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Moonchild is a feature length documentary film in production following jazz pianist, composer, and mentor Yusuf Salim, from his early years playing on Baltimore’s famed Pennsylvania Avenue to his celebrated contributions to
the emerging jazz and Black Muslim communities in his adopted hometown. Salim’s deep faith and embrace of human connection transformed the world around him, even through a lifelong battle with personal demons. During Yusuf’s 60-year musical journey, he inspired and propelled the careers of award-winning musicians and vocalists with his Black Atlantic cool and mastery of the songbook. Guided by his legacy, acclaimed jazz artists reunite in Durham to honor an unsung mentor and perform Salim’s music at historic concerts.
Brother Yusuf’s life offers timeless lessons of hope, redemption,
and empowerment within Black American, Muslim, and jazz histories.
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“Somebody asked me one time, ‘Brother Yusuf, through surviving 30 years of heroin addiction, what is the greatest lesson that you learned?’ I said, ‘Compassion...’ Compassion in the sense that I feel now that my only job, as a vehicle of God, is to try to bring about some human relations. That’s all I’m about …I’d like to be, for the rest of my life, a sacrifice to make people get along.””