Press
The New York Times Gives Rave Review To ‘Keep On Keepin’ On’
The Documentary Charts The Friendship Between Two Powerful Musicians
Al Hicks wasn’t primarily known as a documentarian – much less a filmmaker – when he encountered the story of Clark Terry and Justin Kauflin.
An ex-drummer and accomplished musician, Hicks was relatively new to filmmaking. So it is a testament to his innate gift that the documentary he made about Terry and Kauflin, Keep On Keepin’ On, is so full-hearted; so full of nuance and life.
The documentary charts the friendship between Terry and Kauflin, the former a legendary jazz trumpeter, and the latter a musician blind since the sixth grade. With delicacy and care, Hicks explores the way that music bolstered and shaped their friendship, becoming a language that they could use to understand each other, and their separate worlds.
In that way, though the film is about Terry and Kauflin, Keep On Keepin’ On is also, in a broader way, about music, and the way it brings us powerfully together.
For a glowing review of Keep On Keepin’ On in The New York Times, click here.