When jazz legend Charles Mingus comes to town, playing his double bass at the Nighthawk Club, one struggling musician sees what no one else can: Mingus playing “in the soul,” transforming into a giraffe. Mingus calls it the underground: the place he goes when the music is everything and he doesn't have to think at all.

Now Mingus sees something special in a younger musician, Kenny. Will Kenny have the same ability? Will he find the way to the underground?