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Reviews (4)

Brilliance on Brilliance
This is an incredible documentary about an amazing man.The film takes you on a ride through the histroy of jazz while telling the story of the phenomonal genius and versatility of Quincy Jones. The movie, and the life it reflects, are structured like a fine jazz number, layered and intricate with a rythem and flow gracefully linked by a unifying theme. Quincy Jones is high on music and life. Do yourself a favor and... Listen Up!!!

Brilliance on Brilliance
This is an incredible documentary about an amazing man.The film takes you on a ride through the histroy of jazz while telling the story of the phenomonal genius and versatility of Quincy Jones. The movie, and the life it reflects, are structured like a fine jazz number, layered and intricate with a rythem and flow gracefully linked by a unifying theme. Quincy Jones is high on music and life. Do yourself a favor and... Listen Up!!!

Brilliance on Brilliance
This is an incredible documentary about an amazing man.The film takes you on a ride through the histroy of jazz while telling the story of the phenomonal genius and versatility of Quincy Jones. The movie, and the life it reflects, are structured like a fine jazz number, layered and intricate with a rythem and flow gracefully linked by a unifying theme. Quincy Jones is high on music and life. Do yourself a favor and... Listen Up!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie    3. Musical Features   

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Reviews (4)

a good movie featuring a rare view of Miles Davis
The film itself is simple: seemingly low budget and definitely not a Hollywood-directed-produced film. Its nonetheless charming. Colin Friels plays John "Dingo" Anderson, a man supporting his family in the outback of Australia doing odd jobs by day and playing in (what his band-mates call) a "bush-band" in the local halls at night. Although the band has fun, Dingo takes his trumpetting much more seriously; as a child, he had a run-in with famous jazz trumpeter Billy Cross (Miles Davis, in his only staring fictional role). Cross makes a deep impression on the young Dingo, who's lifes passion afterwards is to meet up with Cross in Paris. Despite financial hardship and a love-triangle treatening his marriage, Dingo takes a leap of faith and travels to Paris to meet his hero. The eventual meeting is not only a "milestone" for Dingo, its a type of redemption for Cross.
Strage but engaging
I first saw this movie on the movie channel Stars in about Sweet Miles
A small quiet film featuring the music of Miles Davis and starring Davis as, you guessed it a trumpeteer.The film is about a man, John "Dingo" Anderson (Colin Friels), who hears Bill Cross (Davis) and his jazz group as he's on lay over at an airstrip and comes to the realization that music is his future, much to the chagrin of others.His dream is to one day catch up with Bill in in Paris and play with him.Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

How bad were the 1980s in music? Not even jazz great Miles Davis couldescape the black hole. The decade that saw synthesizers and slick approachesruin pop music somehow caught the master trumpet player's ear and resulted inone of Davis's poorest periods. Of course, Davis was lucky to even be aliveduring the '80s, surviving sickness and drug abuse, and this hour-longperformance, shot during the 1985 Montreal Jazz Festival, shows a performerlooking happy just to be playing. Appearing thin and sickly, Davis and his six-piece fusion outfit run through six tunes, none coming close to the trumpetplayer's past experimental achievements. Songs like "One Phone Call" are long,metallic funk jams that nonetheless give Davis plenty of room to maneuver inspirited solos, when the rhythm section and keyboards aren't drowning him out.Davis also reinvents pop hits of the era--ballads like Michael Jackson's "HumanNature" (from Read more

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Reviews (14)

my man!
this is the miles that i remember.i was a high school student when miles davis recorded "bitches brew".it was a hippie period still - drugs, psychedelia and rock & roll.black peoples's music in that scene was foremost represented - IMHO -by the father, james brown, jimi hendrix, sly stone, chambers bros, some funkadelic and, of course, motown's representatives ala stevie wonder, the jackson 5, marvin gaye, miss diana ross, of course. etcetera.there were still soul groups around and, of course, the blues (b.b. king reigned!! - playing the fillmores, etc.)jazz had been eclipsed by the british invasion and the subsequent white longhairs.then, again, came miles davis!out of the kingdom of jazz, a re-born pheonix bringing the sun! heat??why, of course!what was hot for some; uncomfortable and hard to accept was for others, the great nourishment of the sun itself, with-its-vitaminD-as-in-"Davis"!here is miles davis in montreal, at least a decade after his born-again period, still burning!!!thank you, miles davis...

