Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

PAGLEJ! a series of movies about music

Thursday, November 30, at 19:00
Filmsko gledališče Idrija
admission free

Photo: Mercury Studios Ltd

Director: Stanley Nelson. Performers: Quincy Jones, Carlos Santana, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, Marcus Miller. Production: Firelight Media, American Masters Pictures, USA, 2019. Duration: 115 min.

According to director Stanley Nelson, the film Miles Davis – The Birth of Cool aims to paint a true portrait of the legendary jazz trumpeter Miles Davis (1926-1991) and avoid many legends and myths. “The story of Miles Davis — who he was as a man and artist — has often been told as the tale of a drug-addled genius. You rarely see a portrait of a man that worked hard at honing his craft, a man who deeply studied all forms of music, from Baroque to classical Indian. An elegant man who could render ballads with such tenderness yet hold rage in his heart from the racism he faced throughout his life.” These are the words by the director, who had access to previously unseen footage, unreleased takes of songs and rare photographs which he interweaves with the Davis’ words and interviews with many musicians. In the film, we hear the statements of jazz musicians such as Wayne Shorter, Quincy Jones, Juliette Gréco, Carlos Santana, Marcus Miller and Herbie Hancock. The documentary, which tackles the turning points of Davis’ 60-year career (bebop, cool jazz, jazz fusion…), was created as part of the television series American Masters and premiered at the Sundance festival in 2019, and then won two Emmy awards, for Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary and Outstanding Sound.

The movie series is prepared in co-production with Idrija City Library.