Set in 1930s New Orleans, Rent Party Jazz tells the soulful story of Sonny and his single mother. Mama works in a fish canning factory, and Sonny helps the coal man before school. When Mama loses her job, the risk of losing their home looms large. Hope arrives when Sonny meets Smilin’ Jack, a street jazz musician who offers to play music in their house to help raise the money for the rent. Neighbors gather, filling the house with music and dance. Before they leave, they drop some coins in a bucket. Sonny learns how people can help one another “if they put their minds and hearts to it.”
SDG 1 & SDG 8
