PBS American Masters
2020
114
 Min
DIRECTED BY 
Stanley Nelson

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

The definition of “cool” can be summed up by the name Miles Davis.

Miles Davis: Horn player, bandleader, innovator.  Elegant, intellectual, vain. Callous, conflicted, controversial. Magnificent, mercurial. Genius. The very embodiment of cool. The man with a sound so beautiful it could break your heart.

The central theme of Miles Davis's life was his restless determination to break boundaries and live life on his own terms. It made him a star—it also made him incredibly difficult to live with, for the people who loved him most.  Again and again, in music and in life, Miles broke with convention—and when he thought his work came to represent a new convention, he changed it again. Miles's bold disregard for tradition, his clarity of vision, his relentless drive, and constant thirst for new experiences made him an inspiring collaborator to fellow musicians and a cultural icon to generations of listeners. It made him an innovator in music—from bebop to “cool jazz,” modern quintets, orchestral music, jazz fusion, rock ‘n’ roll, and even hip-hop.  

Featuring never-before-seen archival footage, studio outtakes, and rare photos, Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool tells the story of a truly singular talent and unpacks the man behind the horn.


release

February 25, 2020

RUNTIME

114
 MIN

DISTRIBUTOR

PBS American Masters

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Producer and Director

Stanley Nelson

Producer

Nicole London

Consulting Producer

Marcia Smith

Associate Producer

Lauren Wimbush

Editor

Lewis Erskine

Associate Editors

Natasha Mottola
Yusuf Kapadia