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Music has always been
like a curse with me.
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00:00:36,875 --> 00:00:38,960
I've always felt driven
to play it.
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00:00:39,878 --> 00:00:41,463
It's the first thing in my life.
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00:00:41,630 --> 00:00:44,341
Go to bed thinking about it
and wake up thinking about it.
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00:00:45,050 --> 00:00:46,801
It's always there.
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00:00:47,510 --> 00:00:49,679
It comes before everything.
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00:01:27,259 --> 00:01:29,928
Living is an adventure
and a challenge.
10
00:01:30,553 --> 00:01:33,723
It wasn't about standing
still and becoming safe.
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00:01:35,016 --> 00:01:37,143
But I've always been
the way I am,
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00:01:37,310 --> 00:01:39,062
been like this all my life.
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00:01:40,438 --> 00:01:42,274
If anybody wants to keep
creating,
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00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:44,192
they have to be about change.
15
00:02:14,097 --> 00:02:16,308
I was born in Alton, Illinois,
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00:02:16,891 --> 00:02:19,394
a little river town up
on the Mississippi River.
17
00:02:21,229 --> 00:02:23,940
My father moved the family
to East St. Louis.
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00:02:26,318 --> 00:02:28,737
East St. Louis and St. Louis
were country towns
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00:02:28,903 --> 00:02:30,405
full of country people.
20
00:02:30,822 --> 00:02:33,116
Especially the white people
from around there.
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00:02:33,491 --> 00:02:36,953
Really country,
and racist to the bone.
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00:02:39,539 --> 00:02:41,750
Miles grew up
in a wealthy situation.
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00:02:42,459 --> 00:02:44,461
His father was a dentist.
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00:02:44,878 --> 00:02:50,550
He also had a farm
and raised cattle and hogs.
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00:02:51,217 --> 00:02:53,470
They were the
cream of the crop in the city.
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00:02:53,636 --> 00:02:56,389
He was the second richest guy
in the state of Illinois.
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00:02:56,556 --> 00:02:57,724
Black man.
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00:02:57,891 --> 00:03:01,144
But, during the period
that he grew up in,
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00:03:01,311 --> 00:03:03,063
it's still Jim Crow America.
30
00:03:03,229 --> 00:03:08,401
And so, his father's wealth
wouldn't have protected him
31
00:03:08,568 --> 00:03:13,114
from segregation and racism
in a place like East St. Louis.
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00:03:15,742 --> 00:03:19,371
On my 13th birthday, my father
bought me a new trumpet.
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00:03:20,538 --> 00:03:22,457
My mother wanted me
to have a violin,
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00:03:22,624 --> 00:03:24,334
but my father overruled her.
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00:03:25,502 --> 00:03:27,837
This caused a big argument
between them.
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00:03:29,130 --> 00:03:30,799
They had been
at each other's throats
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00:03:30,965 --> 00:03:32,425
since I was a little kid.
38
00:03:33,301 --> 00:03:37,180
He would hear his mother and
father talking and fussing.
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00:03:37,639 --> 00:03:42,936
I guess that's what got
in his mind as a young boy.
40
00:03:43,186 --> 00:03:45,939
Miles absorbed that.
He absorbed all of that.
41
00:03:46,606 --> 00:03:50,610
The anger, that kind of
attitude toward women.
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00:03:53,113 --> 00:03:55,323
I remember my mother
picking up things
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00:03:55,490 --> 00:03:57,283
and throwing them at my father.
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00:03:57,659 --> 00:03:59,661
He got so mad with her
he punched her.
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00:03:59,828 --> 00:04:02,539
He knocked a couple of teeth
right out of her mouth.
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00:04:03,998 --> 00:04:06,000
It had to affect us somehow,
47
00:04:06,626 --> 00:04:08,336
although
I don't really know how.
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00:04:10,338 --> 00:04:12,799
Miles was considered a genius,
49
00:04:13,508 --> 00:04:17,345
but he was also considered,
I guess, weird.
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00:04:19,013 --> 00:04:21,141
Miles would go into the woods,
51
00:04:21,307 --> 00:04:24,477
listening to the animals
or listening to the birds,
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00:04:24,686 --> 00:04:27,647
and play what he was hearing.
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00:04:30,442 --> 00:04:33,236
He always had his own way
of doing things.
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00:04:35,947 --> 00:04:39,868
Miles started very early as a
member of the trumpet section
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00:04:40,034 --> 00:04:41,870
in Eddie Randle's Blue Devils.
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00:04:42,579 --> 00:04:44,956
Miles is young and small
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00:04:45,123 --> 00:04:48,960
and can barely fill the suit
he had to wear for these gigs.
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00:04:49,335 --> 00:04:51,212
While the other guys
in Eddie Randle's band
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00:04:51,379 --> 00:04:54,466
were working their day jobs,
this teenager, Miles Davis,
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00:04:54,716 --> 00:04:56,759
quickly becomes
the musical director
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00:04:56,926 --> 00:04:58,511
for this popular dance band.
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00:05:07,312 --> 00:05:09,522
The real pivot point for Miles
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00:05:09,689 --> 00:05:12,942
is when, during his summer
after high school,
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00:05:13,318 --> 00:05:17,155
he is invited to sit in with
the Billy Eckstine band.
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00:05:21,659 --> 00:05:24,996
Both Charlie Parker and Dizzy
Gillespie are in that band.
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00:05:25,288 --> 00:05:27,457
You've got the laboratory,
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00:05:27,624 --> 00:05:31,586
the future of modern jazz,
right there in this big band.
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00:05:36,716 --> 00:05:41,095
The greatest feeling I ever had
in my life, with my clothes on,
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00:05:41,513 --> 00:05:43,806
was when
I first met Diz and Bird.
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00:05:44,516 --> 00:05:46,226
I was 18 years old.
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00:05:47,477 --> 00:05:50,104
I decided right then and there
I had to be in New York,
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00:05:50,271 --> 00:05:53,525
on 52nd Street,
where the action was.
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00:06:13,461 --> 00:06:14,879
Walter Cronkite reporting.
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00:06:15,296 --> 00:06:18,132
War years always bring on
new fads and tastes
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00:06:18,299 --> 00:06:19,884
and the strangest taste around
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00:06:20,051 --> 00:06:23,263
is the excitement generated by
the musical noise called jazz.
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This strange music has been
accused of everything,
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including the bad weather and
the present decay in morality.
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52nd Street was a mecca
of jazz clubs.
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They had jazz clubs
on both sides of the street.
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I had never heard
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00:06:47,829 --> 00:06:50,039
no shit like they was playing
on 52nd St.
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00:06:51,124 --> 00:06:53,501
We would go down there and
listen in amazement.
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00:06:54,627 --> 00:06:57,547
That shit was so good
it was scary.
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00:07:01,050 --> 00:07:03,094
Each little place had
a speaker outside
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00:07:03,261 --> 00:07:05,388
where you could hear
what was going on inside.
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00:07:05,555 --> 00:07:10,226
You could stand outside
and hear the music
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00:07:10,393 --> 00:07:15,064
until the club's doorman
would chase you away.
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00:07:19,944 --> 00:07:23,364
Miles enrolled at Juilliard
'cause he wanted to learn music,
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and because his mother
wanted him
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to be a trained musician
and all that.
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00:07:29,912 --> 00:07:33,583
He is serious about Juilliard,
he's seriously committed to it.
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00:07:33,750 --> 00:07:36,878
And he values what Juilliard
might have to offer.
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00:07:38,296 --> 00:07:41,257
A lot of the old guys thought
that if you went to school,
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00:07:41,424 --> 00:07:43,468
it would make you play like
you were white.
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00:07:44,218 --> 00:07:45,970
If you learned something
from theory,
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00:07:46,137 --> 00:07:48,264
you would lose
the feeling in your playing.
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I would go to the library
and borrow scores
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by all those great composers.
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I wanted to see what was
going on in all of music.
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00:07:58,441 --> 00:08:00,735
And yet he knows there's
something else going on,
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00:08:00,902 --> 00:08:02,737
and it's not happening
at Juilliard.
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00:08:03,571 --> 00:08:07,116
So, he was to go
to Juilliard in the daytime,
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00:08:07,283 --> 00:08:10,495
and at night, he'd be
on 52nd Street.
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00:08:12,622 --> 00:08:14,791
I spent
my first week in New York
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00:08:14,957 --> 00:08:16,376
looking for Bird and Dizzy.
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00:08:16,959 --> 00:08:19,045
I spent all my money
and didn't find them.
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00:08:20,213 --> 00:08:23,007
Then, one night, I heard this
voice from behind me say,
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00:08:23,174 --> 00:08:25,927
"Hey, Miles, I heard you’ve
been looking for me."
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00:08:27,136 --> 00:08:29,681
I turned around
and there was Bird.
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00:08:36,521 --> 00:08:39,565
Bebop musicians
were rocket scientists.
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00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:43,820
You can compare bebop
to the Manhattan Project.
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00:08:45,321 --> 00:08:49,325
It was developed by some
serious sound physicists
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00:08:50,284 --> 00:08:53,371
blowing their brains out to push
this music as far as they could.
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00:08:56,749 --> 00:08:59,419
So, Miles stepped into a hotbed
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00:08:59,585 --> 00:09:01,212
of music research
and development.
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00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:11,013
Bebop was a black music.
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00:09:11,180 --> 00:09:13,641
It was a music
by black musicians
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00:09:13,808 --> 00:09:17,395
who wanted to get away from
any kind of hint of minstrelsy.
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00:09:21,816 --> 00:09:25,611
No smiling, laughing,
grinning and dancing.
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00:09:25,778 --> 00:09:27,780
No entertaining, man.
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00:09:28,823 --> 00:09:31,534
They wanted to be an artist
just like Stravinsky,
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00:09:31,909 --> 00:09:34,245
just like Stravinsky
who was just a pure artist.
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00:09:35,955 --> 00:09:40,460
Miles saw these very
elegantly-dressed characters.
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00:09:40,835 --> 00:09:44,422
The dignity and the nobility
that came with that.
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00:09:44,589 --> 00:09:45,590
And the swagger.
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00:09:50,511 --> 00:09:54,807
Very soon after Miles starts
his Juilliard studies,
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00:09:55,266 --> 00:09:58,394
Irene arrives,
his high school sweetheart,
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00:09:58,561 --> 00:10:02,148
with their child and with
another baby on the way.
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00:10:03,775 --> 00:10:06,402
All of a sudden, there she was,
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00:10:06,903 --> 00:10:08,780
knocking on
my motherfucking door.
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00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:11,115
My mother had told her to come.
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00:10:11,824 --> 00:10:13,367
It seems almost impossible,
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00:10:13,534 --> 00:10:16,788
what he would have been trying
to do at that age.
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00:10:16,954 --> 00:10:20,249
There's the domestic
situation with children,
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00:10:20,416 --> 00:10:23,586
there's the kind of time
required of anyone
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00:10:23,753 --> 00:10:25,630
who's a serious student
at Juilliard,
138
00:10:25,797 --> 00:10:27,965
but there's also the kind of
time and commitment
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00:10:28,132 --> 00:10:30,301
that this music will take.
140
00:10:30,468 --> 00:10:33,054
And, at some point,
something has to give.
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00:10:35,431 --> 00:10:36,891
Music was everything.
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00:10:37,058 --> 00:10:38,226
It was everything.
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00:10:38,392 --> 00:10:40,394
It was sexual, sensuous.
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00:10:40,812 --> 00:10:43,856
Everything, power.
Everything, humor.
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00:10:44,565 --> 00:10:46,776
And he could not share that.
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00:10:47,693 --> 00:10:50,446
So, somebody had to play
second fiddle to that.
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00:10:53,574 --> 00:10:55,868
One day, the teacher said,
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00:10:56,035 --> 00:11:03,000
"The blues grew out of the
downtrodden suffering of slavery
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00:11:03,292 --> 00:11:06,921
and the crying and wailing.
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00:11:07,088 --> 00:11:10,341
This became the blues of people
in chains."
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00:11:10,508 --> 00:11:12,301
Miles has been back in the room
somewhere
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00:11:12,468 --> 00:11:14,470
and he raises his hand while
she's talking.
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00:11:16,430 --> 00:11:17,640
She says, "Yes?"
154
00:11:18,015 --> 00:11:22,979
He said, "You're
a goddamn liar."
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00:11:25,273 --> 00:11:26,524
He walked out of the room.
