Trailer: ‘No Ordinary Man’ – the untold story of trans icon and jazz musician Billy Tipton

“This was a legend, how have I not done my homework?”

American jazz musician Billy Tipton developed a reputable touring and recording career in the mid-twentieth century, along with his band The Billy Tipton Trio. After his death in the late 80s, it was revealed that Tipton was assigned female at birth, and his life was swiftly reframed as the story of an ambitious woman passing as a man in pursuit of a music career.

The genre-defying documentary No Ordinary Man seeks to correct that misrepresentation by collaborating with trans artists. As they collectively celebrate Tipton’s story as a musician living his life according to his own terms, they paint a portrait of a trans culture icon.

No Ordinary Man features leading voices and breakout stars in the trans community, including Marquise Vilsón, Scott Turner Schofield, Susan Stryker, C. Riley Snorton, and Thomas Page McBee, among others. It is directed by Aisling Chin-Yee and Chase Joynt, written by Aisling Chin-Yee and Amos Mac and produced by Sarah Spring.

Oscilloscope Labs will release No Ordinary Man in theaters on July 16.