Trumpeter and bandleader Miles Davis is often thrown into the elite group of individuals who contend for the title of the best jazz musician of all time. His album Kind of Blue is referred to as not just his magnum opus, but as the quintessential jazz album, and he was hugely influential in the evolution of jazz itself.
He was a complex individual driven by his need to constantly innovate, often not performing previous works not in keeping with his current style. He also had a troublesome cocaine addiction which in the mid-70s saw him put down his trumpet and withdraw from music. Regardless, there is only one word with which you can describe the man: genius.
Now, finally, there is a biopic in the can, thanks in large part to actor Don Cheadle (a massive Davis fan) who will direct as well as star in Miles Ahead. Eschewing the normal approach to biopics, Miles Ahead will focus on a particular 5-year period where he withdrew from music.
So rather than focus on the music, it will instead explore his deteriorating relationship with his first wife Frances Taylor Davis (Emayatzy Corinealdi) and perhaps his drug addiction, being more a study of the man than of the legend. Ewan McGregor will play Rolling Stone journalist Dave Brill, a man sent to report on some potential new music from Davis who instead finds a man deeply unhappy. Despite initial friction, the two will go on to become close friends.
The film closed the New York Film Festival in October, 2015 but will be released to a wider audience April 1 in the U.S. and April 22 in the U.K. For a look at Don Cheadle as the melodic master, check out the trailer below.
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