156
00:11:29,151 --> 00:11:31,320
Miles, within months,
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00:11:31,487 --> 00:11:35,116
is hanging with Bird,
he's recording with Bird.
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00:11:35,491 --> 00:11:38,536
He really arrives, like,
right away.
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00:11:38,953 --> 00:11:41,372
Every night, he'd get on
the stand with Bird,
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00:11:41,539 --> 00:11:43,207
Bird would play the head
of the tune
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00:11:43,374 --> 00:11:45,167
and just leave him on stage
by himself.
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00:11:45,543 --> 00:11:47,253
He said he threw up every night
163
00:11:47,837 --> 00:11:51,716
because he was so stressed out
and humiliated.
164
00:11:52,383 --> 00:11:55,219
Those 'cats' could wear him out
on the horn any night.
165
00:11:56,721 --> 00:11:58,180
But he figured
something else out.
166
00:12:10,943 --> 00:12:15,364
He comes up with a style that is
truly reflective of who he is.
167
00:12:15,615 --> 00:12:18,451
Straight tone, lyricism.
168
00:12:19,410 --> 00:12:23,247
It is him.
It is uniquely, organically him.
169
00:12:31,339 --> 00:12:33,424
Miles meets Gil Evans
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00:12:33,591 --> 00:12:36,093
and there's this level
of mutual respect
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00:12:36,469 --> 00:12:42,058
and mutual dedication to the
music that will last a lifetime.
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00:12:44,143 --> 00:12:46,103
I liked the way Gil wrote music
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00:12:46,270 --> 00:12:47,980
and he liked the way I played.
174
00:12:48,147 --> 00:12:49,982
We heard sound in the same way.
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00:12:51,525 --> 00:12:54,487
By the end of the '40s they're
working on a project together.
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00:12:54,654 --> 00:12:56,405
It's called 'Birth of the Cool'.
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00:12:56,572 --> 00:12:59,533
A nonet that would create
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00:12:59,700 --> 00:13:04,330
a kind of melding of modern
classical ideas with jazz.
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00:13:12,421 --> 00:13:13,756
Right now, ladies and gentlemen,
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00:13:13,923 --> 00:13:15,841
we bring you something new
in modern music.
181
00:13:16,008 --> 00:13:17,802
'Impressions in Modern Music'
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00:13:17,969 --> 00:13:20,888
with the great Miles Davis and
his wonderful new organization.
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00:13:24,266 --> 00:13:27,228
I think the intention was
to create a listening music,
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00:13:27,395 --> 00:13:29,146
a concert music that,
185
00:13:29,313 --> 00:13:33,442
very deliberately,
did not have the drive
186
00:13:33,609 --> 00:13:36,237
and the funk
of 52nd Street on it.
187
00:13:45,287 --> 00:13:48,249
It's mainly about trying
to create new colours,
188
00:13:48,416 --> 00:13:51,252
in a way, where you widen
the palette of jazz.
189
00:13:57,717 --> 00:13:59,927
I think he was conscious
of the fact that,
190
00:14:00,094 --> 00:14:02,013
to move the music forward,
191
00:14:02,179 --> 00:14:05,433
you've got to go some place
it hasn't gone before.
192
00:14:12,481 --> 00:14:14,191
The heart
of European civilization
193
00:14:14,358 --> 00:14:15,735
is beating strong again.
194
00:14:16,193 --> 00:14:17,445
Paris ls free.
195
00:14:18,362 --> 00:14:21,115
This is the end of four years
of Nazi rule in Paris.
196
00:14:22,158 --> 00:14:24,285
Once more, it is
'The City of Light'.
197
00:14:55,066 --> 00:14:58,861
After the war, France was
different, Europe was different,
198
00:14:59,028 --> 00:15:02,323
and they needed a new sound
to that era.
199
00:15:03,199 --> 00:15:04,408
And that was jazz.
200
00:15:04,575 --> 00:15:08,954
You can now hear the Miles Davis
and Tadd Dameron Quintet.
201
00:15:09,455 --> 00:15:10,623
Here is Miles Davis.
202
00:15:13,667 --> 00:15:16,337
This was my first trip
out of the country.
203
00:15:16,545 --> 00:15:20,674
I loved being in Paris,
and loved the way I was treated.
204
00:15:21,675 --> 00:15:25,346
He said that the food
even tasted better in France.
205
00:15:25,846 --> 00:15:31,018
The smell in the air was even
more beautiful in Paris.
206
00:15:32,228 --> 00:15:35,856
That moment, for him, was
something that was galvanizing.
207
00:15:37,733 --> 00:15:39,819
Music had been my total life.
208
00:15:40,069 --> 00:15:42,196
I was always so into the music,
209
00:15:42,363 --> 00:15:45,324
I never had time for
any kind of romance,
210
00:15:45,908 --> 00:15:48,077
until I met Juliette Gréco.
211
00:16:31,495 --> 00:16:34,832
Juliette and I used to walk down
by the Seine River together,
212
00:16:34,999 --> 00:16:36,584
holding hands and kissing,
213
00:16:36,750 --> 00:16:39,628
looking into each other's eyes
and kissing some more.
214
00:16:40,963 --> 00:16:43,048
I cared a lot for Irene,
215
00:16:43,215 --> 00:16:46,218
but I had never felt like this
before in my life.
216
00:16:47,636 --> 00:16:50,139
She brings him into a circle
217
00:16:50,306 --> 00:16:53,058
of other artists,
intellectuals, philosophers,
218
00:16:53,225 --> 00:16:56,896
the greatest minds of that time.
219
00:16:57,313 --> 00:17:01,650
Jazz was really seen as the
height of artistry at that time
220
00:17:01,817 --> 00:17:05,362
inside of French intellectual
and creative circles.
221
00:17:06,530 --> 00:17:08,490
He meets Pablo Picasso,
222
00:17:08,782 --> 00:17:10,367
Jean-Paul Sartre.
223
00:17:10,826 --> 00:17:12,203
He's treated as an equal
224
00:17:12,369 --> 00:17:14,747
by some of the most creative
giants of the day.
225
00:17:16,582 --> 00:17:22,171
Paris, for Miles, is an opening
up of possibility and potential.
226
00:17:22,588 --> 00:17:26,425
This sense that one
can be fully oneself
227
00:17:27,176 --> 00:17:29,720
beyond the boundaries of race.
228
00:17:30,262 --> 00:17:32,932
That it isn't something
to hold you back.
229
00:17:33,098 --> 00:17:35,309
In fact, it might be something
that contributes
230
00:17:35,476 --> 00:17:36,936
to your ability to ascend.
231
00:17:37,895 --> 00:17:39,563
Paris was where I understood
232
00:17:39,730 --> 00:17:42,024
that all white people
weren't the same,
233
00:17:42,775 --> 00:17:45,277
that some weren't prejudiced
and others were.
234
00:17:46,654 --> 00:17:48,948
It had only been
a couple of weeks,
235
00:17:49,448 --> 00:17:52,409
but I was living in
an illusion of possibility,
236
00:17:52,576 --> 00:17:54,620
maybe a miracle had happened.
237
00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:20,145
I was so depressed coming back
to this country on the airplane
238
00:18:20,312 --> 00:18:23,440
that I couldn't say nothing
all the way back.
239
00:18:24,316 --> 00:18:27,152
I didn't know that shit was
going to hit me like that.
240
00:18:33,909 --> 00:18:38,038
Every African-American artist
who has spent time abroad
241
00:18:38,205 --> 00:18:39,957
talks about the profound
disappointment
242
00:18:40,124 --> 00:18:41,834
in coming back to
the United States.
243
00:18:42,001 --> 00:18:46,422
You see your country as you knew
it but in an even starker light
244
00:18:46,588 --> 00:18:48,924
because you've experienced
something different.
245
00:18:52,344 --> 00:18:54,054
It was hard for me to come back
246
00:18:54,221 --> 00:18:57,224
to the bullshit white people
put a black person through
247
00:18:57,391 --> 00:18:58,642
in this country.
248
00:18:59,143 --> 00:19:01,228
I lost my sense of discipline,
249
00:19:01,770 --> 00:19:04,231
lost my sense of control
over my life,
250
00:19:04,398 --> 00:19:06,066
and started to drift.
251
00:19:07,026 --> 00:19:10,404
Before I knew it,
I had a heroin habit,
252
00:19:11,155 --> 00:19:13,741
which meant getting and shooting
heroin all the time,
253
00:19:13,907 --> 00:19:15,826
all day and all night.
254
00:19:17,161 --> 00:19:18,620
That's all I lived for.
255
00:19:23,167 --> 00:19:25,878
His career is spiraling
out of control.
256
00:19:27,004 --> 00:19:29,673
There's no expectation that
Miles is gonna survive,
257
00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:34,511
let alone whether he's going to
be a successful musician again.
258
00:19:39,975 --> 00:19:43,604
I had a little club in...
I think it was Hartford.
259
00:19:44,063 --> 00:19:46,315
I booked
the Symphony Sid All Stars.
260
00:19:47,232 --> 00:19:50,652
And Symphony Sid said,
"Don't give Miles any money."
261
00:19:52,071 --> 00:19:54,281
Miles came up to me
the first night and says,
262
00:19:54,448 --> 00:19:56,116
"George, give me five dollars."
263
00:19:56,283 --> 00:19:58,410
I said, "Miles, come on, man..."
264
00:19:59,578 --> 00:20:01,330
"George, give me two dollars."
265
00:20:01,955 --> 00:20:04,291
And I, "Come on, Miles."
266
00:20:04,458 --> 00:20:06,585
"George, give me 50 cents."
267
00:20:06,877 --> 00:20:09,129
And I, "Hey, man, you know..."
268
00:20:09,671 --> 00:20:11,799
"George, give me a penny."
269
00:20:12,549 --> 00:20:14,301
That's my first meeting
with Miles.
270
00:20:18,263 --> 00:20:21,100
We were playing at a club
in New York,
271
00:20:22,351 --> 00:20:24,478
and his father came
from East St. Louis.
272
00:20:24,645 --> 00:20:27,815
He came to the club
and took him off the stage,
273
00:20:27,981 --> 00:20:29,441
he left his horn and everything.
274
00:20:29,608 --> 00:20:31,443
He said, "Come on, you're going
back home with me."
275
00:20:37,658 --> 00:20:40,577
I felt like a little boy
going with his daddy.
276
00:20:41,870 --> 00:20:43,622
I had never felt
like that before
277
00:20:43,789 --> 00:20:46,250
and probably haven't felt
like that since.
278
00:20:47,835 --> 00:20:51,088
On the way home, I told him
I was going to give up dope
279
00:20:51,255 --> 00:20:53,465
and that all I needed
was a little rest.
280
00:20:54,716 --> 00:20:57,928
Before I knew it,
I was shooting up again,
281
00:20:58,220 --> 00:21:02,015
borrowing money from my father
to support my habit.
282
00:21:05,185 --> 00:21:08,439
You could see him
moving through the night.
283
00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:11,150
You'd run into him somewhere,
284
00:21:11,316 --> 00:21:13,026
you didn't even know
it was Miles.
285
00:21:13,193 --> 00:21:15,821
He might even have on clothes
286
00:21:15,988 --> 00:21:19,908
that made him look like
he was homeless.
287
00:21:20,909 --> 00:21:22,494
We wanted him to be Superman,
288
00:21:24,955 --> 00:21:28,083
and it just doesn't work
that way.
289
00:21:33,464 --> 00:21:37,551
I really hated to see him
go down like that.
290
00:21:39,344 --> 00:21:42,681
But I don't want
to talk about it.
291
00:21:47,478 --> 00:21:51,106
I went out to my father's farm
in Millstadt.
292
00:21:51,773 --> 00:21:53,442
I was sick.
293
00:21:54,610 --> 00:21:57,446
If someone could've guaranteed
that I would die in two seconds,
294
00:21:57,613 --> 00:21:59,281
then I would've taken it.
295
00:22:01,575 --> 00:22:03,952
This went on for about
seven or eight days.
296
00:22:04,828 --> 00:22:06,163
I couldn't eat.
297
00:22:06,914 --> 00:22:09,625
Then, one day, it was over,
just like that.
298
00:22:09,958 --> 00:22:11,084
Over.
299
00:22:12,419 --> 00:22:15,964
I felt better, good, pure.
300
00:22:20,302 --> 00:22:25,140
This young white guy had started
a new jazz label called Prestige
301
00:22:25,390 --> 00:22:28,060
and he was looking for me
to make a record for him.
