Vince Wilburn Jr.

Six Jazz legends gather at the Catalina Jazz club to discuss the style and personality of Miles Davis.

In 1966 a landmark suite of orchestral jazz entitled “The Universe Compositions" was written for Miles Davis and set to be recorded by The Miles Davis Quintet. That moment would never happen. The quintet broke up and the compositions were lost for 50 years...until they were finally recovered by Miles’ only protégé, Wallace Roney--the one man Miles would trust to fulfill his wish. As Wallace prepares to record and debut "Universe," he must find a way to uphold his mentor's legacy. The work would take on an added poignancy when Wallace unexpectedly passes in March 2020 before seeing the music's release out in the world.

Нью-Йорк, ноябрь 1945 года. Начинающий талантливый музыкант Майлс Дейвис входит в квинтет выдающего джазмена Чарли Паркера. Со временем молодой трубач вырабатывает свой неповторимый стиль звучания. «В мертвой музыке мелодия погибает, все дело в импровизации», — говорил Майлс Дейвис. Постепенно музыкант приобретает огромную популярность и славу не только в США, но и за пределами страны. Дейвис вносит огромный вклад в развитие акустического джаза. Музыкальные новшества знаменитого трубача становятся ориентиром для композиторов на ближайшие полсотни лет. Карьера джазмена была неровной. Дейвис переживал тяжелые периоды депрессии из-за пристрастия к наркотикам и алкоголю.

This 1985 performance at the Montreal Jazz Festival captures Miles at one of his peaks in popularity. Throughout his long career, Miles utilized the best in contemporary pop music, and this time he had some uniquely suitable sources; Cyndi Lauper's hit "Time After Time" and Michael Jackson's "Human Nature." Combine funk, pop, and the founder of the Birth of the Cool, the result is an elegant restrained restatement of everything Miles Davis. Add in the virtuoso guitarist John Scofield - and the result is a musical treasure.

This British documentary shows the complex layers of legendary jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, who was a major innovator in post-bop, cool jazz, hard-bop and fusion. Davis's raw-edged trumpet tones were some of the most evocative sounds ever heard. This profile captues the magnificent and mercurial artist -- one of the most identifiable and misunderstood pop icons of the 20th century -- through rare footage and interviews.