Not Smooth Jazz
I was a bit unsure whether this would be any good due to some bad reviews. Anyone saying this is 'Smooth Jazz' needs their ears examined!
fabulous concert !
in the summer of '85 , those who were lucky enough witnessed miles & co. transform the stage of the theatre st. denis into downtown manhattan , so electrifying was the vibe they created . yes , i was at this concert and it was one of the best montreal jazz fest shows that i've been to ; as usual , the good folks at spectel video captured the essence of that vibe in splendid fashion ; i've seen miles in concert four times and this is still my favorite performance of his ; i've seen john scofield live several times and , wow , was he " on " that evening ; well done ! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Jazz    2. Music Video - Jazz    3. Pop   

Editorial Review

For over five decades, trumpeter/bandleader Miles Davis (1926-91) was amajor innovator of cool, modal, avant-garde, and fusion jazz styles. Thisvideo captures Davis's last working band: alto saxophonist/flutist KennyGarrett, drummer Ricky Wellman, percussionist John Bingham, keyboardist Kei Akagi, bassist Benjamin Rietveld, and lead bassist Foley McCreary, live atthe 10th Annual Paris Jazz Festival on November 3, 1989. With thesemusicians' sympathetic and syncopated support, Davis's trademarkedHarmon-muted trumpet tones dance and trance over the combo's supple electric swing. The Michael Jackson hit "Human Nature" is reworked by Davis andcompany into an up-tempo workout, capped by Garrett's stirring solo; Davis'sslow and sexy "New Blues" harks back to the down-home music of hisyouth. Read more

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Reviews (6)

DON'T get this UNTIL you get live in Munich & Montreal!
(This is - in part - an open letter to the makers of this DVD) Brings back memories
Miles was my climax for years on the Nothe Sea Jazz festival. He was the only one who could get a perfect sound in the hall.(with two stages) The atmosphere on the DVD is the same as I saw him live. One minor on the DVD is the interruption of some fine tunes with short interviews with Miles. For the rest...buy it.

One of Miles' Better Bands
I saw this band perform at Avery Fischer Hall and it was a very memorable performance. Some (like Wynton) like to dismiss Miles' work from this period, but I think some of the live work from Miles' latter period is very interesting to listen to. The improvision is there and the band members all have something to say. They fooled around w/ the song structure and certainly displayed quite a bit of chemistry. This video provides a nice document of one of Miles' better bands. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fusion    2. Jazz    3. Music Video - Jazz    4. Pop   

Features

• Color
• NTSC

Reviews (4)

a good movie featuring a rare view of Miles Davis
The film itself is simple: seemingly low budget and definitely not a Hollywood-directed-produced film. Its nonetheless charming. Colin Friels plays John "Dingo" Anderson, a man supporting his family in the outback of Australia doing odd jobs by day and playing in (what his band-mates call) a "bush-band" in the local halls at night. Although the band has fun, Dingo takes his trumpetting much more seriously; as a child, he had a run-in with famous jazz trumpeter Billy Cross (Miles Davis, in his only staring fictional role). Cross makes a deep impression on the young Dingo, who's lifes passion afterwards is to meet up with Cross in Paris. Despite financial hardship and a love-triangle treatening his marriage, Dingo takes a leap of faith and travels to Paris to meet his hero. The eventual meeting is not only a "milestone" for Dingo, its a type of redemption for Cross.
Strage but engaging
I first saw this movie on the movie channel Stars in about Sweet Miles
A small quiet film featuring the music of Miles Davis and starring Davis as, you guessed it a trumpeteer.The film is about a man, John "Dingo" Anderson (Colin Friels), who hears Bill Cross (Davis) and his jazz group as he's on lay over at an airstrip and comes to the realization that music is his future, much to the chagrin of others.His dream is to one day catch up with Bill in in Paris and play with him.Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

Trumpeter-bandleader Miles Davis (1926-91) helped create the cool,modal, avant-garde, and fusion jazz styles of the modern era, and rarely lookedback. But on one fateful night at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland on July 8, 1991, Davis did look back and performed the legendary music hemade in the '40s and '50s with his collaborator Gil Evans, who died in 1988. Backed by the combined Gil Evans and George Gruntz orchestras, and conducted by Grammy-winning producer Quincy Jones, Davis shares the spotlightwith alto saxophonist Kenny Garrett and trumpeter Wallace Roney, who backsup Davis on the tricky melodic passages. Playing with a sound made heartbreakingby the chronic ailments that would soon end his life, Davis breathes new life into "Boplicity," from the bop/classical-tinged Read more

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Reviews (3)

