# Hearing Miles Davis from multiple angles, with insights from our announcers: Videos, Photos

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2020/03/01/hearing-miles-davis-from-multiple-angles-with-insights-from-our-announcers-videos-photos/
- Published: 2020-03-01T13:24:02+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**Miles Davis led such a prismatic and changeable career that any attempt at summation
is destined to feel incomplete.**

But the 2019 documentary _Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool _does an impressive job
of it, portraying the trumpeter in his myriad phases and moods, and in an unvarnished
yet sympathetic light.

After premiering at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, it screened in theaters 
across North America and around the globe, earning a Grammy nomination along the
way. For director Stanley Nelson and producer Nicole London, response to the film
validated their obsessive immersion in a mountain of archival materials, countless
hours of interview footage, and of course the music itself, which can still seem
fathomless.

Last Friday, Columbia/Legacy released the film’s soundtrack, which not only includes
landmark selections from the Miles Davis catalog but also commentary tracks by an
array of sharp interview subjects: musical associates like Jimmy Cobb; business 
associates like George Wein; astute critics like Greg Tate. (There’s also a new 
track called “Hail to the New Chief,” produced by Vince Wilburn, Jr. and Lenny White.)

This week, Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool sees widespread release under the “American
Masters” banner, in a U.S. broadcast premiere. To watch, tune in to your local PBS
station on Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET, or stream via the PBS Video app or pbs.org/milesdavis.

So for Take Five this week, we asked WBGO announcers for a selection of favorite
tracks from across Miles’ sprawling discography. These results — handpicked by the
hosts of Midday Jazz, Afternoon Jazz, Saturday Afternoon Jazz, Latin Jazz Cruise
and Jazz After Hours — paint as varied a portrait as Nelson’s film.

**“New Rhumba” **(From _Miles Ahead_, 1957)

Miles Davis always had a special affinity for the work of pianist Ahmad Jamal. One
of the earliest examples of this is his recording of “New Rhumba,” with Gil Evans
at the helm of a 19-piece orchestra for the 1957 album _Miles Ahead_. Having originally
worked together years before on the groundbreaking sessions that would become _Birth
of the Cool_, Miles and Gil had lost none of their musical rapport, with brass and
woodwind charts perfectly accompanying the leader’s ruminations on flugelhorn. Probably
the hottest of the pieces on the album, Jamal’s “New Rhumba” in their hands still
sounds very cool.

**“Concerto de Aranjuez: Adagio” **(From _Sketches of Spain, _1960)

Unlike Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis oddly never embraced the Afro-Cuban/Latin rhythms
that were ubiquitous during the height of New York’s mambo era. In fact, he had 
a legendary fistfight over it with percussionist Armando Peraza. So thank the late
Frances Taylor — Miles’ first wife, and a breakout star of _The Birth of the Cool_—
for bringing him to a performance by Spanish dancer Roberto Iglesias, which inspired
him to record this masterpiece. It’s easy to see why the deep soul of flamenco spoke
to Miles’ sense of melancholy, introspection, restraint and cool. Gil Evans’ masterful
arranging provides a beautiful framework not only for Miles, but the Iberian culture
that inspired him.

**“Right Off” **(From _Jack Johnson, _1971)

“I could play with anybody, in any style — if you’re playing one way, I can play
that style —because I had learned all the trumpet styles by then.” So said Miles
Davis in his autobiography, recalling the 1960s. On “Right Off” — a mostly one-chord
jam from his 1970 album _A Tribute to Jack Johnson_ — we hear Miles unleash what
I consider his greatest recorded solo. Backed by the power trio of John McLaughlin
on guitar, Michael Henderson on bass and Billy Cobham on drums, he strikes a perfect
balance of sound, speed, silence and pure power that both illustrates his lineage(
Louis Armstrong, Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie) and points to where it would go (
Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Ambrose Akinmusire).

**“Time After Time” **(From _You’re Under Arrest, _1985)

There’s a Miles Davis song that I can go to for virtually every pivotal point in
my life. For my 13th birthday, I received several cassette copies of Cyndi Lauper’s“
She’s So Unusual,” featuring the Grammy-nominated song “Time After Time.” Miles 
reimagined the pop hit on his 1985 album _You’re Under Arrest_. The clarion call
of his crisp three-note opener instantly redefines the song. His elastic sense of
time, trance-inducing tone and playful coolness take it to an entirely new dimension.
In simplicity he creates a staggeringly beautiful canvas.

**“Tutu” **(From _Live Around the World, _1996)

“Tutu” is the perfect intersection or funk, R&B, jazz and soul. Composed by bassist
Marcus Miller (who was producing artists like Luther Vandross, David Sanborn and
Chaka Khan at the time), the tune has a special synergy on this version, recorded
at the 1990 Montreux Jazz Festival and featured on the album _Live Around the World._
With Kenny Garrett on alto saxophone, Foley and Richard Patterson on bass, Kei Akagi
on keyboards (with Miles also joining him on keys between trumpet riffs), Erin Davis
on electronic percussion, and Ricky Wellman on drums, this configuration bred a 
funk that still leaves an indelible bop in your spirit.

![](https://i0.wp.com/www.wbgo.org/sites/wbgo/files/styles/medium/public/202002/
miles_davis_for_take_five.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)

### _Related_