( Slow blues playing )
MONICA: What is it again?
TESS: The blues.
And you sing them, right?
That's right.
If you've got soul, you sing the blues.
Anybody ever sing the yellows or the greens?
This would be one of those times
when you might want to just listen.
( Chuckles )
( playing chords )
Leave that alone.
It's precious to someone.
That's Sam Brown.
He owns this club.
He always has.
He used to clean up in a very different way.
In its prime, this club would be
so jammed full of people
the police would come and thin out the crowd.
And then...
they'd hear the music and they'd pull up a chair
and sit down and listen.
( Sighs )
All of that must have been a long time ago.
Well, times change.
Humans call it progress.
Sometimes, progress is progress.
But mostly it's just an excuse to tear something down.
Well, at least Sam is still here.
TESS: So far.
But he's older now and he's not very well.
But he's about to receive an important message.
What message?
Well, since it's his message
and not your message, Miss Wings,
I wouldn't worry about it.
You got your halo full
just trying to get him ready to receive it.
MAN: Hello!
Grandpa Sam?
Isaac!
Zach, Grandpa.
Zach.
Isaac, you're early.
I'm not early, I'm right on time.
You were supposed to meet me
at the airport, remember?
No.
Yeah, we talked about this last night.
We did?
All right, never mind.
You see, Grandpa, this is why
we can't have you live by yourself.
Today, you forget the airport.
Tomorrow, you forget to eat.
The next day, you take a yellow pill
instead of a blue one, and then we got big trouble.
You made it back for open-mike night, huh?
Monday. Right.
Good to see you, Isaac.
It's good to see you, too, Gramps.
Come on, let's get something to eat.
( Chuckling )
It-It's open-mike night, you know.
Yeah, I know.
Zach is a man with a mission.
If he completes his mission,
you won't be able to complete yours.
Preparing Sam for a message?
What did you say the message was again?
I didn't.
And don't try that on me, angel girl.
Just keep your heart straight and your eyes open
and you'll know exactly what to do.
Yes, ma'am.
There, uh... is one other thing, though.
You don't get stage fright, do you?
♫ When you walk down the road ♫
♫ Heavy burden, heavy load ♫
♫ I will rise and I will walk with you ♫
♫ I'll walk with you ♫
♫ Till the sun don't even shine ♫
♫ Walk with you ♫
♫ Every time, I tell you I'll walk with you ♫
♫ Walk with you ♫
♫ Believe me, I'll walk with you. ♫
You lived in St. Louis long, Mr. Brown?
ZACH: No, actually, I live in New York.
I'm just here for a week
helping my grandfather sell the place.
Oh, the bar is solid mahogany.
Imported from, um... somewhere, back in the '30s.
You're selling the place as is?
Everything.
Every bar stool, every fixture, sound system, the works.
You guys, uh, in the nightclub business?
Uh, no, we're in the parking lot business.
Oh, well...
this is a great location for a... parking lot.
MONICA: Excuse me.
May I help you?
Oh, yes, thank you.
The agency sent me about the job.
Uh, why don't you gentlemen just look around.
I'll be with you in a minute.
Uh, I'm sorry.
There are no jobs here.
Um, we're closing the place down.
Oh...
Are you Mr. Sam Brown?
SAM: No, I'm Sam Brown.
Excuse me, gentlemen. I'm sorry.
The place doesn't open till 7:00.
MONICA: Hello, Mr. Brown.
I'm Monica.
I'm here about the MC job.
Are you crazy, Grandpa?
You're not going to make enough to pay an MC.
Well, you can't have an open-mike night
without a Master of Ceremon... Mistress of Ceremonies.
ZACH: Do you really need
an open-mike night at all?
We haven't missed a Monday in 40 years.
It's what's kept this place alive.
For heaven's sakes, you were born on open-mike night.
I really don't think...
I know that.
( Chuckles )
Other than that, you're a fine boy.
Have you met my grandson?
Not really.
Probably just as well.
Now, let's talk about the job.
Uh, excuse me.
Monica, is it?
Nothing personal,
but my grandfather and I need to talk business.
We are talking business.
I'm auditioning a new MC for open-mike night.
