writing and directing habits, and his relationship with performers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParis Blues (1961)
During the 1960s, two American jazz musicians living in Paris meet and fall in love with two American tourist girls and must decide between music and love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisQueen: Live in Budapest (1986)
On 27 July 1986, Queen performed the largest-ever stadium concert at the Népstadion in Budapest in front of 80,000 ecstatic fans. The concert was part of the famed Magic Tour, which was the last time the band toured with lead singer Freddie Mercury.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMy Dinner with Andre (1981)
Wally, a struggling playwright and actor, reluctantly agrees to catch up with his old friend Andre, a theater director who disappeared several years prior in order to travel the world. Meeting at a posh Manhattan restaurant, the two share life stories, anecdotes and philosophical musings over the course of an evening meal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBorn to Be Blue (2015)
Jazz legend Chet Baker finds love and redemption when he stars in a movie about his own troubled life to mount a comeback.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn Evening with Dua Lipa (2024)
Features live performances of Dua Lipa's greatest hits accompanied by the Heritage Orchestra, as well as personal reflections on her career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCBGB (2013)
A look at New York's dynamic punk rock scene through the lens of the ground-breaking Lower East Side club started by eccentric Hilly Kristal in 1973 which launched thousands of bands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAltman (2014)
Robert Altman's life and career contained multitudes. This father of American independent cinema left an indelible mark, not merely on the evolution of his art form, but also on the western zeitgeist. With its use of rare interviews, representative film clips, archival images, and musings from his family and most recognizable collaborators, Altman is a dynamic and heartfelt mediation on an artist whose expression, passion and appetite knew few bounds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLike Sunday, Like Rain (2014)
A struggling musician becomes a 12-year-old musical prodigy's guardian for a summer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKöln 75 (2025)
The true story of Vera Brandes, teenage patron saint of the 1970s Cologne music scene, who risked everything to organize the greatest solo concert in music history: Keith Jarrett’s legendary Köln Concert.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNew York, New York (1977)
An egotistical saxophone player and a young singer meet on V-J Day and embark upon a strained and rocky romance, even as their careers begin a long uphill climb.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Free the Jazz?
The closest matches to Free the Jazz are Sweet and Lowdown (1999), 'Round Midnight (1986) and The Only Girl in the Orchestra (2023). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Free the Jazz?
Start with Sweet and Lowdown (1999), the closest match to Free the Jazz.
What is the highest-rated movie like Free the Jazz?
Whiplash (2014), rated 8.4/10 by 17,382 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Free the Jazz?
Köln 75 (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Free the Jazz?
Yes: Sweet and Lowdown (1999), 'Round Midnight (1986) and The Only Girl in the Orchestra (2023).
How are movies similar to Free the Jazz chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Free the Jazz, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.