- The love story of jazz legend, Junior Mance and his manager and soulmate, Gloria Clayborne. Memories fade. Love is redefined. Music endures.
- Sunset and the Mockingbird tells the love story of jazz pianist Junior Mance and Gloria Clayborne Mance. Junior Mance may not be a household name, but he's a legend in the jazz world. Over his 70-year career, he's recorded more than 200 albums alongside greats including Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Dinah Washington. Gloria grew up in Virginia in the 1950s. Driven to experience the world beyond her family's sprawling farm, she earned two degrees, became a teacher, and moved to New York City, where she fell in love with jazz. In 1997, the two meet at a gig. They have an instant connection and marry one year later. Junior sees Gloria's methodical approach to life as the perfect complement to the freewheeling lifestyle of a jazz musician and asks her to be his manager. She accepts and the two spend the next 15 years touring the world together and it feels magical. With five divorces between them, they both feel they've finally met their match. Then in 2015, Junior has a stroke that triggers the slow onset of Alzheimer's. Although his musical abilities remain impeccable, Gloria doesn't know for how long. What worries her most is who Junior will be without the music. Who will she be? Who will they be together? Gloria wastes no time getting Junior into the studio with his trio to record one more album. After two days, it is clear that Junior 's playing is off and it shakes them all. This day marks a turning point in their lives, and is where our film begins-the first confirmation for Gloria of the inevitability of how their lives would change. The film ends when Junior walks by the baby grand piano in their apartment and it's just another piece of furniture, one that he is no longer inspired to play. Between these two points is a story about two people with very different approaches to life, brought together by music and for whom music means almost everything. It's about how they face the challenge of a disease, or more universally, of time, that will inevitably take that music away and change their lives. Without pause, Gloria vows to keep Junior at home at all costs. In an attempt to control the progression of his disease, she begins a meticulous written record of even the smallest changes in his behavior. She leaves detailed notes around the house reminding Junior what and where everything is, from his sock drawer to their daily schedule, with the hope of minimizing Junior's memory loss. When Gloria discovers that one of the world's leading authorities on Alzheimer's is also a Junior Mance fan (who also moonlights as keyboardist for Aerosmith) she meets with him in his lab at Harvard. He praises her for her creative systems, but gently reminds her that there are "some things you cannot prepare for, you just have to improvise." With equal fervor, Gloria dedicates herself to becoming Junior's memory-to maintain his legacy, continue their connection, and to keep the music alive as long as possible. She goes on a mission to meet with anyone she can who can share Junior's past , from his childhood friends in Evanston, to a renowned club owner in Chicago, to his first wife who lives in Philadelphia. At home in New York, Gloria connects with musicians, well-known and up-and-coming, inviting them into their home to reminisce and play music with Junior . To maintain her own identity, Gloria returns to teaching and sees live jazz herself at least once a week, which she calls her therapy. When she returns home, she and Junior play "name that tune" and reminisce about the past. Ultimately, to maintain his integrity, Gloria decides it's time for Junior to officially retire. His final concert is masterful and emotional. After seven decades playing all over the world, Junior's musical life will exist solely at home. With deep uncertainty, Gloria is finally forced to let go and play life by ear. Soon after, she discovers that in Junior's mind, he is still living life on the road, in a different city every night. She plays along with pleasure, knowing the music is alive inside him for them to share. At the heart of S unset and Mockingbird is a couple facing universal issues i n all relationships as we grow up and grow old. We all have to find ways to adapt and connect. As our memories slip away, we find the parts that remain. Using verité footage intertwined with archival photos and film, the film fluidly moves from past to present, just as memory does. Gloria and Junior's relationship, in its enduring complexity, imperfection and connection, offers insights into navigating life's challenges with love and empathy.
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