Fine.
Have it your way.
What's the point of having your own place
if you can't have things your own way?
That's what a place is for.
I have a feeling those men are here to buy me out.
MONICA: Yes, sir, I do believe you're right.
Well, I'm not selling.
I know.
Club Indigo has seen better days,
but we're always one open-mike night away from coming back.
Besides, I'm not closing up until she tells me to.
"She"?
The Countess.
Now, come on. Up there
and show me what you can do.
Up where? On the stage.
On stage. I'm going to sit right here
and see how you look up there.
Now what do I do?
Well, go ahead, go ahead.
The mike is hot.
The mike is hot?
Yeah, yeah.
( Sam laughing )
( laughing ): That's funny.
I said the mike is hot, she pretends it really is.
Um...
What...?
( Feedback whines )
Wh-What would you like me to do now?
Tell a joke.
A joke?
Just one. I can tell from just one joke.
Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Oh, you heard it already?
( Sam laughing )
She's good.
One night with her
and the place will be so empty he'll have to sell.
SAM: That nervous act really plays.
Monica...
you got the job.
It all started in New York.
I used to go to all the jazz clubs on 52nd Street.
We used to call it 50-Two Street.
Let's see, there was
the Three Deuces, the Onyx, Eddy Condon's.
I used to play some myself, but not like those boys.
Oh, yeah, there was blues, jazz.
Anything with soul.
You know anything about soul?
A little.
Anyway, when I moved here, I brought the music with me.
Opened this place.
B.B. King and I used to sit at this very table
arguing about where to get the best clam sauce in Baltimore.
( Chuckling )
Isaac Hayes used to sit
on that very stool you're sitting on
and moan to me about woman trouble.
Left a pair of sunglasses
around here somewhere.
Sounds like all the greats have been through this place.
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
There was always the music.
The music.
I-I used to have a cook who,
whenever the music got real hot,
he would rattle those pots and pans.
Wouldn't cook.
Couldn't cook much anyway,
but he sure could rattle those pots and pans.
( laughs )
Oh! Here they are. Here they are.
Yeah, I got to put these somewhere
where I won't lose them.
Paul Desmond sat right there drinking my famous coffee
when he come up with the idea for putting five beats
in a bar instead of four.
( Scatting )
( chuckling )
Well, it could've happened here.
And-and
when LaVern Baker sang,
♫ I used to smoke, drink, dance the hoochie-coo ♫
where do you think she used to smoke, drink and dance?
Here. Right here!
So you have a famous coffee?
Yeah.
I know a lot about coffee.
Do you have any decaf mocha latte?
You can't sing the blues and drink that candy stuff.
We're going to turn you
into a java girl.
Who left this laying around?
That's B.B. King.
B.B. King and I
used to sit at this very table
arguing about where to get
the best clam sauce in Baltimore.
Nice guy, B.B. King.
Sends me a Christmas card every year.
Birthday card every spring.
He left a pair of sunglasses
lying around here somewhere.
Ah, Grandpa, I've been listening to these stories
since I was a kid.
I lived in Saint Louis until I was six,
and I never once saw
Isaac Hayes or B.B. King.
Yes, you did. You just don't remember.
You're named after Isaac Hayes.
Show a little respect.
I do, Grandpa.
Shows respect by trying to sell
this place out from under me
and putting me in an old-age home.
Where you'll be taken care of.
Well, I don't want to go.
I am not going to sign my life away.
You understand that, Isaac?
My name's Zach, and it's not your life, Grandpa!
All this does is give me power of attorney
so I can sell this place.
That's what we decided.
That's what you decided!
All right.
Let's talk about this later.
We can talk about this now.
Anything you got to say to me
you can say in front of my-my very good friend, uh...
Monica. M-Monica.
My MC.
Fine.
Those men just made a very fair offer for the property.
Now, I checked the comps, and they're competitive.
I can get a very short escrow.
Escrow? What's he talking about?
Talk about music. That I understand.
The music is dead, Grandpa.
Deal with life.
Music is life.
That what she said.
Oh, no, here we go again
with the Countess.
She told me not to close this place up.
Now, those doors are going to stay open...