A night of magic from two music masters
I've said it before and will say it again.There will never be anyone like Miles Davis.His sound.His style.His incredible trumpet playing.His enormous body of work spanning decades.And lets not forget his look.What an intense presence. Miles' tribute to Gil: music that speaks louder than words!
For this concert, Quincy Jones somehow prodded a reluctant Miles Davis torevisit a selection of classic Gil Evans arrangements that Davis and Evansoriginally recorded in the 1950s (the classic albums MILES AHEAD, PORGY& BESS, and SKETCHES SPAIN), but hadn't touched at all since (or insome instances were last played at his May 19, 1961 Carnegie Hall concert). a must have video
this is the kind of event that is a must.two musically pioneers together.and what's so great about it is that quincy jones is conducting older material that miles vowed not to do anymore.it was also atriumph.hearing the genius of miles is always a treat.i miss his genius buthis work will live on to the end of all time. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bop    2. Jazz    3. Music Video - Jazz    4. Pop   

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Reviews (1)

An excellent Miles documentary that needs a DVD release
'Miles Ahead: The Music of Miles Davis' is a 1986 PBS documentary which has all but disappeared over the last ten years or so.This program is a must see for Miles fans, and desperately needs to be released on DVD.As far as I know, 'Miles Ahead' was last aired on PBS several years ago as part of a tribute to Miles, which also featured the hour long "Miles at Montreux" 1991 concert, where Quincy Jones conducted a big band playing the Gil Evans arrangements behind Miles.I was fortunate to record both programs, as they have never been released to DVD, and are hard to locate on VHS.
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Subjects:  1. Documentary   

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Subjects:  1. Jazz    2. Music Video - Jazz    3. Pop   

Editorial Review

Trumpeter-bandleader Miles Davis (1926-91) was a catalyst for the majorinnovations in post-bop, cool jazz, hard-bop, and jazz-fusion, and his wispy andemotional trumpet tones were some of the most evocative sounds ever heard. Hewas also one of the most identifiable and misunderstood pop icons of the 20thcentury. This engrossing British documentary shows the complex layers of thismagnificent and mercurial artist. Through rare footage and interviews, we learnof Davis's middle-class upbringing and his early days with bop legends DizzyGillespie and Charlie Parker. The documentary bluntly deals with Davis'snarcotic nadir and his rise from the depths to become a bona fide jazz icon inthe mid-'50s to late '60s. But the most penetrating and poignant portraits ofDavis come from musicians who played with and were influenced by him, includingShirley Horn, Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul, and Keith Jarrett.Read more

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Reviews (17)

a good overview, but...
as a doc, it's pretty pedestrian; has a made-for-tv feel; however, the information, the chronology is useful.
Very informative!
I agree with the reviewers that commented that this DVD is NOT A CONCERT, it is a DOCUMENTARY.It covers the various decades of Miles' life and the evolution of his music.Many facts that I didn't know about the man and his music are covered here. Did you know he was supposed to collaborate with Jimi Hendrix before he died? WOW! Very entertaining and still leaves a certain mystique surrounding the man with the horn.Very insightful interviews with his sidemen as well (Hancock, Jarret, DeJohnette, Corea, Zawinul, Liebman).
That's Fantastic ! A documentary, not a Performance!
Some people below are complaining about this title.
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Subjects:  1. Jazz    2. Music Video - Jazz    3. Pop   

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• Black & White
• Import
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Editorial Review

With over two hours of music, much of it brilliant, plus a lengthy conversation with one of music's more elusive characters, Read more

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Reviews (7)

Excellent live jazz fusion!!!
This is the Miles Davis of 1988, so expect lots of electric organ and guitar solos, miscellaneous percussions, slap bass, groove, soul, funk... and of course Miles' trumpet. The entire band is extremely tight, there is no doubt about that. If you like jazz fusion then this live dvd should be in your collection. The performance is well captured, various cameras and angles. The sound is great, except for some keyboard solos and flute that are hard to hear sometimes. Plus there is a bonus disc with an interview with the prince of darkness himself. This dvd is really a gem any modern jazz player should own. Sure we all like the Miles Davis Quintets and the Gil Evans-directed orchestras, but this is 80's Miles and it's just as good. Miles knew how to keep himself fresh and up-to-date...

Slick and Groovy!
This is an exquisitely produced record of Miles Davis' 1988 performance in accompaniment with an extremely talented, albeit young, touring band. WOW!
I have adored all of Miles work since I bought my mono copy of Kind of Blue in 1959. I put on this DVD thinking I would check out a couple of tracks only to find myself unable to stop until the last of the 2hrs plus nonstop pinned to my chair ohmuhgawd delight of it all.Read more

Subjects:  1. Jazz    2. Music Video - Jazz    3. Pop