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Robert Glasper, Miles Davis: Everything's Beautiful
by Asher Wolf
Miles Davis birthed cool in 1949 and nearly took it to the grave with him 52 years later. His first venture into hip-hop and last studio album, Doo-Bop, represented the least cool moment for America's icon of coolness itself. By the '90s, Miles' prowess as a trumpeter had only waned from legendary to excellent, but younger musicians had supplanted his position on the stylistic frontier, so his bid at the “street music" of his time came off as corny.
Continue ReadingMiles Davis Quintet: Miles Smiles
by Nenad Georgievski
Without a hint of a doubt, the trumpeter Miles Davis' Second Great Quintet which he led in the mid-'60s rekindled his fire for music resulting in exuberant and adventurous music. Davis was reenergized by his young band which vitality and enthusiasm has made a big difference. Not only did it stretch Miles' boundaries, as the band was taking chances and experimenting, but it also helped him get through a difficult period in his personal life (the deaths of his parents, ...
Continue ReadingMiles Ahead Soundtrack / Live in Tokyo 1975
by Geno Thackara
Miles Davis / Various Artists Miles Ahead (motion picture soundtrack) Sony Legacy 2016 It's hard to imagine why the world would ever need yet another Miles Davis compilation. We're talking about a catalogue big enough to fill its own library and eclectic enough to give you whiplash for the ears if you skim through it too fast. If you start comparing albums even a year or two apart, you're often looking at completely ...
Continue ReadingMiles Davis: Miles Davis
by Maurizio Zerbo
Poco più di trenta minuti di musica compongono questo CD antologico della DeAgostini, dedicato alla non certo corposa produzione davisiana per la Blue Note. Quasi tutte le tracce sono tratte da Miles Davis vol. 1, registrato tra il 1952 e il 1954. I rimanenti due brani si ritrovavano originariamente in Miles Davis vol. 2 e Something Else, che Miles Davis incise con Cannonball Adderley. Nel disco in esame si ritrovano gli elementi chiave dell'espressività davisiana, magnificamente racchiusa ...
Continue ReadingMiles Ahead: A Powerhouse Film, But is it the Truth?
by Victor L. Schermer
Don Cheadle Miles Ahead Sony Pictures Classics 2015 Miles Davis happens to have been actor Don Cheadle's long-time hero, and he mulled over the idea of a film about him for several years. In contemplating his directorial and screenwriting debut based on Davis' life, Cheadle could have chosen among several formats: a chronological account; the story of his music with documentary footage; or perhaps a “newsflash" version of key events from the trumpeter's tumultuous life ...
Continue ReadingCo-Improvisation: Explaining the Magic
by Victor L. Schermer
When we listen to great jazz performances, we pay most attention to the soloists, some of whom become our musical heroes. In that respect, jazz is an affirmation of the individual, the uniqueness and liberation of either the “free and joyful spirit," of whom there was none greater than Louis Armstrong, or the arduous struggle of the existential hero to become free, a musician whose inborn talent and valor met the awesome challenges of life and music. Perhaps the most ...
Continue ReadingMiles Comes To The Big Screen; Nephew Vincent Wilburn Approves
by R.J. DeLuke
Sometimes a comment made without serious intent can start the wheels of fate. Many Miles Davis fans know there has been a Miles Davis movie in the works for some time. Different proposals emerged over the years, none of them coming to light for varying reasons. Now, however, all Miles fans know that it's here. The movie, filmed in Cincinnati, is complete and ready for release. It debuted in New York City the second weekend in October. The ...
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