Wide open... until she tells me to shut them!
Oh, here they are.
These are Paul Desmond's sunglasses.
I better put them somewhere where I don't lose them.
One more word about her...
The Countess?
Yeah.
Some... mythical singer who supposedly showed up
and saved the club back in the '60s
when the place was going downhill.
Then, when the place got back on its feet,
she disappeared.
Sounds very romantic.
Yeah, well, most fairy tales are.
( Pouring drink ) He's all over the place.
You heard him.
He's not budging until she comes back
and tells him it's time to close up.
Well, it's his club.
Doesn't he have the right to make that decision?
He's not capable of making his own decisions.
He lives in another world.
He still loans money to every deadbeat drummer
who wants to hock his sticks.
He's always got some loser
living in the cellar.
I think there's some guy down there now
I'm going to have to kick out.
And he thinks the magic Countess will show up tomorrow
and make everything okay again.
He just sounds like a positive and generous man.
Who's losing his mind.
I found a really great, um,
retirement home near my house.
Good care, good people.
I'm not out to punish him.
I want to help him. I really do.
But it doesn't look like I'll be able to do it alone.
And you want me to help you?
Well, for some reason, you're his new best friend.
Tell him to sign the papers.
You said it was a nice place?
The best.
Please.
Help me.
Before something happens.
( Thudding, glass shattering )
SAM: It's okay, it's okay.
TESS: So, what do you think?
Is this is the message
I'm supposed to be preparing him for?
"Sam, stop dreaming.
Give up and fade away"?
That's not the message at all.
Well, how am I supposed to get him ready for something
if I don't even know what it is?
Why don't you ask the man downstairs?
Andrew?
So you're the man living in the cellar?
Yep. It's a great place to hang out.
Kind of like living in a museum with mice.
( Chuckling )
You didn't tell me the Angel of Death
was on this case.
You do your job and he'll do his.
Andrew, what are you doing living in the cellar?
Well, I can hear everything from down there.
And I found out that Tuesdays is blues days,
and Wednesdays is jazz,
and Thursdays is karaoke, but that's okay
because I've got a really good set of earplugs.
Are you here for Sam?
Yeah, yeah.
I'll be taking him home, uh, pretty soon now.
Then what am I doing here?
Why am I always the last to find out?
Now you just calm down, Miss Wings.
Well, that's the message
he's going to get, isn't it?
"You're going to die."
Everybody gets that message, but I got a message for you.
What?
Work on your timing.
Those jokes stink.
( Chuckling )
So I'm supposed to help keep this place going then?
This is going to be Sam's last open-mike night,
and you're going to see that it's the best ever.
ANDREW: And I think you're going
to be great.
I know she will.
'Cause you're going to help her.
Hello. Oh.
The Angel of Death is on hold.
( laughs )
I hope that's the Countess you're looking for.
Actually, I'm way ahead of you.
I'm on with the musicians' union.
I was hoping maybe they... hi, yes.
Hello. Okay, thank you.
I am looking for a singer
who was very, very popular in the 1960s.
Uh...
No, ma'am.
I-I don't have a last name for her,
but I know they called her the Countess.
Yeah, sure. My name's Andrew.
Well, actually I don't have a last name either.
( Dial tone )
Hello.
Okay. All right.
This three-dimensional living is very, very limiting.
Come on, we don't have much time.
Right. And I will go see who else I can find.
Andrew, just calm down.
Remember, we're looking for anyone
who played the club.
Mm-hmm.
Jazz, blues, funk, B&R.
R&B.
And nobody says "funk" anymore.
Oh, we were just...
We?
I, um...
I was just looking.
For what?
For the Countess.
An address, a phone number, an old news clipping.
What?
Look, she's probably 90 by now, if she's alive,
or if she ever existed at all.
Why is she so important to you all of a sudden?
Well, we want to throw a party
for your grandfather here at the club.
What? One knock-knock joke,
and you're making decisions around here?
( laughs )
We're going to invite all the people
from the old days.
There are no people
from the old days, okay?
Just a bunch of old, signed photographs
that he probably bought at a flea market.
Maybe he even signed them himself.