302
00:22:29,686 --> 00:22:32,439
I figured there was nowhere
for me to go but up.
303
00:22:33,023 --> 00:22:34,733
I was already on the bottom.
304
00:22:36,360 --> 00:22:38,904
We, the negro citizens,
had it not to rise...
305
00:22:39,071 --> 00:22:40,155
Miss America Contest...
306
00:22:40,322 --> 00:22:41,323
Dodgers go wild...
307
00:22:41,532 --> 00:22:42,991
Emmett Till was taken by...
308
00:22:43,158 --> 00:22:45,536
Amazing new
Motoramic Chevrolet...
309
00:22:51,708 --> 00:22:53,544
This afternoon, Disneyland,
310
00:22:53,710 --> 00:22:55,671
the world's most fabulous
kingdom...
311
00:23:11,979 --> 00:23:13,855
I was in a club in New York
312
00:23:14,481 --> 00:23:16,692
and Miles is at the back
of the club.
313
00:23:18,318 --> 00:23:20,779
Miles stopped me
coming out of the club, he said,
314
00:23:20,946 --> 00:23:23,532
"Are you going to have
a jazz festival up at Newport?"
315
00:23:23,699 --> 00:23:25,534
I said, "Yeah, Miles."
316
00:23:26,159 --> 00:23:28,787
He said, "You can't have
a festival without me."
317
00:23:29,830 --> 00:23:31,832
I said, "Miles, you want to be
in a festival?"
318
00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:34,543
He says, "You can't have
a festival without me."
319
00:23:34,918 --> 00:23:37,379
So, I said, "All right,
I'll call your agent."
320
00:23:46,805 --> 00:23:48,890
Newport was like an audition.
321
00:23:50,684 --> 00:23:52,477
Listening in the audience
322
00:23:52,644 --> 00:23:54,730
were executives
from Columbia Records.
323
00:23:54,896 --> 00:23:58,859
Columbia Records was the Tiffany
of labels at the time.
324
00:23:59,234 --> 00:24:00,902
He knew what this meant.
325
00:24:01,069 --> 00:24:03,280
He knew what this meant for him.
326
00:24:04,281 --> 00:24:07,367
So, if he had that opportunity,
as he had at Newport,
327
00:24:07,534 --> 00:24:09,578
he was going for it,
and with a vengeance.
328
00:24:19,796 --> 00:24:25,135
Miles put the bell of his horn
right into the microphone
329
00:24:26,762 --> 00:24:29,931
and changed the whole world
of jazz right there.
330
00:24:30,098 --> 00:24:32,392
And changed his career
right there.
331
00:24:32,851 --> 00:24:35,103
Because the beauty of that song
332
00:24:35,354 --> 00:24:37,147
and the beauty
of Miles's trumpet
333
00:24:37,856 --> 00:24:42,027
made bebop a music that
could be accepted by everybody.
334
00:24:50,702 --> 00:24:53,163
They could now
put on Miles's music
335
00:24:53,330 --> 00:24:54,790
while they were making love.
336
00:25:27,781 --> 00:25:30,283
It takes a lot of courage
to play a ballad.
337
00:25:30,951 --> 00:25:34,037
It's easy to hide with a bunch
of notes all over the place,
338
00:25:34,204 --> 00:25:35,831
and, "Look what I can do..."
339
00:25:35,997 --> 00:25:38,375
"Look what I can do."
You know, okay.
340
00:25:46,216 --> 00:25:50,846
Most men are afraid
to be vulnerable,
341
00:25:51,805 --> 00:25:54,057
that's what women love the best
about a man.
342
00:26:07,779 --> 00:26:12,409
I think Miles, on one hand,
he comes out like this,
343
00:26:12,576 --> 00:26:15,412
but then he starts playing and
people are like, "Oh..."
344
00:26:15,620 --> 00:26:17,748
He just disarms you.
345
00:26:28,759 --> 00:26:33,805
Miles's sound is unique
from the first note.
346
00:26:35,182 --> 00:26:39,352
There's a sense
of pleasure, beauty.
347
00:26:41,313 --> 00:26:43,940
There's something very romantic,
348
00:26:44,232 --> 00:26:46,693
but it's romantic
without being sentimental.
349
00:27:04,044 --> 00:27:07,672
He's spilling his guts to you
350
00:27:07,839 --> 00:27:13,011
so directly to the heart,
to your vitals.
351
00:27:24,022 --> 00:27:28,360
I want to feel
the way Miles sounds.
352
00:27:39,746 --> 00:27:43,166
Miles had a way of playing
353
00:27:43,333 --> 00:27:47,629
that sounded like a stone
skipping across a pond.
354
00:27:52,467 --> 00:27:55,679
He just touched on the waves.
355
00:28:09,109 --> 00:28:11,111
Sometimes he leaves a note out,
356
00:28:11,278 --> 00:28:13,613
and I've seen people
literally like this,
357
00:28:13,780 --> 00:28:15,156
waiting for that next note.
358
00:28:26,084 --> 00:28:28,086
His sound was so pure
359
00:28:29,045 --> 00:28:35,385
and elegant and tasty,
musically tasty.
360
00:28:42,267 --> 00:28:46,438
Miles could play one note,
I've seen him play one note,
361
00:28:46,605 --> 00:28:52,027
and some of these high rollers
that came to the club would say,
362
00:28:52,193 --> 00:28:55,113
"That did it for me!
I just got my money's worth!"
363
00:28:55,322 --> 00:28:56,948
And they're ready to leave.
364
00:28:57,657 --> 00:29:00,619
Miles would say, "Bam!"
They'd say, "That's it, man."
365
00:29:04,122 --> 00:29:06,583
In February or March 1956,
366
00:29:06,750 --> 00:29:10,503
I had to have a non-cancerous
growth on my larynx removed.
367
00:29:11,463 --> 00:29:13,506
It had been bothering me
for a while.
368
00:29:14,049 --> 00:29:17,427
I wasn't even supposed to talk
for at least 10 days.
369
00:29:18,386 --> 00:29:20,931
One week went by and
he was in pretty good shape.
370
00:29:21,806 --> 00:29:25,936
The second week, he couldn't
keep his mouth shut.
371
00:29:27,562 --> 00:29:29,814
Everybody was "a sack full
of motherfuckers".
372
00:29:32,359 --> 00:29:33,818
And that was it.
373
00:29:33,985 --> 00:29:37,614
He got that rasp
and it never healed.
374
00:29:38,990 --> 00:29:42,577
At that time, nobody knew that
Miles had had an operation
375
00:29:42,744 --> 00:29:44,829
and that his voice
had suffered from it.
376
00:29:45,372 --> 00:29:46,790
He came on the stage
377
00:29:46,957 --> 00:29:49,250
and began to announce,
in that gravelly voice,
378
00:29:49,417 --> 00:29:51,378
what he was going to play
for that evening.
379
00:29:51,544 --> 00:29:54,172
I think he got two or three
sentences out,
380
00:29:54,339 --> 00:29:56,216
and the audience,
a large number of them,
381
00:29:56,383 --> 00:29:57,467
began to laugh at him.
382
00:29:58,301 --> 00:30:01,596
Miles turned around
and looked at the audience.
383
00:30:01,763 --> 00:30:05,725
He had this very strange look
on his face, and he left.
384
00:30:14,567 --> 00:30:16,194
I could communicate
with the band
385
00:30:16,361 --> 00:30:18,363
just by giving them
a certain look.
386
00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:20,448
That's what I'm doing
387
00:30:20,615 --> 00:30:22,659
when I have my back turned
to the audience.
388
00:30:23,410 --> 00:30:25,954
I can't be concerned with
talking and bullshitting
389
00:30:26,121 --> 00:30:27,497
while I'm playing,
390
00:30:27,872 --> 00:30:30,875
because the music is talking
to them when everything's right.
391
00:30:42,762 --> 00:30:46,433
George Avakian, the jazz
producer for Columbia Records,
392
00:30:46,599 --> 00:30:48,685
wanted to sign me
to an exclusive contract.
393
00:30:49,686 --> 00:30:51,730
I told him that I wanted to go
with Columbia
394
00:30:51,896 --> 00:30:53,982
because of all the shit
that he offered me.
395
00:30:56,609 --> 00:30:57,902
George Avakian says,
396
00:30:58,069 --> 00:31:01,114
"Here's a list of demands
that I'd like you to meet,
397
00:31:02,198 --> 00:31:05,702
you've got to be clean and
have a consistent band."
398
00:31:06,661 --> 00:31:07,787
And the last thing is,
399
00:31:07,954 --> 00:31:10,290
he's got to get free
of his Prestige contract.
400
00:31:10,498 --> 00:31:12,751
I’ll play it
and tell you what it ls later...
401
00:31:25,638 --> 00:31:27,098
He had a new quintet
402
00:31:27,265 --> 00:31:30,477
with John Coltrane
as the tenor saxophone player.
403
00:31:30,643 --> 00:31:36,399
And he took that quintet into
the studios of Rudy Van Gelder
404
00:31:36,566 --> 00:31:40,236
and he called tune, after tune,
after tune,
405
00:31:40,445 --> 00:31:44,324
and recorded enough music
in a couple of days
406
00:31:44,491 --> 00:31:47,118
to get rid of his obligation
to Prestige.
407
00:31:56,336 --> 00:31:59,923
He basically took the handcuffs
off the musicians and said,
408
00:32:00,090 --> 00:32:04,010
"Here, do you, be you."
409
00:32:05,053 --> 00:32:08,515
"I'm just going to let
the music live, let it breathe
410
00:32:08,681 --> 00:32:11,184
and let it develop
as we feel it."
411
00:32:19,442 --> 00:32:20,819
Miles thought he was just
412
00:32:20,985 --> 00:32:24,030
dispatching his obligation
as fast as he could,
413
00:32:24,197 --> 00:32:27,992
but in fact they are gems
of spontaneous jazz music.
414
00:32:32,455 --> 00:32:36,835
Two marathon sessions, three
hours or more of recorded music.
415
00:32:39,045 --> 00:32:42,006
One of the great feats, really,
of jazz history.
416
00:33:02,819 --> 00:33:04,154
I first met Miles Davis,
417
00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:07,240
I was performing with
the Katherine Dunham Company.
418
00:33:09,826 --> 00:33:12,453
It was the introduction
to so many different people
419
00:33:12,620 --> 00:33:15,415
that I met at that time
in the show business world.
420
00:33:17,667 --> 00:33:20,837
I mean, I was in Paris, I was
in Berlin, I was everywhere.
421
00:33:22,338 --> 00:33:24,924
I was told I had the best legs
in the business.
422
00:33:28,720 --> 00:33:30,680
Hugh O'Brian wanted to date me.
423
00:33:31,598 --> 00:33:34,684
Rory Calhoun wanted to take me
to Las Vegas.
424
00:33:36,102 --> 00:33:40,648
Oh God, trying to think of all
the different gentlemen.
425
00:33:43,109 --> 00:33:46,696
Well, as a dancer, I was
spectacular on that stage
426
00:33:46,863 --> 00:33:50,116
and I guess they just wanted
to find out more about me.
427
00:33:52,202 --> 00:33:55,288
I didn't know that much
about jazz.
428
00:33:55,997 --> 00:33:58,917
Who I did know about
was Johnny Mathis.
429
00:34:13,056 --> 00:34:18,561
I was performing at Ciro's
and Miles saw the performance.
430
00:34:19,229 --> 00:34:23,650
And he was smitten right away,
but so was everybody else.
431
00:34:27,195 --> 00:34:29,197
This was just another chapter
432
00:34:29,364 --> 00:34:32,617
of gentlemen
wanting to be with Frances.
433
00:34:38,414 --> 00:34:43,628
Sammy Davis Jr. asked me to join
this new play that he was doing
434
00:34:43,795 --> 00:34:45,171
called 'Mr Wonderful'.
435
00:34:46,339 --> 00:34:51,427
On my way to rehearsal one day,
Miles is coming down the street
436
00:34:52,011 --> 00:34:55,014
and we looked at each other and
he looked at me and he said,
437
00:34:55,682 --> 00:34:58,226
"Now that I found you,
I'll never let you go."
438
00:35:00,019 --> 00:35:03,731
And what happened was,
I moved in with him.
439
00:35:16,536 --> 00:35:21,124
Frances Taylor was really
a muse, an inspiration.
440
00:35:21,833 --> 00:35:26,546
She was the most inspirational
person he had partnered with,
441
00:35:26,921 --> 00:35:28,756
the one he was with the longest.
