The Miles Davis Movie: Who is going to play John Coltrane?

John Coltrane. Whenever someone decides to make that biopic we’ll happily rev up the movie Blog right away. A true jazz giant, Coltrane was a revolutionary right alongside Charlie Parker. He hit the limelight after joining the famed Miles Davis quintet (with Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones). The First Great Quintet would … Continue reading »

Miles Davis Quintet – I Fall in Love too Easily

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Of ‘Mad Men’ and Miles Davis

And now a few words about “Mad Men” – and Miles Davis. The season 2 finale was Sunday; just terrific! I’m already looking ahead to next season. Fans of the series will surely point to the music as an important feature of the show’s nuance from one episode to the next – reinforcing theme and … Continue reading »

The Miles Davis Movie: Filming Miles Davis ‘At Newport 1958′

It’s debatable if this performance in 1958 at the Newport Jazz Festival is necessary for the Miles Davis biopic. The new sextet, with recent additions Jimmy Cobb and Bill Evans, were part of a festival tribute to Duke Ellington, but perhaps more importantly this was the collaboration that would record “Kind of Blue” six months … Continue reading »

The Miles Davis Movie: Highly-fictionalized, or just the facts?

© Paul Slaughter http://www.slaughterphoto.com A few days ago I spotted this photo gallery/feature on Yahoo! about the 10 Most Biographically Inaccurate Movies. Obviously it got me thinking about the Miles Davis biopic and what, if any, liberties should the screenwriters take in crafting the story of Miles Davis for a motion picture. The feature, in … Continue reading »

The Miles Davis Movie: Tagline or no tagline?

Over at The Playlist is a teaser poster for “Watchmen.” If you aren’t familiar with the Alan Moore-penned graphic novel the film is based on, the significance of the image might be lost. The text with the picture are the words “Justice is coming to all of us. No matter what we do.” The hype … Continue reading »

The Miles Davis Movie: The lost soundtrack

The news is rather brief: Producer The Apple Juice Kid, in partnership with IllRoots.com and Okayplayer.com, has released a new album for free download, entitled Miles Remixed. The album, originally created as the soundtrack for a Miles Davis biopic, consists of instrumentals built entirely from samples of the jazz legend’s work, with vocalists Yahzarah and … Continue reading »

The Miles Davis Movie: Filming the ‘Steve Allen Show’ appearance

I was still a ways off from making my appearance on the planet, but I can only imagine how exciting it must have been in ’64 to watch Miles Davis and Co. perform on “The Steve Allen Show.” I could be lost in a haze of nostalgia for a bygone era, (I’ve been watching a … Continue reading »

The Miles Davis Movie: Cheadle in for ‘Iron Man 2′; delay for Miles Davis project?

There’s news today that Marvel has recast the role of Jim Rhodes in the “Iron Man” sequel. Don Cheadle will replace Terrence Howard, who played Tony Stark’s best friend/military liaison in the first installment. Looks like the two parties could not agree on the money situation. I’m sure film Blogs and message boards are lit … Continue reading »

The Miles Davis Movie: A poster, a poster, my kingdom for a poster

I just read that Quentin Tarantino has added actors Julie Dreyfus, Michael Bacall and Omar Doom to the cast of “Inglorious Bastards,” but more importantly, I found this cool, teaser poster for the film with The Playlist story. And what does a movie poster for a much-hyped, WWII epic from Tarantino have to do with … Continue reading »

The Miles Davis Movie: In other jazz icon biopic news….

He was once Charlie Parker and now he will be Louis Armstrong. Oscar-winner Forrest Whitaker will direct and star in the Louis Armstrong biopic “What a Wonderful.” It’s your move, Don Cheadle. Whitaker is already two up on you in the jazz legend category. It’s time to accelerate the Miles Davis biopic. Continue reading »

The Miles Davis Movie: Cameras set to role in ’09

A story in the National Ledger (10-7) has an update about the Miles Davis biopic courtesy Erin Davis, son of Miles Davis. Sadly, it looks like we’re not going to see the biopic hit theatres until 2010. But we shall see. Erin Davis tells us he’s just finished reading the script for the feature that … Continue reading »

The Miles Davis Movie: Better as feature film, or Ken Burns documentary?

The correct answer is both. While I’m excited about the forthcoming Miles Davis biopic, I have to admit I’d be equally enthusiastic about Ken Burns owning eight-to-ten hours of PBS airtime to tell Davis’ story. And while we’re at it let’s get Keith David to narrate. The leisurely pace, the slow zooms, the interviews, the … Continue reading »

The Miles Davis Movie: A new Miles Davis film in the works?

It’s late Friday night, and I’m surfing the ‘net looking for news on the Miles Davis movie — and when I speak of the Miles Davis movie I mean the project being developed by Don Cheadle, who is on board to star and direct. I come across this news item from Thursday’s edition of the … Continue reading »

The Miles Davis Movie: ‘Kind of Blue’ making news, movie not so much

While news about the Miles Davis movie is mostly non-existent these days (did I just type ‘mostly?’ Strike that), Davis’ celebrated album “Kind of Blue” has been in the spotlight this week with the release of a lavish, collector’s edition box set to mark its 50th anniversary. Tucked away in Steve James’ Reuters article about … Continue reading »