Hey, I asked you to help me bring him back to reality.
And, instead, you're going into his fantasy.
Zach, I know this may be hard for you to imagine,
but your grandfather used to be your age.
He had a mind that was strong,
and a heart that was even stronger.
And he had dreams,
most of which he made come true
with just hard work and faith.
But now he has only one dream left,
and whether that dream makes any sense
to you or to me, it matters to him.
Isn't that enough?
No.
What matters is that I get his life in order
so I can get back to mine.
Now, if you don't want to help me with that,
that's your business, but just don't get in my way.
Did you ever... Did you ever sing the blues?
Monica.
Did you ever... Did you ever...
Did you ever sing the blues?
Well, I was in a choir once,
but we didn't exactly sing the blues.
Well, did you ever...
Did you ever feel... real bad?
Real... depressed?
You-you couldn't find your-your car keys
or-or, or-or you couldn't get your hair
to do what you wanted it to do, huh?
Well, I spilled a cup of coffee on myself once.
Oh, well, then you could sing the blues.
( Chuckles )
Is that something somebody pawned here?
No, no, no, no. This is mine.
No, this still works.
Chops are getting a little old, but the horn still works.
( laughs )
You know, it's funny.
Can't remember what I had for breakfast,
but I can remember practically every note
I ever played on this thing.
I'm sorry.
It must be hard for you sometimes.
Well, which brings us back to the blues.
Now,
what was that...
what was that terrible thing that happened to you?
When I spilled the coffee on myself.
It was Colombian Supremo.
You got it.
( Playing blues tune )
♫ Knocked over my coffee ♫
♫ What a lesson I learned ♫
( playing blues )
♫ Knocked over my coffee ♫
♫ What a lesson I learned ♫
( playing blues )
♫ You better be careful ♫
♫ Or, baby, you can get burned ♫
( laughs )
( playing blues )
♫ Oh, yeah! ♫
( laughs )
Oh, that was really... blue.
You... Now, you. Come on.
Oh, no. I can't sing.
Come on, come on, come on.
( Playing blues melody )
♫ My name is Monica ♫
♫ And I come from a place ♫
( playing blues )
♫ My name is Monica ♫
♫ I come from a really different place ♫
( playing blues )
♫ Where people are happy ♫
♫ And they're covered with grace. ♫
( plays blues )
Yeah.
( laughs )
MAN: Hey.
Is that a clarinet,
or is somebody mashing cats in here?
Is that Al?
Sounds like Al.
Hey, Al!
Sam.
Al, how are you, buddy?
Yeah.
What-what brings you here?
Well, I was in town.
Andrew found me, and invited me over.
Andrew? Yes, sir.
I'm the guy that lives downstairs.
Really?
What's it like down there?
Oh, it's-it's great, Mr. Brown. Thank you.
Oh, Al Jarreau,
this is, uh... uh, Monica,
my-my-my MC for open-mike night.
Hi, Monica.
Any friends of Sam's is...
in big trouble, so I'll watch out for you.
( laughing )
Okay.
Hey, Gramps, I just got a call
from the investors, and we got to...
Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you had company.
Isaac, come on over here.
I want you to say hello
to your namesake, Al Jarreau.
Hi, Isaac.
( laughs )
I thought I was named after Isaac Hayes.
You were!
Isaac Albert Brown!
Oh. Oh, wow!
Hello. Nice to meet you.
Yeah. I think we met before, didn't we, Sam?
Of course.
You-you baby-sat him.
You and, uh, uh...
B.B. King.
B.B. B.B., yeah.
Nobody wanted to give you a bath,
'cause you hated it,
so you'd scream and scream.
Yeah. We gave you a bath anyway,
and we even sang a little duet for you.
Thought it might calm you down.
( laughs )
You just screamed louder.
I don't remember anything.
Well, you sure grew up, man.
You know, Aretha and I had a bet.
She figured, the way you screamed,
you were sure to turn into a singer.
No. He's a civilian.
( Al chuckling )
AL: Well, I guess.
Aretha owes me a dollar.
Aretha?
Aretha Franklin knew me?
Uh-huh. Don't you tell him anything?