442
00:35:29,549 --> 00:35:32,135
She was someone who gave him
stability and love
443
00:35:32,302 --> 00:35:35,179
at a time when he produced
some of his most groundbreaking
444
00:35:35,346 --> 00:35:36,931
and popular work.
445
00:35:41,686 --> 00:35:46,524
He had to go off to Paris
and he left me the music.
446
00:35:49,027 --> 00:35:52,989
I fell in love with his sound,
it got to me.
447
00:35:56,034 --> 00:35:57,952
And I just played it
over and over.
448
00:35:59,370 --> 00:36:02,165
And that was my introduction
to his music.
449
00:37:24,372 --> 00:37:25,373
That's not very daring.
450
00:37:25,540 --> 00:37:27,041
Miles happened to be in Paris
451
00:37:27,208 --> 00:37:31,337
at the time when Louis Malle
had finished his movie,
452
00:37:31,504 --> 00:37:34,340
'Ascenseur pour L'Échafaud',
'Elevator To The Gallows'.
453
00:37:40,012 --> 00:37:44,892
Malle was very young and was
at the beginning of his career.
454
00:37:46,060 --> 00:37:49,647
He wanted also to make
different cinema
455
00:37:49,814 --> 00:37:52,191
and change the way
of doing films
456
00:37:52,358 --> 00:37:57,530
like having real people
in a real setting.
457
00:38:01,951 --> 00:38:04,162
He approached Miles
with the idea,
458
00:38:04,328 --> 00:38:07,748
"Would you be willing to create
a jazz soundtrack?"
459
00:38:50,833 --> 00:38:53,544
Miles didn't write any music.
460
00:38:55,630 --> 00:38:58,049
He played the entire music
461
00:38:58,716 --> 00:39:01,344
directly along to the screening
of the movie.
462
00:39:12,313 --> 00:39:16,067
Just improvising
and creating the sound
463
00:39:16,234 --> 00:39:18,903
in reaction to the images
of the film.
464
00:40:02,947 --> 00:40:05,575
That soundtrack
made the film famous.
465
00:40:07,201 --> 00:40:10,371
A lot of people,
they heard the record first,
466
00:40:10,871 --> 00:40:13,040
and then they wanted
to see the movie second.
467
00:40:18,963 --> 00:40:21,549
During the recording of
'Elevator To The Gallows',
468
00:40:21,716 --> 00:40:25,511
Miles experienced a new way
of approaching improvisation.
469
00:40:26,095 --> 00:40:29,557
That's something he'd develop
in the next following years.
470
00:40:30,891 --> 00:40:34,270
So, something started
in the recording studio
471
00:40:34,437 --> 00:40:36,856
of 'Elevator To The Gallows'.
472
00:40:41,193 --> 00:40:42,695
Start again, please.
473
00:40:44,238 --> 00:40:48,326
Here we go.
300622981, number 2, take 1.
474
00:40:48,492 --> 00:40:49,702
Wait, one minute!
475
00:40:51,078 --> 00:40:52,663
I was probably
the first one there
476
00:40:52,830 --> 00:40:54,457
because I had to set up
the drums.
477
00:40:55,708 --> 00:40:57,668
So, I had my drums, set them up
478
00:40:58,044 --> 00:41:00,338
and waited until everybody else
filed in.
479
00:41:03,841 --> 00:41:06,093
He just came in
with little notes that he had,
480
00:41:06,260 --> 00:41:08,179
he didn't even have
sheet music for that.
481
00:41:10,056 --> 00:41:11,724
And the only thing
he'd tell me was,
482
00:41:12,099 --> 00:41:15,311
"Just swing, just swing."
483
00:41:19,023 --> 00:41:21,651
I didn't write out the music
for 'Kind of Blue',
484
00:41:21,817 --> 00:41:23,235
but brought in sketches,
485
00:41:23,402 --> 00:41:26,155
because I wanted a lot
of spontaneity in the playing.
486
00:41:28,032 --> 00:41:30,409
I knew that if you've got
some great musicians,
487
00:41:30,576 --> 00:41:34,580
they'd deal with the situation
and play beyond what ls there
488
00:41:34,747 --> 00:41:36,916
and above where they think
they can.
489
00:41:38,709 --> 00:41:40,127
The first part of 'So What'...
490
00:41:47,593 --> 00:41:50,054
Then, Paul would go into
the bass saying...
491
00:41:55,851 --> 00:41:58,562
Man, that was the first thing
I ever heard from Miles.
492
00:41:59,063 --> 00:42:01,816
I grabbed the record out of my
father's collection, put it on.
493
00:42:04,110 --> 00:42:05,861
The first thing that catches
your ear
494
00:42:06,028 --> 00:42:07,988
is Paul Chambers playing
that bass line.
495
00:42:15,746 --> 00:42:18,499
We can't even question
the sacred texts that we have,
496
00:42:18,666 --> 00:42:20,960
like, why is the Bible
the Bible?
497
00:42:21,127 --> 00:42:22,878
It's the Bible, you know.
498
00:42:23,045 --> 00:42:24,922
Why is 'Kind of Blue'
'Kind of Blue'?
499
00:42:25,089 --> 00:42:26,382
It's 'Kind of Blue'.
500
00:42:26,549 --> 00:42:29,719
It just is and it changed
the sound of jazz.
501
00:42:37,810 --> 00:42:39,770
The cymbal crash
at the start of 'So What',
502
00:42:39,937 --> 00:42:41,647
I thought I had overdone it.
503
00:42:41,897 --> 00:42:44,483
It sounded louder
than it should've been to me.
504
00:42:47,570 --> 00:42:52,241
It seems to ring forever but it
brings you right into the tune.
505
00:42:53,325 --> 00:42:55,578
It's like you've hit
the highway,
506
00:42:55,828 --> 00:42:58,038
and the rest of the tune
just takes off.
507
00:43:11,552 --> 00:43:14,889
On 'Kind of Blue',
what he asked them to do
508
00:43:15,473 --> 00:43:19,810
was to think deeper about what
kind of sound can you create.
509
00:43:23,731 --> 00:43:27,318
He said, "I have these few
ideas. Let's go."
510
00:43:30,237 --> 00:43:34,158
And this is something that Miles
does for the rest of his life.
511
00:43:46,504 --> 00:43:50,216
'Kind of Blue' doesn't really
give away his passion so easily,
512
00:43:50,382 --> 00:43:52,802
but at the same time,
once those musicians open up,
513
00:43:54,053 --> 00:43:58,557
they show you how inventive
and ingenious they can be,
514
00:43:58,974 --> 00:44:00,851
and how incendiary.
515
00:44:24,416 --> 00:44:26,502
'Kind of Blue' really signified
516
00:44:26,669 --> 00:44:28,671
a different way of thinking
about your music,
517
00:44:28,838 --> 00:44:30,631
a different way
of playing the music,
518
00:44:30,798 --> 00:44:32,258
and approaching the music.
519
00:44:32,633 --> 00:44:38,472
For Coltrane, it was the door he
needed to find his own identity.
520
00:44:44,395 --> 00:44:47,982
Few people hear the potential
in the young John Coltrane,
521
00:44:48,983 --> 00:44:53,362
but Miles brought him along
and provided Coltrane the space
522
00:44:53,529 --> 00:44:57,575
to become the artist who
we would later love and revere.
523
00:45:17,136 --> 00:45:19,930
People that don't even like jazz
like that album.
524
00:45:20,514 --> 00:45:24,643
Every decade, there's new people
talking about 'Kind of Blue'.
525
00:45:24,810 --> 00:45:27,563
"That's what started
me to listening to jazz music."
526
00:45:32,526 --> 00:45:34,320
You can listen
hundreds of times,
527
00:45:34,486 --> 00:45:37,156
it always has
something new to say.
528
00:45:38,699 --> 00:45:42,453
And that, for me, is the
definition of a masterpiece.
529
00:45:56,675 --> 00:46:00,220
I don't think Miles knew that
that was gonna be a record
530
00:46:00,387 --> 00:46:02,765
that would sell more records
than any record
531
00:46:02,932 --> 00:46:05,225
in the history of
the jazz music.
532
00:46:06,018 --> 00:46:08,604
If Miles thought that
that was gonna be like that,
533
00:46:08,771 --> 00:46:10,564
he would've asked
for the building,
534
00:46:11,565 --> 00:46:15,152
and he would've asked for two
Ferraris outside right now.
535
00:46:15,361 --> 00:46:17,237
He would've really gone crazy.
536
00:46:18,238 --> 00:46:20,449
If he thought anything
like that was happening,
537
00:46:20,616 --> 00:46:22,451
he would've gone out of Harlem.
538
00:46:39,635 --> 00:46:42,763
'Kind of Blue'
becomes successful immediately.
539
00:46:43,472 --> 00:46:46,892
He's becoming a popular,
mainstream star.
540
00:46:48,519 --> 00:46:52,898
The Columbia deal gets his music
into mainstream America
541
00:46:53,065 --> 00:46:54,400
like never before.
542
00:46:58,612 --> 00:47:02,866
He elevates himself into
music maestro land.
543
00:47:09,999 --> 00:47:11,333
All I ever wanted to do
544
00:47:11,500 --> 00:47:14,294
was communicate what I felt
through music.
545
00:47:15,504 --> 00:47:18,257
Going with Columbia did mean
more money,
546
00:47:18,424 --> 00:47:20,718
but what's wrong with getting
paid for what you do
547
00:47:20,884 --> 00:47:22,219
and getting paid well?
548
00:47:32,438 --> 00:47:34,940
It was the black man's era
549
00:47:35,107 --> 00:47:38,902
when he wanted to show his pride
of what he was
550
00:47:39,445 --> 00:47:41,822
and Miles was Exhibit A.
551
00:47:41,989 --> 00:47:45,325
And he would look clean
as he could, man.
552
00:47:56,754 --> 00:47:59,923
Miles Davis
was the personification of cool,
553
00:48:00,674 --> 00:48:02,634
that mythological hero.
554
00:48:07,347 --> 00:48:09,600
He becomes our black Superman.
555
00:48:13,854 --> 00:48:15,856
When the new
Miles album came out, man,
556
00:48:16,565 --> 00:48:19,109
we would walk around
with the album.
557
00:48:20,360 --> 00:48:25,616
Being into Miles was, in itself,
a definition of being hip.
558
00:48:31,997 --> 00:48:35,959
Miles Davis wore slick clothes,
drove fast cars,
559
00:48:36,126 --> 00:48:38,045
and had all the women
and everything.
560
00:48:38,921 --> 00:48:41,381
We didn't just wanna play
with Miles Davis,
561
00:48:41,548 --> 00:48:43,050
we wanted to be Miles Davis.
562
00:48:49,056 --> 00:48:52,142
I'd say, "Miles, what are you
doing with your children
563
00:48:52,351 --> 00:48:54,937
when you wanna take them out
with you?"
564
00:48:55,104 --> 00:48:57,773
He said, "I tell them
to get a taxi."
565
00:49:07,324 --> 00:49:10,869
Miles becomes representative
of a kind of cool,
566
00:49:11,078 --> 00:49:15,040
a kind of sophistication,
a kind of masculinity.
567
00:49:16,792 --> 00:49:20,420
A kind of black man
who takes no shit.
568
00:49:27,886 --> 00:49:30,264
Being cool and hip and angry,
569
00:49:30,430 --> 00:49:32,683
and sophisticated
and ultra clean,
570
00:49:33,308 --> 00:49:35,644
I was all those things and more.
571
00:49:36,270 --> 00:49:39,273
But I was playing the fuck out
of my horn and had a great group
572
00:49:39,815 --> 00:49:43,485
so, I didn’t get recognition
based only on a rebel image.
573
00:49:44,862 --> 00:49:48,657
People were starting to talk
about the Miles Davis mystique.
574
00:49:54,663 --> 00:49:58,167
I think the darkness
of Miles Davis' skin,
575
00:49:58,333 --> 00:50:01,211
instead of seeing that
as a liability,
576
00:50:01,378 --> 00:50:02,963
he saw that as an asset.
577
00:50:06,049 --> 00:50:09,011
It was very different from
anything that was projected
578
00:50:09,178 --> 00:50:11,722
on television or in movies
at that time.
579
00:50:12,723 --> 00:50:17,519
Miles turned that into something
cool, something desirable.
580
00:50:19,062 --> 00:50:22,024
I was sharp as a tack
every time I went out in public,
581
00:50:22,191 --> 00:50:23,650
and so was Frances.
