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Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

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.

Miles Davis - horn player, bandleader, 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.

The central theme of Miles Davis's life was his restless determination to break boundaries and live life on his own terms. It made him a star. It also made him incredibly difficult to live with for the people who loved him most. Again and again, in music and in life, Miles broke with convention - and when he thought his work came to represent a new convention, he changed it again. Miles's bold disregard for tradition, his clarity of vision, his relentless drive and constant thirst for new experiences made him an inspiring collaborator to fellow musicians and a cultural icon to generations of listeners. It made him an innovator in music - from bebop to cool jazz, modern quintets, orchestral music, jazz fusion, rock ‘n’ roll and even hip-hop.

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.

1 hour, 55 minutes

Last on

Sat 30 Apr 2022 22:30

Music Played

  • Miles Davis Quintet

    Paraphernalia

  • Miles Davis, Charlie Parker All Stars, Charlie Parker & His All-Stars

    Donna Lee (Album Version)

  • Charlie Parker Quintet

    Dewey Square

  • Miles Davis

    Boplicity

  • Miles Davis

    Moon Dreams

  • Miles Davis

    Move

  • Miles Davis, Tadd Dameron, Tadd Dameron Quintet

    Rifftide (Album Version)

  • Miles Davis

    White

  • Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis

    'Round Midnight (Live At The Newport Jazz Festival, Newport, Ri - July 1955)

  • Miles Davis Quintet

    It Never Entered My Mind

  • Miles Davis

    Stella By Starlight (Album Version)

  • Miles Davis Quintet

    If I Were A Bell

  • Miles Davis Quintet

    You're My Everything

  • Miles Davis Quintet

    Tune Up/When Lights Are Low

  • Miles Davis

    Chez Le Photographe

  • Miles Davis

    Generique

  • Miles Davis

    Au Bar Du Petit Bac (Mono Version)

  • Miles Davis Sextet

    So What - Original

  • Miles Davis Sextet

    On Green Dolphin Street

  • Miles Davis

    Concierto De Aranjuez (Adagio) (Master)

  • Miles Davis

    Agitation

  • Miles Davis

    Blue In Green

  • Gil Evans, Miles Davis

    Saeta

  • Adriana Caselotti

    Some Day My Prince Will Come

  • Tucker Smith, Unknown Ensemble

    Cool

  • Miles Davis

    Footprints (Master Take)

  • The Bar-Kays

    Coldblooded

  • Miles Davis

    Stuff (Album Version)

  • Miles Davis

    Black Satin

  • Miles Davis, Gil Evans

    The Pan Piper (Album Version)

  • Miles Davis Group

    Spanish Key

  • Miles Davis

    Perfect Way

  • Miles Davis

    Solea

    Music Arranger: Gil Evans.
  • Miles Davis Sextet

    Flamenco Sketches

Credits

Role Contributor
Director Stanley Nelson
Featured Artist Miles Davis
Producer Nicole London

Broadcasts

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