I guess hearing it from me is harder to believe.
Come on, we got a lot of catching up to do.
AL ( laughing ): Oh, man.
Check this out.
This was the night Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane arm wrestled
over there at that bar.
( laughs )
Who won?
Coltrane, three out of five.
Mr. Brown, look over here. I found it.
Look. All right.
"At this table
"on May 22, 1966
I fell in love with Mary Ann."
I remember that.
Then, six months later, they were married
right over there at the bar.
Wow.
A lot of love in this room.
You feel like a cup of coffee?
I feel like a cup of coffee.
I'm going to make some coffee.
Mr. Jarreau, at the risk of being forward,
could you help us put on a show for Sam?
We'd really like to surprise him.
We just don't want him to feel forgotten, you know?
Mm-hmm.
They have this crazy idea
that we can get some people
from the old days back here.
It's not so crazy.
You got me back.
My grandfather's not well.
I'm sorry, but with all due respect,
the last thing he needs is to get excited about this place.
I mean, he's going to a rest home.
How could an evening of jazz and the blues
and funk make him feel anything but alive?
To feel alive is a good thing.
Some people could try it.
Oh, baby, we don't say "funk" no more.
( laughs )
Do you think you could call the Countess for us?
The Countess.
Whoa. I hadn't thought about her in years.
Where is she? Anybody know where she is?
Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
You mean there really is a Countess?
Well, you better believe there's a Countess.
Whoa.
She saved this joint during the '60s, man.
Okay.
There she is, okay?
Man, look at her.
Everybody called her the Countess,
but Sam called her something else in private.
Ah!
Yeah, he called her
Tess.
So the Countess is Tess.
I think I'm beginning to understand.
That's the message.
ZACH: I always thought the Countess...
Tess, is it?
Was just another one of my grandfather's fairy tales,
but this is really her.
It was a long time ago.
It was a bad time for blues.
I don't think I've ever seen Sam so low.
( Clarinet playing blues )
By the '60s, Sam was tapped out.
He'd made too many loans, given too many advances,
trusted too many deadbeats,
and the club wasn't drawing much of a blues audience
'cause, by then, the whole world
was listening to rock 'n' roll.
Boy, this was a tough time for Sam.
When her couldn't borrow any more money,
he decided to close down.
But, by then, it was too late... His wife had left him.
What's wrong, Grandpa?
Oh, nothing, Zach. Nothing.
Everything is copacetic.
Copa-what?
It's an old word somebody made up to mean real cool.
I'm hungry.
Where's Grandma?
Listen, uh... Zach, uh...
your grandma told me to give you a big hug,
and to tell you that, uh...
she took a train to New York.
Are we going to the World's Fair?
Sure. Why not?
All of us?
No, no, no, just you and Grandma.
Who's going to make you dinner?
Say, you're right. It's time to eat.
Why don't we head next door?
We'll go to that rib joint, we'll get us some, uh...
get us some, uh...
I got money, Grandpa.
Grandma gave me some for my birthday.
See?
A Kennedy half-dollar.
Brand-new.
But that's yours.
You keep it safe for me,
like you do other people's stuff.
Sure.
Hey, tell you what.
I'm going to take you into the kitchen,
and I'm going to whip you up some eggs a la Sam Brown.
What do you say, huh?
Thanks, but I'll go watch TV.
TESS: I hope the music in this place
is better than the menu.
Who are you?
A music lover.
This is a blues club, isn't it?
Not for long.
We're closing up.
You sound like you got a real good case of the blues.
What kind you got?
Glad blues, sad blues,
lonely, funky or bad blues?
( Plays simple blues melody )
♫ You ain't been blue ♫
♫ No, no... no... ♫
♫ You... ain't been blue ♫
♫ Till you've had ♫
♫ That mood indigo ♫
♫ That feeling goes stealing down to my shoes ♫
♫ While I just sit and sigh ♫
♫ Go along blues... ♫
AL: The next night was supposed
to be closing night but. Thanks to Tess,
the place never did close.
Tess was a sensation.
Pretty soon, Sam had enough money
to really do the place up right.
He changed the club's name to "Indigo"...
The deepest shade of blue, and Tess' favourite colour.