582
00:50:24,693 --> 00:50:27,404
A real black motherfucker
like me
583
00:50:27,571 --> 00:50:29,865
with this stunningly
beautiful woman.
584
00:50:30,032 --> 00:50:31,783
Man, it was something,
585
00:50:31,950 --> 00:50:34,870
people stopping and looking
with their mouths hanging open.
586
00:50:42,336 --> 00:50:45,172
Miles would buy clothes for me
587
00:50:45,380 --> 00:50:49,176
because everybody knows
I have great legs.
588
00:50:51,428 --> 00:50:53,639
He was chic, I was chic,
589
00:50:55,724 --> 00:50:58,685
and then of course getting
in and out of a Ferrari.
590
00:50:58,852 --> 00:51:01,855
I mean, we were a hot couple,
there's no two ways about it.
591
00:51:02,773 --> 00:51:05,317
Miles and Frances on fire.
592
00:51:37,099 --> 00:51:42,062
As a kid, when I would see them
together, it was just like wow.
593
00:51:42,229 --> 00:51:46,108
They dressed to the nine.
Just clean.
594
00:51:47,317 --> 00:51:48,443
And in love.
595
00:51:49,736 --> 00:51:52,072
It was like a prince
and a princess.
596
00:51:58,787 --> 00:52:01,707
I had a friend who was a writer,
his name was George Frazier,
597
00:52:02,708 --> 00:52:07,087
and he picked up on a word
which he applied to Miles.
598
00:52:09,631 --> 00:52:14,678
It had to do with the Spanish
matadors, the bull fighters.
599
00:52:17,180 --> 00:52:19,099
A lot of guys could kill
the bulls.
600
00:52:19,266 --> 00:52:21,560
Some of them were very
exciting fighters.
601
00:52:22,102 --> 00:52:23,895
But others would just
walk in the ring
602
00:52:24,062 --> 00:52:28,150
and stand there, hold the cape,
and the bull would charge,
603
00:52:28,859 --> 00:52:31,778
and the audience would just gasp
their breath.
604
00:52:34,406 --> 00:52:37,075
That fighter had "duende".
605
00:52:39,661 --> 00:52:42,789
And Miles had "duende".
606
00:52:46,585 --> 00:52:49,963
Miles was the kind of guy,
he had things that he liked.
607
00:52:50,172 --> 00:52:51,465
If he liked you, he liked you.
608
00:52:51,631 --> 00:52:53,383
If he didn't like you,
he didn't like you.
609
00:52:53,550 --> 00:52:56,011
He was just that kind of guy.
610
00:52:56,178 --> 00:53:00,766
If you were on his right side,
that's where you were.
611
00:53:00,932 --> 00:53:02,559
And if you were on
his wrong side,
612
00:53:02,726 --> 00:53:05,437
that's probably
where you stayed.
613
00:53:08,523 --> 00:53:11,318
I was just cold
to mostly everyone.
614
00:53:12,069 --> 00:53:14,154
That was the way
I protected myself,
615
00:53:14,321 --> 00:53:17,866
by not letting anyone inside
of my feelings and emotions.
616
00:53:18,742 --> 00:53:20,994
And, for a long time,
it worked for me.
617
00:53:23,205 --> 00:53:28,418
I went to the Village Vanguard
where Miles was performing
618
00:53:29,503 --> 00:53:35,092
and I said, "Mr Davis,
my name is Archie Shepp,
619
00:53:35,967 --> 00:53:37,928
I wonder if you'd let me
sit in."
620
00:53:38,637 --> 00:53:41,014
And he said, "Archie who?"
621
00:53:42,599 --> 00:53:45,477
And I said, "Archie Shepp."
622
00:53:45,644 --> 00:53:50,440
He said, "Fuck you.
You can't sit in with me."
623
00:53:51,108 --> 00:53:52,526
Miles didn't care.
624
00:53:53,568 --> 00:53:57,781
Miles didn't have to please
anybody but Miles.
625
00:54:02,077 --> 00:54:05,247
Miles was not interested.
626
00:54:07,249 --> 00:54:10,168
You know what I mean?
He wasn't interested in people,
627
00:54:11,086 --> 00:54:12,963
because he was Miles Davis.
628
00:54:16,091 --> 00:54:18,844
There were all these
personality quirks that he had.
629
00:54:20,011 --> 00:54:22,597
He was angry, antisocial,
630
00:54:23,890 --> 00:54:27,519
but often times those
insecurities and those demons
631
00:54:27,686 --> 00:54:30,647
are the very things
that are the basis of arts
632
00:54:30,814 --> 00:54:34,109
so that art becomes a way
of healing.
633
00:54:36,194 --> 00:54:39,364
It gave him an opportunity
to show a vulnerability,
634
00:54:39,531 --> 00:54:41,032
and to show a side of him
635
00:54:41,283 --> 00:54:43,618
that, in the real world,
he could not show.
636
00:54:53,879 --> 00:54:55,464
We were working at Birdland
637
00:54:55,630 --> 00:55:01,136
and we got through a set and
Miles came upstairs to smoke.
638
00:55:04,431 --> 00:55:07,517
I'm standing there, in front of
Birdland, wringing wet,
639
00:55:07,684 --> 00:55:10,645
because it's a hot, steaming,
muggy night in August.
640
00:55:11,771 --> 00:55:14,357
I had just walked this pretty
white girl named Judy out
641
00:55:14,524 --> 00:55:15,650
to get a cab.
642
00:55:17,277 --> 00:55:21,072
This white policeman comes up
to me and tells me to move on.
643
00:55:23,492 --> 00:55:26,161
Miles said, "Why?
I'm smoking a cigarette.
644
00:55:26,328 --> 00:55:28,830
I'm working downstairs
and I'm smoking a cigarette."
645
00:55:28,997 --> 00:55:31,208
And he was standing right by
the sign with his name on it.
646
00:55:31,458 --> 00:55:35,212
"M-I-L-E-S... M-I-L-E-S. Miles.
647
00:55:35,670 --> 00:55:37,839
That's me. Who are you?"
648
00:55:38,089 --> 00:55:42,344
'Kind of Blue' has just come
out, he is the talk of the town.
649
00:55:42,511 --> 00:55:47,599
He is at the top of the marquee,
top of his popularity.
650
00:55:49,351 --> 00:55:52,062
The guy said, "I don't care,
you just can't stand there."
651
00:55:52,229 --> 00:55:54,105
Miles said,
"Well, I'm not moving."
652
00:55:54,648 --> 00:55:56,024
I just looked at his face
653
00:55:56,191 --> 00:55:59,277
real straight and hard,
and I didn't move.
654
00:56:00,904 --> 00:56:04,407
Miles, at that point,
was in such good shape
655
00:56:04,574 --> 00:56:07,035
that it was hard for them
to actually get a hand on him.
656
00:56:08,870 --> 00:56:11,623
From out of nowhere,
this white detective runs in
657
00:56:11,790 --> 00:56:13,959
and, bam, hits me on the head.
658
00:56:14,918 --> 00:56:16,628
I never saw him coming.
659
00:56:17,754 --> 00:56:19,548
I received a telephone call
660
00:56:19,714 --> 00:56:22,133
that I should come down
to the police station.
661
00:56:23,593 --> 00:56:25,220
And I saw his face.
662
00:56:27,722 --> 00:56:29,432
It was just terrifying.
663
00:56:30,517 --> 00:56:31,851
I was in tears.
664
00:56:38,942 --> 00:56:42,946
I'd have expected this kind of
bullshit back in East St. Louis,
665
00:56:43,113 --> 00:56:46,283
but not here in New York City,
which ls supposed to be
666
00:56:46,449 --> 00:56:48,994
the slickest, hippest city
in the world.
667
00:56:51,663 --> 00:56:54,708
It was racial,
the whole thing was racial.
668
00:56:54,874 --> 00:56:57,877
The whole city was racist,
the whole world, I guess,
669
00:56:58,044 --> 00:57:01,089
so, what is it, you know?
670
00:57:02,424 --> 00:57:04,593
I can't see it
being nothing else but that.
671
00:57:08,138 --> 00:57:12,142
It is a reminder
that no level of accomplishment,
672
00:57:12,434 --> 00:57:15,186
no level of achievement,
no level of financial success,
673
00:57:15,353 --> 00:57:21,693
or recognition, even, for that,
actually protects you
674
00:57:21,860 --> 00:57:25,196
from the racial hostilities
of the United States.
675
00:57:25,989 --> 00:57:30,577
Damn. Like, there is
no way out of this thing.
676
00:57:34,080 --> 00:57:36,333
That incident
changed me forever,
677
00:57:37,208 --> 00:57:40,795
made me much more bitter and
cynical than I might have been.
678
00:57:47,218 --> 00:57:48,970
He used to flash back,
we'd be talking
679
00:57:49,137 --> 00:57:52,098
and randomly he'd just go,
"Those fucking cops, man."
680
00:57:52,265 --> 00:57:55,268
Just out of nowhere,
it'd be completely random,
681
00:57:55,435 --> 00:57:57,103
he'd flash back to that.
682
00:57:58,396 --> 00:57:59,814
Man, that stuff don't go away
683
00:57:59,981 --> 00:58:02,192
just because all of a sudden
you got a little success.
684
00:58:02,359 --> 00:58:04,569
That stuff that happens to you
when you're young,
685
00:58:04,736 --> 00:58:07,322
that stays with you
for the rest of your life.
686
00:58:20,960 --> 00:58:23,672
'Miles Ahead' was the first
collaboration
687
00:58:23,838 --> 00:58:25,590
between Miles Davis
and Gil Evans
688
00:58:25,757 --> 00:58:28,134
after Miles signs
with Columbia Records.
689
00:58:28,385 --> 00:58:31,638
It's one of the reasons why
Miles went to Columbia Records
690
00:58:31,805 --> 00:58:33,556
because Columbia had the budget
691
00:58:33,723 --> 00:58:37,143
and the wherewithal to make
a project like this possible.
692
00:58:49,280 --> 00:58:52,659
Gil and I were something
special together musically.
693
00:58:53,410 --> 00:58:54,869
I loved working with Gil
694
00:58:55,036 --> 00:58:57,455
because he was so meticulous
and creative,
695
00:58:58,373 --> 00:59:01,042
and I trusted his musical
arrangements completely.
696
00:59:06,297 --> 00:59:07,841
We worked together at the piano
all the time,
697
00:59:08,007 --> 00:59:10,009
always saying, "How about this,
how about that?"
698
00:59:11,302 --> 00:59:15,140
I was just crazy about his
interpretations of the songs.
699
00:59:15,306 --> 00:59:17,225
They just fit in so naturally.
700
00:59:27,986 --> 00:59:29,779
When 'Miles Ahead' comes out,
701
00:59:29,946 --> 00:59:33,116
there's this young white
female model
702
00:59:33,283 --> 00:59:38,329
on the deck of a sailing ship
as the original cover.
703
00:59:41,332 --> 00:59:46,004
This was meant to evoke
the high life, the good life.
704
00:59:46,546 --> 00:59:48,757
And it would allow the album
to be marketed
705
00:59:48,923 --> 00:59:51,718
to a broad,
that is, white, audience.
706
00:59:52,844 --> 00:59:56,598
Miles goes up to
George Avakian and he says,
707
00:59:57,265 --> 01:00:00,518
"What's that white bitch doing
on the cover of my album?"
708
01:00:04,397 --> 01:00:06,399
He becomes aware of his power
709
01:00:06,566 --> 01:00:09,611
as an artist who is generating
a tremendous amount of income,
710
01:00:09,778 --> 01:00:11,154
for his record label as well,
711
01:00:11,321 --> 01:00:13,740
that he has some say
in these decisions.
712
01:00:14,991 --> 01:00:18,411
The next pressing
of the same music comes out
713
01:00:18,578 --> 01:00:20,997
under another title,
with another cover.
714
01:00:21,456 --> 01:00:23,875
And Miles Davis himself
is on the cover.
715
01:00:30,256 --> 01:00:34,469
'Miles Ahead' was the first of
three wonderful collaborations
716
01:00:34,636 --> 01:00:37,388
with Gil Evans
and the 19-piece orchestra.
717
01:00:37,847 --> 01:00:40,683
Two years after 'Miles Ahead'
came 'Porgy and Bess'.
718
01:00:42,894 --> 01:00:45,021
And then,
two years after that...
