Con’s Score: 4 Gleaming Horns
Listening to a Kind of Blue, by Miles Davis, has for many been a moment that has changed their lives. It’s one of the greatest albums of all times – the kind that inspires people to play and others to give up. I didn’t understand jazz until I heard it.
I didn’t know much about the life of Miles Davis until seeing ‘Miles Ahead’ with Don Cheadle, which gave an insight into his drug-addled troubled life as he attempted his comeback in the 70s. Director Stanley Davis’ documentary takes us meticulously through the life of this troubled genius through his words, and those of his contemporaries and loves.
There are a lot of talking heads: Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Carlos Santana, and his children amongst too many others. (Even Flea from Red Hot Chillies has a say.) I was surprised at how open some of his lovers were, particularly Juliette Greco and Francis Taylor, who gave up her dancing career for him. Miles wasn’t a particularly nice guy. He was violent and controlling, and he battled his demons.
One of those is racist America. Davis travelled to Paris where his talent blossomed and he was lauded and respected. He would then return to America, where despite having his name on a venue, he was beaten by a cop who asked him to move on. You see, Davis was helping a white woman into a cab, and that wasn’t acceptable in white USA. In Paris, he openly dated a white lover.
This documentary uses an actor to voice passages from Miles’ autobiography, instead of the many interviews he gave. It doesn’t shy away from his addictions and falls, but it doesn’t dig deep enough below the surface. His contemporaries analyse his music for us; it would have been better to hear it from the man himself.
It left me realising Miles was a driven perfectionist, but one who couldn’t direct or tame his talent any more than he could his excesses. He was angry, rough and gruff on the outside, reflecting the world he lived in. Yet, what he produced through his music was as pure as love. This is a documentary which will have you reaching for his music, and who could deny you the pleasure of that.
Con Nats – On The Screen