He changed Tess' name, too.
And, night after night,
the crowds rolled in to see the woman
he billed as "The Countess."
♫ Don't let my leavin' grieve ya ♫
♫ Swing on and on ♫
♫ And on. ♫
( applause and cheering )
Sam was flying high
until one day...
And this is the hardest part to believe...
But he swore it happened...
Well, if you give me a firm date, I...
Well, let me check my schedule
to see if we can accommodate you.
Uh, yeah, I think we can, as a matter of fact.
No problem.
You can count on us. Okay.
That's it! The Ed Sullivan Show!
They want us! They want you!
We're heading for New York!
Oh, great. You're all packed, ready to go.
Yes, I am.
I'll throw some things in a bag,
and we'll catch the first plane out.
Wait a minute, Sam.
Listen to me.
I cannot go to New York with you.
What are you talking about?
Why not?
It's my time to move on.
Move on?!
What about the Sullivan Show?
This is not about being on TV.
I just came here to help you get back on your feet,
and to remind you to listen to the music.
That's what this is all about.
I don't understand.
I'm an angel sent by God.
To a nightclub?
To a good man who has a job to do.
Angels come in all colours, Sam. Not just indigo.
There's love here, Sam.
And you share it with everybody who walks through that door.
You feed them with your own soul...
With music, understanding, encouragement...
And God wants you to keep these doors open.
Not just to keep the music going,
but to keep the people going...
no matter what anybody else says.
God sent Moses to the Promised Land,
and Joshua to Jericho, but...
And he's telling you
to stay put, because you're a leader, too.
Stay put?
You remember that old song by Duke Ellington...
"Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me"?
Sure.
Well, that's going to be your theme from now on.
Just hang in there.
Now, there are going to be hard times:
War, money problems,
and something called disco...
But you're going to make it through,
'cause He's going to be with you all the way.
But I need you.
I'm not the one
you need.
He just asked me to come and bring you a message.
♫ I'm gonna love you ♫
♫ Like nobody's loved you ♫
♫ Come rain or come shine ♫
♫ High like a mountain ♫
♫ Deep like a river ♫
♫ Come rain or come shine ♫
♫ Days may be cloudy or sunny ♫
♫ You may be in or out of the money ♫
♫ I'm with you always ♫
♫ I'm with you ♫
♫ Come rain, come shine. ♫
I'm just telling you what he told me,
and I believe it.
I believe the Countess was an angel.
I think that sounds like a very interesting theory.
( Tearfully ): I'd bet on it, if I bet.
Which I don't... but if I did, I would.
Oh, no. Not you, too.
Hello, Monica. Knock-knock. Anybody home?
What is it about this place
that makes everybody soft in the head?
Well, maybe it's just soft in the heart.
( Glass shattering )
Grandpa!
Oh, no...
I'm okay.
Did you burn yourself?
No, no, no. I'm fine.
One, two, three.
ZACH: Easy does it.
You know, you sound just like Al, you know that?
It is Al, Sam.
Oh, Al, how you been? Long time.
Grandpa, let me get you cleaned up.
Thanks, you guys. Thanks for your help.
I can deal with this.
Really, I can take care of it.
Come on.
SAM: Where's my glasses?
Um... here they are, Grandpa.
Good house?
It's open-mike night tonight.
I hear Al Hirt's in town. He might drop by.
Oh, Gramps...
Band here yet?
The band?
Yeah.
Uh, yeah, Grandpa.
The band's here.
I just need you to sign this.
What's-What's that?
It's the okay to pay the band.
You okay, Grandpa?
Oh, yeah.
Everything's copacetic.
Copacetic.
Yes, that's right.
Mm-hmm. No, no, no, no, no.
Tomorrow night.
Yeah, at Club Indigo.
I'm sorry. The club is now closed.
There's not going to be a show tomorrow night or any other night.
Zach... No!
I'm getting my grandfather
on the first plane out of here.
How can you do this? This club is Sam's life.
Correction: The club is now a parking lot.
( Sighs )
How much time do we have?
I don't know.
Anytime now.
I'm just waiting for the word.
I don't understand.
