Paris in the seventies. A depressed graduate student hears music that will change his life; he becomes fascinated by the singer.

Chicago, 1927. A recording session. Tensions rise between Ma Rainey, her ambitious horn player and the white management determined to control the uncontrollable "Mother of the Blues". Based on Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson's play.

Opens with Bleek as a child learning to play the trumpet, his friends want him to come out and play but mother insists he finish his lessons. Bleek grows into adulthood and forms his own band - The Bleek Gilliam Quartet. The story of Bleek's and Shadow's friendly rivalry on stage which spills into their professional relationship and threatens to tear apart the quartet.

Young violinist Xiaochun and his father move from their small, provincial town to Beijing so Xiaochun can audition for a prestiguous music academy. Their new life is unfamiliar but full of promise, allowing the young man to truly figure out which direction he wants to take in life.