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Post by jazzhead on Aug 22, 2019 14:07:51 GMT
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Post by Rich on Aug 23, 2019 2:17:42 GMT
Will check out, thanks!
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Post by Doom Girl on Feb 26, 2020 19:26:38 GMT
I finally watched Miles Davis: The Birth of the Cool on television. It was shown as a part of the American Masters series. It is available for free viewing at: www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/miles-davis-birth-of-the-cool-rfotn2/13497/Although it is a traditional “talking heads”/”musical snippets” type of documentary, I would highly recommend it. For the novice, it would serve as a good introduction to Miles and his music. For those who have been immersed in the music and legend of Miles Davis, it still had much to offer. I appreciated the many beautiful black and white photos, video clips of Miles improvising the score to Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud in front of the giant projected film, of the beautiful and vibrant Frances Taylor Davis in rehearsals and performance of West Side Story, which Miles, out of jealousy, forced her to leave, of influential (on music and style) wife Betty Maybry in performance, of a 17-year old Tony Williams playing in the band, of Miles painting and drawing, and interviews with some of Miles’ children and with close friend and artist Cortez “Corky” McCoy, among many others. The voice-overs, read by an actor from Miles own words were well chosen and reflective of Miles thoughts and feelings at key points in his life. The choice of albums to highlight was near perfect, hitting all of the major developments and innovations in Miles’ career. There were a few missteps – yet another clip of guitarist Carlos Santana ecstatically extolling another jazz legend – didn’t I just see him in a documentary about John Coltrane mouthing the same words? And in the segment about Kind of Blue, they showed stills from the recording session but then switched to a clip of a video recorded with an augmented band – a trombonist on Kind of Blue – I don’t think so! Despite the mixed review in The New Yorker, I enjoyed the documentary very much and learned a bit more about the legend of Miles. |
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Post by bassman on Feb 27, 2020 7:47:27 GMT
I finally watched Miles Davis: The Birth of the Cool on television. [ ... ] [ ... ] And in the segment about Kind of Blue, they showed stills from the recording session but then switched to a clip of a video recorded with an augmented band – a trombonist on Kind of Blue – I don’t think so! Despite the mixed review in The New Yorker, I enjoyed the documentary very much and learned a bit more about the legend of Miles. DG, though I haven't seen the Birth Of The Cool documentary, I am almost certain that the video in question must be from The Sound Of Miles Davis: www.loc.gov/item/jots.200018874/It shows Miles in action with a Gil Evans lineup, plus John Coltrane. The trombonist is Frank Rehak. This video has often been (mis)used to illustrate the Kind of Blue sessions. |
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Post by Doom Girl on Feb 27, 2020 17:29:48 GMT
Yes, they used part of the same "So What" video. I guess there is none from the actual Kind of Blue recording session - just the still photos. TY
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djpari
New Member
Yeah, baby!
Posts: 16
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Post by djpari on Mar 6, 2020 17:13:00 GMT
Fun fact, a friend of mine, a trumpet player who lives in DC, owns the mute that Miles played on "Kind of Blue." He got it from his mentor, Phoenix, AZ based drummer Dave Cook after his death. Cook got it from Joe DeFrancesco, who got it as a gift from Miles. I yet have to swing by my friend's house to hold it in my hands, but I have seen pictures already.
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Post by jazzhead on Mar 14, 2020 11:44:16 GMT
Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool is on BBC Two ( UK, Sky 102) tonight at 9pm.
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