Where's Tess?
She's supposed to deliver some sort of message.
Eh, you know Tess.
She usually knows when to show up.
But, in the meantime,
it looks like you're going to have to wing it.
( Knocks gently )
Are you still here?
Zach, this is where your grandfather belongs.
Don't you understand?
He is not well, okay?
And he's getting worse by the minute.
He needs medical attention.
And, if I don't sell this place, I can't pay the expenses.
He won't need money where he's going.
What are you, a doctor?
No, I'm an angel.
Oh, I see.
Well, that's great,
because you weren't really cutting it as an MC.
Oh, Zach, you're doing all the right things
in all the wrong ways, and God has sent me to tell you.
( Scoffs )
Man, my grandpa has had a lot of nutcases walk in here,
but I never saw you coming.
Everyone that ever walked through these doors
was welcomed by your grandfather's love and respect.
All the musicians and wanderers,
the winners and the losers,
and the nutcases and, yes, even an angel or two.
Like me, like Andrew...
like Tess.
Is God listening now?
He's always listening.
I want to help my grandpa.
I want to take him back to New York
and take care of him as well as he took care of me.
Of course, you're concerned for his safety,
but God is concerned about something else.
You see, he has a message for Sam.
Now, I can't tell you what that is yet,
but I have the faith that it will be worth waiting for,
and you have to have faith, too.
( Sniffling ): But... I think faith has almost killed him.
No.
It's his faith that has kept him alive,
because he's hung on to it, no matter what.
He wants to pass that on to you.
Just like that old Kennedy half-dollar
he's been keeping safe for you all these years.
But my buyers. I...
Let them wait, Zach...
one more day.
It might be only 24 hours to you,
but for Sam... it's the gift of a lifetime.
( Knocking ) Hey, Grandpa.
Let me help you with that.
Yeah, yeah.
Just... just washed my hands. Can't do a thing with them.
( laughs )
You used to do this for me. Remember?
Yeah? Yeah.
You were the one who taught me
how to tie a bow tie.
I did? Sure.
I knew how to tie a bow tie
before I knew how to tie my own shoes.
You don't wear lace-up shoes with a tux!
I, I told you that.
I know, I know.
Patent leather pumps.
Just like Duke Ellington gave you.
I, I thought I saw him before.
Duke's out there, isn't he?
Uh...
Can't say, Gramps.
We... we got a full house?
Listen to me, Grandpa.
Even if I was the only one in the audience tonight,
the house would still be full of love.
Okay?
Don't mess up my tie.
( Knocking on door )
Show time, gentlemen.
( Muttering ): Oh, yeah...
( cheering )
I love open-mike night.
( Cheering and applause )
Hey, you got a full house tonight.
( Cheering and applause )
WOMAN: Way to go, Sam.
( Cheering and applause )
MONICA: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
We are all here tonight to honor a very special man.
I have, uh...
I've never been an MC before
but, like many of you here have discovered,
life is never quite the same
once Sam has touched your heart.
Sam, there are so many people here tonight
who want to tell you how much they love you.
Ladies and gentlemen,
will you please welcome
the elder statesman of the blues,
Mr. B.B. King!
( Playing blues )
B.B. KING: You know, I'll never forget something Sam told me once.
It's the best advice I think I've ever had.
He said...
"Don't give up.
Just keep giving."
And, also, he said I'm his favourite musician.
( laughter )
Ladies and gentlemen,
please give a very warm Club Indigo welcome
to the incomparable.
Dr. John.
( Cheering and applause )
( blues intro plays on piano )
♫ You ain't been blue ♫
♫ No, no, no ♫
♫ You ain't been blue ♫
MAN: Whoo!
♫ Till you've heard that mood indigo... ♫
DOCTOR JOHN: See, one Christmas Eve,
I didn't have no place to stay.
And Sam invited me over
even though his pad was crammed like a sardine can.
He let me sleep under the tree,
like one of them unwrapped presents.
But the thing I remember the most,
was the card you left me, Sam.
"To my favourite musician."
( laughter and applause )
MONICA: Ladies and gentlemen,
the man with the golden horn...
Mr. Al Hirt.