719
01:00:52,654 --> 01:00:56,324
I had spent time in Barcelona.
720
01:00:58,618 --> 01:01:01,079
After we would finish our shows,
721
01:01:01,246 --> 01:01:04,499
we'd watch and listen
to flamenco music and dance,
722
01:01:04,666 --> 01:01:06,459
and I was just taken with that.
723
01:01:09,796 --> 01:01:13,049
I said to Miles, "I want you to
really see what I see,
724
01:01:13,216 --> 01:01:15,552
and feel what I feel
with flamenco music."
725
01:01:15,718 --> 01:01:18,179
He didn't want to go,
but finally he gave in.
726
01:01:19,264 --> 01:01:22,809
And we'd go to see flamenco
music and dance.
727
01:01:28,106 --> 01:01:29,691
When we left the theater,
728
01:01:30,775 --> 01:01:35,196
we went right to
the Colony record shop
729
01:01:36,447 --> 01:01:39,200
and he bought every flamenco
album he could.
730
01:02:00,096 --> 01:02:03,766
That was the hardest thing for
me to do on 'Sketches of Spain',
731
01:02:04,601 --> 01:02:06,144
to play the parts on the trumpet
732
01:02:06,311 --> 01:02:08,563
where someone
was supposed to be singing,
733
01:02:08,771 --> 01:02:10,648
especially when it was
ad-libbed.
734
01:02:12,483 --> 01:02:16,029
My voice had to be both joyous
and sad in this song,
735
01:02:16,195 --> 01:02:18,114
and that was very hard, too.
736
01:02:19,282 --> 01:02:21,910
If you do a song like that
three or four times,
737
01:02:22,076 --> 01:02:24,579
you lose that feeling
you want to get there.
738
01:02:29,959 --> 01:02:33,880
It seemed to work out all right,
everyone loved that record.
739
01:02:37,550 --> 01:02:39,260
Once there was a princess...
740
01:02:39,427 --> 01:02:41,220
Was the princess you?
741
01:02:41,638 --> 01:02:42,722
And she fell in love.
742
01:02:42,889 --> 01:02:44,682
Was it hard to do?
743
01:02:45,016 --> 01:02:46,851
Oh, it was very easy.
744
01:02:47,018 --> 01:02:50,188
Anyone could see
that the prince was charming.
745
01:02:51,189 --> 01:02:52,523
The only one for me.
746
01:03:07,038 --> 01:03:09,040
Miles always loved
a strong melody.
747
01:03:11,960 --> 01:03:14,212
He really felt like
those melodies
748
01:03:14,379 --> 01:03:16,798
would allow him to speak,
749
01:03:17,173 --> 01:03:19,676
saying here's something
that you're familiar with.
750
01:03:20,343 --> 01:03:23,638
I'm going to show you
how beautiful it can really be.
751
01:03:27,558 --> 01:03:29,268
So, he could take something like
752
01:03:29,435 --> 01:03:30,937
'Someday My Prince Will Come'
753
01:03:31,104 --> 01:03:33,022
from a Walt Disney movie
754
01:03:33,272 --> 01:03:38,027
and he could invest that
with amazing feeling and depth.
755
01:03:38,194 --> 01:03:41,280
He said, "I'm playing it
for my wife Frances."
756
01:03:42,156 --> 01:03:47,495
And you can feel the love
and care in his playing.
757
01:03:55,878 --> 01:03:57,463
'Someday My Prince Will Come'
758
01:03:57,630 --> 01:04:00,383
was the first album cover
I was on for Miles.
759
01:04:01,384 --> 01:04:06,431
He was out of town and I
remember going to the shooting,
760
01:04:06,597 --> 01:04:09,267
and he was calling every
two minutes
761
01:04:09,434 --> 01:04:11,853
to see what I was wearing
and how I looked.
762
01:04:12,020 --> 01:04:16,315
He wanted to make sure
that I looked perfect
763
01:04:17,191 --> 01:04:19,861
and, of course, I thought I did.
764
01:04:25,616 --> 01:04:28,369
I put the mole
on my little cheek
765
01:04:28,745 --> 01:04:31,164
'cause I thought it had flair.
766
01:04:36,711 --> 01:04:38,796
It was on
'Someday My Prince Will Come'
767
01:04:38,963 --> 01:04:42,175
that I started demanding
that Columbia use black women
768
01:04:42,341 --> 01:04:43,843
on my album covers.
769
01:04:45,511 --> 01:04:49,098
It was my album
and I was Frances's prince.
770
01:04:49,265 --> 01:04:51,768
So, I was able to put Frances
on the cover.
771
01:04:53,603 --> 01:04:57,231
He was standing up
for the beauty of black women.
772
01:04:57,398 --> 01:05:01,444
And saying, "This beauty here is
the beauty that I'm projecting
773
01:05:01,611 --> 01:05:03,529
through this music,
through this song."
774
01:05:03,696 --> 01:05:05,573
A major statement to make.
775
01:05:06,532 --> 01:05:08,618
And I'm sure it was just because
he thought his wife was hot,
776
01:05:08,785 --> 01:05:10,119
and fine too.
777
01:05:19,712 --> 01:05:22,256
Everybody wanted to be
in 'West Side Story'.
778
01:05:22,715 --> 01:05:27,053
Jerome Robbins, Stephen
Sondheim, it was, like, the one.
779
01:05:32,433 --> 01:05:36,312
There were at least,
I'd say, 300 girls auditioning.
780
01:05:38,189 --> 01:05:40,233
I got on stage,
and I stood up there
781
01:05:40,399 --> 01:05:42,193
and I snapped my fingers,
and I went...
782
01:05:46,989 --> 01:05:49,033
I did an Ella Fitzgerald scat.
783
01:05:49,200 --> 01:05:52,286
Jerome Robbins and
they all freaked out.
784
01:05:52,453 --> 01:05:54,038
I was in, I was in.
785
01:06:06,592 --> 01:06:10,346
Around this time, I was drinking
more than I had in the past
786
01:06:10,555 --> 01:06:12,807
and I was snorting
a lot of cocaine.
787
01:06:13,766 --> 01:06:16,519
That combination can make you
real irritable.
788
01:06:18,813 --> 01:06:22,024
Frances was the only woman
that I had ever been jealous of
789
01:06:23,401 --> 01:06:26,237
And being jealous
and using drugs and drinking,
790
01:06:26,404 --> 01:06:28,447
she just looked at me
like I was crazy,
791
01:06:29,031 --> 01:06:30,908
which I was, at the time.
792
01:06:32,660 --> 01:06:35,663
I thought I was sane
and on top of the world.
793
01:06:37,915 --> 01:06:40,543
He was a jealous person
when it came to me.
794
01:06:41,085 --> 01:06:44,630
He just couldn't handle me being
with these people
795
01:06:44,797 --> 01:06:48,885
and getting all
of this attention.
796
01:06:50,511 --> 01:06:52,305
That's when he came
to the theater
797
01:06:52,471 --> 01:06:55,016
and picked me up in his Ferrari,
and said,
798
01:06:55,183 --> 01:06:57,560
"I want you out
of 'West Side Story'.
799
01:06:58,102 --> 01:06:59,937
A woman should be with her man."
800
01:07:04,192 --> 01:07:05,610
I froze.
801
01:07:10,615 --> 01:07:14,118
But I was in love with him
and I did as he said.
802
01:07:15,536 --> 01:07:16,662
I quit the show.
803
01:07:19,874 --> 01:07:21,751
He sent for his children
804
01:07:21,918 --> 01:07:25,046
Cheryl and Gregory
and little Miles.
805
01:07:27,256 --> 01:07:30,801
What I ended up doing
was performing in the kitchen.
806
01:07:33,846 --> 01:07:37,642
I came to New York and Frances
got us enrolled in schools.
807
01:07:37,808 --> 01:07:42,230
And we started going to school,
coming home, doing our homework.
808
01:07:43,439 --> 01:07:45,191
So, it was a big change for her.
809
01:07:47,485 --> 01:07:49,237
I didn't know how to cook
or anything.
810
01:07:49,403 --> 01:07:51,072
I'd been on the road, I mean no.
811
01:07:53,241 --> 01:07:59,664
He said to me, "Look, listen.
Watch what I'm doing and do it."
812
01:08:02,375 --> 01:08:03,668
So, I learned to cook.
813
01:08:05,836 --> 01:08:07,546
She would be downstairs cooking
814
01:08:07,713 --> 01:08:10,633
and every now and then she would
go upstairs and disappear.
815
01:08:10,800 --> 01:08:12,134
Later on, she told me,
816
01:08:12,301 --> 01:08:14,804
"Remember when I used to
disappear, go upstairs?"
817
01:08:14,971 --> 01:08:16,013
I said, "Yeah."
818
01:08:16,180 --> 01:08:19,350
She said, "I went upstairs
to look at my ballet slippers."
819
01:08:24,689 --> 01:08:30,820
She always seemed to be
holding in certain feelings
820
01:08:30,987 --> 01:08:34,615
about what she could've
been doing.
821
01:08:39,495 --> 01:08:43,082
My hip was operated on
in April 1965,
822
01:08:43,457 --> 01:08:46,627
and they replaced the hip ball
with some bone from my shin,
823
01:08:47,086 --> 01:08:50,631
but it didn't work and so they
had to do it again that August.
824
01:08:51,799 --> 01:08:54,051
I was in a lot of pain
all the time.
825
01:08:54,969 --> 01:08:57,388
I was starting to drink
more than I had in the past
826
01:08:57,555 --> 01:08:59,432
and I was taking
pain medication.
827
01:09:00,308 --> 01:09:02,435
And I was starting to use
more coke,
828
01:09:03,477 --> 01:09:05,479
I guess, because of
the depression.
829
01:09:07,315 --> 01:09:11,277
It was a combination of
jealousy, cocaine,
830
01:09:12,737 --> 01:09:15,531
Percodan, scotch and milk.
831
01:09:15,698 --> 01:09:19,535
That's the combination
that I found out later.
832
01:09:21,078 --> 01:09:22,163
And...
833
01:09:22,621 --> 01:09:29,545
This combination causes you
to snap, which he did.
834
01:09:37,261 --> 01:09:40,598
I was with Miles at Birdland
one evening,
835
01:09:49,190 --> 01:09:52,443
and Quincy Jones was there.
836
01:10:05,331 --> 01:10:07,041
When we got home that night,
837
01:10:07,291 --> 01:10:12,171
I just mentioned to Miles
that Quincy Jones is handsome.
838
01:10:18,344 --> 01:10:19,595
And before I knew it,
839
01:10:21,722 --> 01:10:27,186
it was so fast and I saw stars,
I was on the floor.
840
01:10:29,897 --> 01:10:32,983
It was the most unbelievable
thing that ever happened to me
841
01:10:33,150 --> 01:10:35,236
because I'd never been hit
in my life.
842
01:10:38,114 --> 01:10:39,490
That was the first,
843
01:10:40,699 --> 01:10:44,370
and it wasn't going to be
the last, unfortunately.
844
01:10:49,834 --> 01:10:52,795
I didn't know at the time,
that I was close to leaving,
845
01:10:53,754 --> 01:10:57,174
but that's when it happened.
846
01:11:04,557 --> 01:11:06,976
I can say this right now,
847
01:11:07,226 --> 01:11:10,438
Frances was the best wife
that I ever had.
848
01:11:12,440 --> 01:11:16,152
I realised how badly I treated
her and that it was over.
849
01:11:17,778 --> 01:11:22,032
I know that now and I wish
I had known that then.
850
01:11:24,827 --> 01:11:26,537
He was always talking about her,
851
01:11:27,413 --> 01:11:31,834
even after it was all over,
four or five years later,
852
01:11:32,501 --> 01:11:36,255
he would say, "See that suit
that girl's wearing?
853
01:11:36,422 --> 01:11:38,799
I bought Frances
a suit like that once."
854
01:11:42,386 --> 01:11:47,183
After I left, I heard Miles say
that he really screwed up.
855
01:11:48,058 --> 01:11:53,689
He also said, "Whoever gets her
is a lucky motherfucker."
856
01:11:58,486 --> 01:12:00,362
That's what I heard he said.
857
01:12:02,531 --> 01:12:03,699
Well, he was right.
858
01:12:30,267 --> 01:12:33,062
In the last years
that Trane was with my group,
859
01:12:33,229 --> 01:12:35,147
he started playing for himself
860
01:12:36,398 --> 01:12:39,318
When that happens, the magic
is gone out of a band
861
01:12:39,485 --> 01:12:41,654
and people who used to love
to play together
862
01:12:41,820 --> 01:12:43,405
start not caring any more.
