Anything Else You Want To Know?
It's the balance of the material that's problematic.
After the credits, there's another brief tag, taken from the same mid-1980s interview that launched the documentary, where Miles says, "Anything else you want to know? You better hurry up man, before I get tired!"
Actually, there's a lot about Miles to be learned; like any television documentary, The Miles Davis Story only begins to tell his story, of course. And it's hard not to think of Miles' timing when listening to that line, as discordant as the one that opened the documentary. As a musician, Miles' timing was impeccable; both in his trumpet playing, and his regular ability to seemingly invent new genres of music from thin air. Too bad the same can't be said of the time this documentary spent analyzing the man, which could have been better balanced between his music and his muse. Still, it's very much worth checking out, by both diehard fans, and newcomers who want to learn more about one of jazz's most influential (and complex) figures. And hopefully it will inspire additional DVDs of Miles Davis to be released as well.
Article comments
1 - Eric Olsen
His "Blue Christmas" (I think that's the title, I don't have it here) on the Jingle Bell Swing collection is about the sourest evocation of the holiday I have ever heard, and it's not just trying to be funny. Very bleak worldview.
2 - Bill Sherman
The lyrics on "Blue Xmas (To Whom It May Concern)" came courtesy of vocalist Bob Dorough (later responsible for "Multiplication Rock"), though the fact that Davis wanted to record 'em probably indicates that he was in sync w./ its sentiments: "It's a time when the greedy/Spend a dime on the needy."
3 - katherine sibbald
I caught the show from the middle, where Billy Extine's voice is in the background. A photo is then shown of Billy, Bird, Diz and on the far left, a tenor player I didn't recognize. I happen to own this photograph!!! An inheritance. Who is the tenor?? (Excellent bio of Miles, by the way.)
4 - jj
Hello, I am trying to find live videos of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Errol Garner, Monk etc. Especially of Miles Davis. He had so many great groups. Also a video of John Coltrane with the original "My Favorite Things" group. Surely somewhere there must be some videos of these great "once in a lifetime" moments. Hope to hear from you soon