( playing jazz )
You know, most people don't know this,
but Sam and I were in the Air Force together.
And I was the bugler.
I used to get up at 5:00 to play reveille,
and who do you think would get up with me? Sam.
And then, when we'd go to breakfast after,
then he'd critique everything I did.
( laughter )
And I had a chance to go with Benny Goodman for an audition.
Who do you think loaned me the money?
You're right. He did. It was 20 bucks.
And I gave him my bugle as collateral.
Give him back his bugle.
50 years is a long time to dust.
( laughter )
50 years.
You need to polish this sucker.
I want to ask you a question.
This is serious, now.
Sam, who is your favourite musician?
( laughter and applause )
Thank you.
A funny thing happened on the way to Club Indigo.
We all fell in love with the same man.
And I know that he has something very special
he wants to share with us.
So, ladies and gentlemen,
will you please give a warm welcome
to the heart and soul of Club Indigo,
Mr. Sam Brown.
( Cheering and applause )
( mouthing )
SAM: Thank you, thank you,
thank you.
I know this club has been a big part of all of your lives.
Well, let me tell you, it's been my entire life.
Every happy memory I ever had
came to pass within these four walls.
But it's not just my memories that count.
It's yours, too, and yours, Al, and B.B.,
and Mr. Bugler Man, yours, too,
and the good Doctor also, yours, too.
Because you know what we're going to remember?
We're going to remember the music...
The music that we made here together.
Club Indigo is never going to be what it once was,
but that doesn't matter,
because... because every time you guys go out
on a concert tour or into a recording studio,
you take a little piece of this club with you.
You're the guys who make the music live on,
even if this club can't.
( Audience groaning )
No, that's all right.
Don't feel sorry for me.
This has been one great gig, man.
One great gig.
You know why?
Because I had an angel watching over me.
And you know what she said?
The angel said to me,
"There's going to be good times, Sam,
"there's going to be bad times...
But the Good Lord can use you all the time."
TESS: Yes, he can, baby.
( Band strikes up )
Yes, he can.
That's the Countess!
She's back!
♫ I'm gonna love you ♫
♫ Like nobody's loved ya ♫
♫ Come rain or come shine... ♫
Hey, Grandpa, I'm sorry.
For what?
For not believing you.
I mean, this is amazing.
The music, huh? You feel it?
Yeah!
I don't want it to end.
I don't know, this may sound kind of crazy, but...
maybe I can move here, you know?
Help you run the place.
What do you think?
♫ Come rain, come shine, whatever ♫
♫ He was there all the time... ♫
You're a good boy, Zach.
♫ He's with you, Sam, baby... ♫
Isaac.
♫ Come rain or come shine. ♫
( cheering and applause )
God gave you a job to do, Sam.
To keep these doors open and to keep the music going.
And He told me to tell you, Samuel Jacob Brown:
"Well done, good and faithful servant."
( "When the Saints Go Marching In" playing )
♫ Well, when the saints ♫
♫ Go marching in ♫
♫ Well, when the saints go marching in ♫
♫ I tell ya, I, I, I want to be in that number ♫
♫ When the saints... ♫
Come on, Al...
♫ Go marching in ♫
♫ When the saints ♫ ♫ When the saints ♫
♫ Go marching in ♫ ♫ Go marching in ♫
♫ When the saints go marching in ♫
♫ Saints go marching in ♫
♫ Lord, I want to be, want to be in that number ♫
♫ When the saints go marching in ♫
♫ Well, when the saints ♫
♫ Go marching in ♫
♫ I tell you, when the saints go marching in ♫
♫ Oh, yeah, I, I, I, I want to be in that number ♫
♫ When the saints go marching in ♫
♫ Yeah, yeah, when the saints ♫ ♫ When the saints ♫
♫ Go marching in ♫ ♫ Go marching in ♫
♫ When the saints go marching in ♫
♫ They'll be marching in ♫
♫ I tell you, I want to be there, want to be there ♫
♫ Want to be in that number ♫
♫ When the saints go marching in ♫
♫ I want to be ♫
♫ Want to be in that number ♫
♫ When the saints go marching in! ♫
( cheering and applause )