863
01:12:44,240 --> 01:12:46,575
And that's when a band
falls apart.
864
01:12:47,660 --> 01:12:50,371
I'd be lying if I said
that it didn't make me sad,
865
01:12:50,538 --> 01:12:52,831
because I really loved playing
with this band.
866
01:12:54,375 --> 01:12:57,127
I think it was the best
small band of all time,
867
01:12:58,837 --> 01:13:01,465
or at least the best I had heard
up until then.
868
01:13:02,800 --> 01:13:05,678
I had always been looking for
new things to play,
869
01:13:05,844 --> 01:13:08,514
new challenges
for my musical ideas.
870
01:13:09,807 --> 01:13:12,017
Now it was time
for something different.
871
01:13:19,692 --> 01:13:22,444
I was working at a place
called The Half Note.
872
01:13:22,611 --> 01:13:24,572
Miles came in during
the course of the set
873
01:13:24,738 --> 01:13:28,284
with his black cape and his
black hat, looking mysterious.
874
01:13:28,993 --> 01:13:32,580
He said, "I'm looking for a bass
player, are you interested?"
875
01:13:32,997 --> 01:13:35,499
Well, at the time, the only
thing hotter than Miles Davis
876
01:13:35,666 --> 01:13:36,959
was the pancake.
877
01:13:39,253 --> 01:13:42,506
My phone rang,
and I hear this guitar,
878
01:13:42,923 --> 01:13:45,843
somebody strumming a guitar.
879
01:13:46,635 --> 01:13:47,928
Then this voice said,
880
01:13:48,679 --> 01:13:50,973
"The guitar is a motherfucker,
ain't it?"
881
01:13:52,641 --> 01:13:56,228
"Come to my house
tomorrow at 1:30," click.
882
01:13:57,646 --> 01:13:59,481
He never said his name.
883
01:13:59,648 --> 01:14:03,110
He never gave me his address,
phone number, nothing.
884
01:14:03,277 --> 01:14:04,862
But Miles called me.
885
01:14:08,741 --> 01:14:10,909
He sent me a first class ticket
886
01:14:11,076 --> 01:14:14,121
and sent me to his tailor
to get a tuxedo made.
887
01:14:14,872 --> 01:14:16,957
And I flew to California.
888
01:14:17,541 --> 01:14:19,543
Miles, what are you gonna play
this time?
889
01:14:20,753 --> 01:14:23,213
Somebody else tell me
because Miles has laryngitis.
890
01:14:26,175 --> 01:14:27,635
Blues of some kind, or other.
891
01:14:27,801 --> 01:14:30,137
All right, once again,
the Miles Davis Quintet.
892
01:14:35,851 --> 01:14:38,687
Miles's great quintet
of the 1960s
893
01:14:38,854 --> 01:14:42,232
created a way of improvising
that was totally new,
894
01:14:42,399 --> 01:14:45,653
that allowed this incredible
level of democracy
895
01:14:45,819 --> 01:14:48,072
to enter into the music.
896
01:14:48,238 --> 01:14:51,742
And anyone could take the music
where they wanted to.
897
01:15:03,212 --> 01:15:04,880
He consistently
898
01:15:05,047 --> 01:15:09,677
surrounded himself with young,
emerging, unknown voices.
899
01:15:10,052 --> 01:15:14,264
He allowed them to develop their
musical identity in that band.
900
01:15:14,848 --> 01:15:17,851
And he continued
to just keep regenerating
901
01:15:18,018 --> 01:15:20,312
over and over for the remainder
of his career.
902
01:15:24,191 --> 01:15:27,361
At the time I joined
Miles's band I was 23 years old.
903
01:15:27,528 --> 01:15:30,197
Tony Williams, the drummer,
was 17 years old.
904
01:15:31,990 --> 01:15:34,326
We were kids. Just kids.
905
01:15:47,798 --> 01:15:52,052
Creativity and genius in any
kind of artistic expression
906
01:15:52,219 --> 01:15:55,973
don't know nothing about age,
either you got it or you don't,
907
01:15:57,349 --> 01:16:00,018
and being old is not going
to help you get it.
908
01:16:02,312 --> 01:16:05,107
We were looking at it like every
night going to a laboratory.
909
01:16:06,358 --> 01:16:07,735
Miles was the head chemist.
910
01:16:08,527 --> 01:16:11,739
Our job was to mix
these components,
911
01:16:11,905 --> 01:16:13,657
these changes, this tempo,
912
01:16:14,491 --> 01:16:17,369
into something that explodes
safely every night
913
01:16:17,536 --> 01:16:19,121
with a bit of danger.
914
01:16:19,955 --> 01:16:21,206
And it happened every night.
915
01:16:33,510 --> 01:16:38,766
Miles wanted us to live on the
stage in front of the people,
916
01:16:39,016 --> 01:16:40,726
creating in front of the people.
917
01:16:41,685 --> 01:16:45,147
In other words, don't lean on
what you know,
918
01:16:45,731 --> 01:16:48,275
what he was looking for is
the stuff that you don't know.
919
01:16:56,074 --> 01:16:57,993
I like that idea.
I hate to rehearse.
920
01:16:58,702 --> 01:16:59,953
All the good ideas get shot.
921
01:17:00,120 --> 01:17:02,748
I wanna make mistakes on the
bandstand and fix them there.
922
01:17:04,666 --> 01:17:05,959
Miles even told us,
923
01:17:06,210 --> 01:17:10,130
"I pay you to practice
on the bandstand
924
01:17:10,297 --> 01:17:11,715
in front of the people."
925
01:17:11,882 --> 01:17:14,134
I said, "The public's not
going to like that."
926
01:17:14,301 --> 01:17:19,973
He said, "I'll take care of
the public. You just play."
927
01:17:29,650 --> 01:17:31,860
Teo, you know
I can’t play this shit, man.
928
01:17:32,027 --> 01:17:33,320
Yes, you can.
929
01:17:35,447 --> 01:17:37,407
- You're getting there.
- You know what I mean?
930
01:17:37,574 --> 01:17:39,076
Herbie, can we do it like that?
931
01:17:40,494 --> 01:17:43,330
-We gonna divide it up.
- Yeah, that's a good idea.
932
01:17:44,373 --> 01:17:45,290
Six!
933
01:17:46,041 --> 01:17:47,376
Wait a minute, Teo,
934
01:17:47,543 --> 01:17:49,044
I don't even know
what to play there.
935
01:17:49,211 --> 01:17:51,463
-Don’t play that first beat.
-Play that, Teo.
936
01:17:52,506 --> 01:17:59,346
Once, he does a take where the
horn players all play the melody
937
01:18:00,264 --> 01:18:03,642
correctly, without any major
kind of flub.
938
01:18:03,809 --> 01:18:05,310
That take's going on the record.
939
01:18:21,076 --> 01:18:22,870
I had this book I have with me
940
01:18:23,370 --> 01:18:25,539
that I'd been using
when I was in the Army.
941
01:18:26,081 --> 01:18:29,793
I'd wrote stuff down a bit and
he said, "You got any music?"
942
01:18:30,544 --> 01:18:32,921
I said, "Yeah.
I got some stuff in this book."
943
01:18:33,130 --> 01:18:35,299
He opened the book and he said,
"Let's try this."
944
01:18:35,549 --> 01:18:37,217
-What's this called?
-'Footprints'!
945
01:18:37,384 --> 01:18:38,385
'Footprints'?
946
01:18:42,389 --> 01:18:44,016
Then we... just no rehearsal,
947
01:18:44,182 --> 01:18:46,310
just looked at the music,
went over it a little bit
948
01:18:46,476 --> 01:18:47,686
and then recorded.
949
01:18:53,650 --> 01:18:55,986
And the next time we went
to the recording studio,
950
01:18:56,153 --> 01:18:59,865
he'd say, "We're gonna record
next Wednesday. Bring the book!"
951
01:19:23,639 --> 01:19:28,352
In 1969, historically,
a man had walked on the moon,
952
01:19:29,269 --> 01:19:35,651
and the United States is still
in this bloody, Vietnam War.
953
01:19:35,943 --> 01:19:38,737
I think Miles sensed
the importance
954
01:19:38,904 --> 01:19:40,280
of the younger generation,
955
01:19:40,447 --> 01:19:42,449
'cause Miles was always
looking forward.
956
01:19:45,702 --> 01:19:50,207
1969 was the year rock and funk
were selling like hotcakes.
957
01:19:51,083 --> 01:19:54,294
People were packing stadiums
to hear and see stars in person,
958
01:19:54,878 --> 01:19:57,714
and jazz music seemed to be
withering on the vine.
959
01:19:58,423 --> 01:20:02,302
We played to a lot
of half-empty clubs in 1969.
960
01:20:03,553 --> 01:20:05,097
That told me something.
961
01:20:12,729 --> 01:20:16,358
The music of Jimi Hendrix,
Sly Stone, and James Brown,
962
01:20:16,900 --> 01:20:19,778
it made Miles aware
that you could play one concert
963
01:20:20,904 --> 01:20:22,155
and hit a lot of people.
964
01:20:24,908 --> 01:20:26,451
You could make more money
965
01:20:26,618 --> 01:20:28,996
playing one concert
for 45 minutes
966
01:20:29,162 --> 01:20:31,373
than you might make playing
a week in a club,
967
01:20:31,540 --> 01:20:32,708
three sets a night.
968
01:20:34,251 --> 01:20:35,961
One reason
he got the electric band
969
01:20:36,128 --> 01:20:39,464
was because he had hung out
with Sly & the Family Stone.
970
01:20:41,299 --> 01:20:43,385
Sly was telling him
how much money he made.
971
01:20:43,552 --> 01:20:45,178
And Miles said, "What? What?"
972
01:20:46,972 --> 01:20:50,767
So, after that, Miles kind of
changed his stuff up.
973
01:20:53,061 --> 01:20:54,563
I started realizing
974
01:20:54,730 --> 01:20:57,524
that most rock musicians didn't
know anything about music.
975
01:20:58,608 --> 01:21:00,068
I figured if they could do it,
976
01:21:00,569 --> 01:21:02,487
reach all those people
and sell all those records
977
01:21:02,654 --> 01:21:04,740
without really knowing
what they were doing,
978
01:21:04,948 --> 01:21:08,243
then I could do it, too,
only better.
979
01:21:10,746 --> 01:21:12,998
Miles asked to see me
980
01:21:13,665 --> 01:21:17,127
and it was a very, very
tense meeting.
981
01:21:18,462 --> 01:21:21,339
He said, "these fucking
long-haired, white kids"
982
01:21:21,506 --> 01:21:25,844
were stealing his music,
his riffs.
983
01:21:26,511 --> 01:21:30,265
He was irate, and asked to be
released from the label.
984
01:21:31,308 --> 01:21:34,478
I said, "Look,
I can get you dates
985
01:21:34,644 --> 01:21:39,816
playing with musical artists
of a different generation,
986
01:21:39,983 --> 01:21:42,319
playing a different
kind of music.
987
01:21:42,486 --> 01:21:46,573
I just know that
if you play those dates,
988
01:21:47,032 --> 01:21:48,241
something will happen."
989
01:21:57,125 --> 01:21:58,418
Around this time,
990
01:21:58,585 --> 01:22:01,171
I had met a beautiful young
singer and songwriter
991
01:22:01,338 --> 01:22:02,631
named Betty Mabry.
992
01:22:03,381 --> 01:22:06,093
She was full of new things
and surprises,
993
01:22:06,259 --> 01:22:08,053
and helped point the way
I was to go.
994
01:22:09,096 --> 01:22:14,351
Betty Davis was just a very
fierce, dynamic sister
995
01:22:14,518 --> 01:22:18,271
who was a part of that whole New
York and California rock scene.
996
01:22:19,815 --> 01:22:24,027
She totally changes his sense
of what's happening in music.
997
01:22:29,658 --> 01:22:31,326
Betty was a big influence
998
01:22:31,493 --> 01:22:34,412
on my personal life,
as well as my musical life.
999
01:22:34,746 --> 01:22:37,415
She also helped me change
the way I was dressing.
1000
01:22:38,708 --> 01:22:41,586
I went by his house, he had a
bunch of funny-looking suits,
1001
01:22:41,753 --> 01:22:43,880
and things hanging
in his closet,
1002
01:22:44,047 --> 01:22:46,466
funny-looking shoes,
hats and all of that.
