"If anybody wants to keep creating, they have to be about change."

April 14, 2020 8:32 AM

Miles Davis - The Birth Of Cool [trailer] documents the life of the horn player, bandleader, and innovator. "Elegant, intellectual, vain. Callous, conflicted, controversial. Magnificent, mercurial. Genius. The very embodiment of cool. The man with a sound so beautiful it could break your heart. [...] Featuring never-before-seen archival footage, studio outtakes and rare photos, this film tells the story of a truly singular talent and unpacks the music and the myth of the man behind the horn." [official site] It also includes new interviews, and Davis’ own words, as voiced by actor Carl Lumbly (Alias, This Is Us). Streaming now on Netflix, BBC iPlayer (UK) for the next 5 months, and on PBS for Passport members.

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool (Nick Allen for Roger Ebert, 2.5 stars)

As comprehensive as it is dry, Stanley Nelson’s “Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool” will educate those who aren’t aware that the legendary Kind of Blue was improvised lightning in a bottle, or about the era in which Miles Davis was influenced by Indian music (YouTube). But if those pieces of music history are old hat for you, this doc has little to offer other than its catalogue, and the poignant musings offered by a cadre of musicologists, writers, and loved ones who knew the jazz genius closely in one way or the other. For either newcomers or fans, the documentary’s cradle-to-grave, talking-head approach too readily threatens to take the zip, romance, and funk out of a fascinating subject who would be nothing without those very elements.

One aspect that shines within Nelson’s doc is the tangible sense of evolution—it is instructive on how to hear the different quintets and styles within Davis’ catalogue. And with its expansiveness, it connects the many dots to show how different collaborators (or journeys, as when Davis spent time in Paris and returned a balladeer) influenced the way Davis played trumpet and changed jazz forever, again and again. Nelson’s doc treats pivotal albums more like general eras than milestones—even the record that inspired this film’s title feels glossed over—but it creates a full sense of his career, and the many languages he created using the same 12 notes.

93% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes

posted by filthy light thief (6 comments total)

Watched this on Netflix last week and I appreciated how it didn't shy away from Davis' abuse. I've really loved a lot of his music for a long time but hadn't done a deep dive on his life or the larger context of his albums and this doc hit that perfectly.
posted by Maaik at 9:20 AM on April 14, 2020 [1 favorite]

I agree, really well done and even. I was impressed.
posted by nevercalm at 9:22 AM on April 14, 2020

In preparation, I would like to endorse his autobiography - I have no clue how accurate it is to history, but it gives you a great idea what Miles was like and is just saturated with his voice.
posted by Dmenet at 10:19 AM on April 14, 2020 [6 favorites]

ha! i just! posted this on the other site
posted by growabrain at 11:02 AM on April 14, 2020

We saw this at a local microcinema several months ago; it's really, really great, and really really worth your time. It doesn't flinch about the darker side of Davis, nor away from the sad reality of his final years.
posted by uberchet at 3:09 PM on April 15, 2020 [1 favorite]

That 2.5 star rating is nonsense. If you already know all about Miles, then you'll want to watch this again and again, just to soak up to studio footage. If (like me) you know the music but not the man, it's a revelation. And if you don't know the music either, this is the perfect place to start.
posted by MinPin at 12:57 PM on April 17, 2020 [1 favorite]