Jazz stories have been entwined with cinema since the inception of jazz film genre in the 1920s, giving us origin tales and biopics, spectacles and low-budget quickies, comedies, musicals, and dramas, and stories of improvisers and composers at work. And the jazz film has seen a resurgence in recent years—from biopics like Miles Ahead and HBO's Bessie, to dramas Whiplash and La La Land. In Play the Way You Feel, author and jazz critic Kevin Whitehead offers a comprehensive guide to these films a...

• Introduction
• Prologue: The "I Got Rhythm" of Jazz Movies 1927 & 1946
• Chapter One: Duke's Day & First Features 1929-1940
• Chapter Two: Origin Stories 1941-1947
• Chapter Three: Bands of Brothers 1941-1948
• Chapter Four: Young Men with Horns-the Jazz Biopic's Golden Age 1950-1959
• Chapter Five: The Jazz Musician (and Fan) as Character 1951-1961
• Chapter Six: Independents in Black & White 1961-1967
• Chapter Seven: Spectacles 1972-1984
• Chapter Eight: Suffering Artists 1984-1989...