1003
01:22:46,633 --> 01:22:47,968
I said, "What's going on, man?"
1004
01:22:48,927 --> 01:22:51,346
So, he changed up,
he went from that to that.
1005
01:23:03,733 --> 01:23:05,402
I wanted to change course,
1006
01:23:05,569 --> 01:23:07,904
I had to change course
for me to continue to believe in
1007
01:23:08,071 --> 01:23:09,573
and love what I was playing.
1008
01:23:12,993 --> 01:23:16,079
My interest was in an electronic
bass player.
1009
01:23:16,246 --> 01:23:19,916
It gave me what I wanted to hear
instead of the stand-up bass.
1010
01:23:24,462 --> 01:23:26,256
He called me and said,
"I want to talk to you."
1011
01:23:26,423 --> 01:23:27,632
I said, "OK."
1012
01:23:27,799 --> 01:23:29,259
He said,
"Look, all you got to do
1013
01:23:29,426 --> 01:23:30,760
is play like
you're playing upright."
1014
01:23:30,927 --> 01:23:32,262
I said, "It's not the same."
1015
01:23:33,013 --> 01:23:35,515
"The notes, the sound
and the impact are different.
1016
01:23:35,682 --> 01:23:37,934
The note length and placement
are different.
1017
01:23:38,101 --> 01:23:40,395
The only thing the same, Miles,
is the same fucking notes.
1018
01:23:43,815 --> 01:23:46,318
I'm hearing this
since I was 18, man.
1019
01:23:47,027 --> 01:23:48,737
Why the fuck would I give it up?
1020
01:23:48,904 --> 01:23:51,198
To join you... No, man,
I'm not going to do that."
1021
01:23:52,407 --> 01:23:53,617
He said, "OK."
1022
01:23:56,995 --> 01:23:59,497
So, I put my hat on
and got in the wind.
1023
01:24:07,047 --> 01:24:09,758
The group broke up when
Ron decided to leave for good
1024
01:24:09,925 --> 01:24:12,093
because he didn't want to play
electric bass.
1025
01:24:12,844 --> 01:24:15,305
Now, I was starting to think
about other ways
1026
01:24:15,472 --> 01:24:17,057
I could approach the music.
1027
01:24:19,309 --> 01:24:23,021
I went into the studio
in August of 1969.
1028
01:24:25,106 --> 01:24:29,236
Miles had said to be at Columbia
Studios at 10 o'clock.
1029
01:24:30,153 --> 01:24:33,531
I was there at 9:30.
The cleaning lady let me in.
1030
01:24:36,868 --> 01:24:39,996
I brought in these musical
sketches that nobody had seen,
1031
01:24:40,455 --> 01:24:42,415
just like I did
on 'Kind of Blue'.
1032
01:24:43,959 --> 01:24:46,920
I told the musicians that they
could do anything they wanted,
1033
01:24:48,004 --> 01:24:52,133
play anything they heard,
so that's what they did.
1034
01:24:57,055 --> 01:24:58,431
There were four
percussion players
1035
01:24:58,598 --> 01:24:59,849
playing at the same time,
1036
01:25:00,308 --> 01:25:02,686
two bassists playing
at the same time,
1037
01:25:02,852 --> 01:25:05,855
two or three keyboard players
playing at the same time,
1038
01:25:06,064 --> 01:25:07,107
a guitar.
1039
01:25:08,608 --> 01:25:12,028
It was a great,
massive improvisation.
1040
01:25:17,659 --> 01:25:20,662
All he had me bring
was a cymbal and a snare drum.
1041
01:25:21,204 --> 01:25:26,126
And we went over the first part
of 'Bitches Brew'...
1042
01:25:29,754 --> 01:25:30,672
and then...
1043
01:25:38,430 --> 01:25:44,269
You hear Miles's trumpet
bouncing against the buildings
1044
01:25:44,436 --> 01:25:45,979
at night,
3 o'clock in the morning.
1045
01:25:48,940 --> 01:25:52,193
It sounds like New York
is a grand canyon of buildings.
1046
01:26:04,331 --> 01:26:06,958
It's this ominous thing,
1047
01:26:07,125 --> 01:26:09,878
it's like something getting
ready to happen.
1048
01:26:23,099 --> 01:26:27,687
Moving like an amoeba
that just moved along,
1049
01:26:28,188 --> 01:26:32,067
and it did like this, and then
something would stick out.
1050
01:26:32,233 --> 01:26:37,906
It was like this whole thing
just moved like this, together.
1051
01:26:55,340 --> 01:26:57,550
I had the jazz station on
and the guy was like,
1052
01:26:57,717 --> 01:27:00,595
"Oh, my God.
The new Miles just came in."
1053
01:27:16,069 --> 01:27:17,362
Then he said the name of it.
1054
01:27:17,529 --> 01:27:19,906
I was like, "Can you even
say that on the air?"
1055
01:27:20,073 --> 01:27:23,993
He said, "Forget the music.
Y'all gotta see this cover."
1056
01:27:27,580 --> 01:27:29,416
'Bitches Brew' sold faster
1057
01:27:29,582 --> 01:27:32,210
than any other album
I had ever done,
1058
01:27:32,377 --> 01:27:35,964
and sold more copies than
any other jazz album in history.
1059
01:27:38,967 --> 01:27:40,468
After he did 'Bitches Brew',
1060
01:27:40,635 --> 01:27:43,054
he started at the Fillmore East
and all of that stuff.
1061
01:27:44,431 --> 01:27:47,267
We're in the dressing room
and Miles got the check.
1062
01:27:48,768 --> 01:27:54,190
He's looking at it and we heard
him say, "I feel like a thief."
1063
01:27:59,487 --> 01:28:02,782
It was an Indian restaurant
on 125th Street.
1064
01:28:03,825 --> 01:28:06,494
We're sitting there, eating
and talking for about two hours.
1065
01:28:07,245 --> 01:28:09,914
So, we get up,
and as we're walking out,
1066
01:28:11,082 --> 01:28:12,917
he says,
"So, what do you think?"
1067
01:28:13,710 --> 01:28:17,380
I'm like, "First of all,
think about what?"
1068
01:28:17,547 --> 01:28:20,258
I mean, I'm trying to get my
brain into the conversation.
1069
01:28:20,425 --> 01:28:22,719
He said, "What do you think
about the music?"
1070
01:28:24,554 --> 01:28:28,433
And I do this because
they're playing Indian music.
1071
01:28:29,017 --> 01:28:32,145
And he said, "That's where we're
going on the new album,
1072
01:28:32,312 --> 01:28:33,354
'On the Corner'."
1073
01:28:33,521 --> 01:28:36,441
He said, "I'm gonna mix
tablas and sitar,
1074
01:28:36,608 --> 01:28:38,693
electric sitar with the funk."
1075
01:28:56,711 --> 01:28:59,589
The 'On the Corner' album,
there's no ambiguity.
1076
01:28:59,756 --> 01:29:00,965
We're going for this.
1077
01:29:02,050 --> 01:29:03,551
Bap! Boom! Bap!
1078
01:29:03,843 --> 01:29:05,470
It just got more intense.
1079
01:29:05,637 --> 01:29:08,139
Four, one, two.
That's what funk is.
1080
01:29:15,605 --> 01:29:16,940
They were just taking off.
1081
01:29:17,190 --> 01:29:20,568
They were making the Big Bang,
upping the ante every night,
1082
01:29:20,777 --> 01:29:24,656
just so gnarly
and dangerous with it
1083
01:29:24,906 --> 01:29:26,741
in terms of
the use of percussion
1084
01:29:26,908 --> 01:29:28,993
and the use of distortion.
1085
01:29:36,209 --> 01:29:37,835
This cosmic jungle music.
1086
01:29:40,755 --> 01:29:43,424
That's when we really
locked in to Miles
1087
01:29:43,591 --> 01:29:47,303
as kind of our
Hoodoo-voodoo priest of music.
1088
01:29:51,724 --> 01:29:54,269
This is acid music.
1089
01:29:55,478 --> 01:29:58,022
People who smoke weed
and they go there high
1090
01:29:58,189 --> 01:30:00,400
all of a sudden
they're straight.
1091
01:30:00,567 --> 01:30:02,694
And people who are straight,
they're high.
1092
01:30:03,570 --> 01:30:06,364
He totally changed everything
just by the way he was playing.
1093
01:30:13,746 --> 01:30:17,125
Miles's audience was changing
because his music was changing,
1094
01:30:17,709 --> 01:30:20,169
absorbing what was
happening now.
1095
01:30:20,336 --> 01:30:24,465
What was happening now.
Not ten years ago. Now.
1096
01:30:29,762 --> 01:30:34,058
I never understood what was
so appealing to so many people.
1097
01:30:36,978 --> 01:30:39,022
I was trying to figure out
what he heard in it.
1098
01:30:39,188 --> 01:30:40,356
I didn't understand it.
1099
01:30:41,274 --> 01:30:42,942
Plus, it didn't sound good.
1100
01:30:47,322 --> 01:30:48,698
People who say that,
1101
01:30:48,865 --> 01:30:51,909
I just always looked at them
like, "You're really ignorant
1102
01:30:52,076 --> 01:30:54,495
and what drove you to say that
is because you're jealous
1103
01:30:54,662 --> 01:30:58,708
because you could never be,
or have, or even comprehend
1104
01:30:58,875 --> 01:31:03,421
something that is beyond your
limited, twisted, crooked mind."
1105
01:31:04,505 --> 01:31:06,382
"Damn, Carlos,
that's a little harsh."
1106
01:31:06,549 --> 01:31:07,842
But it's accurate.
1107
01:31:15,433 --> 01:31:19,395
When you listen to
that slew of records
1108
01:31:19,562 --> 01:31:24,525
he made in rapid succession
about '69 through '75,
1109
01:31:24,692 --> 01:31:27,987
I mean, you hear the template
for hip-hop, for house,
1110
01:31:28,154 --> 01:31:30,490
drum and bass, electronica.
1111
01:31:30,657 --> 01:31:33,743
Miles was doing all of that
in the early '70s.
1112
01:31:34,452 --> 01:31:38,748
He's creating new music and
kind of disturbing the fabric.
1113
01:31:50,968 --> 01:31:52,804
When I was with him
he was pretty healthy.
1114
01:31:52,970 --> 01:31:54,138
He was doing very well.
1115
01:31:55,640 --> 01:31:58,851
Eating a good healthy diet,
keeping his body clean.
1116
01:31:59,894 --> 01:32:03,439
Of course he worked out
in the gym every day, boxing.
1117
01:32:03,606 --> 01:32:06,234
Those things were very important
at that time,
1118
01:32:06,401 --> 01:32:07,777
and that was really good.
1119
01:32:17,245 --> 01:32:19,789
I knew that Miles
was getting back into drugs,
1120
01:32:20,415 --> 01:32:22,875
even though he hadn't been
doing them around me,
1121
01:32:23,042 --> 01:32:25,294
because he was
getting paranoid a lot.
1122
01:32:26,671 --> 01:32:29,382
He was violent, he was abusive.
1123
01:32:31,426 --> 01:32:33,761
I said, "I'm not going to
live like this."
1124
01:32:38,683 --> 01:32:42,854
In October 1972,
I fell asleep at the wheel
1125
01:32:43,020 --> 01:32:45,690
and ran my Lamborghini
into a divider.
1126
01:32:46,649 --> 01:32:49,485
I was laid up for almost three
months and when I got home,
1127
01:32:49,652 --> 01:32:51,279
I had to walk on crutches
for a while,
1128
01:32:51,446 --> 01:32:53,698
which further fucked up
my bad hip.
1129
01:32:55,742 --> 01:32:59,287
That was probably the most
pivotal moment in his life.
1130
01:33:00,663 --> 01:33:04,500
The abject pain that he was in
from awakening to going to sleep
1131
01:33:05,251 --> 01:33:08,129
forced him,
and I say "forced him" to use
1132
01:33:08,296 --> 01:33:12,759
prescription medicine, cocaine,
alcohol, cigarettes,
1133
01:33:12,925 --> 01:33:14,302
anything to dull the pain.
1134
01:33:15,511 --> 01:33:19,557
He started taking fewer
and fewer jobs and tours.
1135
01:33:20,892 --> 01:33:24,187
Eventually, there was no band,
there was no Miles Davis band.
1136
01:33:27,356 --> 01:33:28,941
I was spiritually tired
1137
01:33:29,108 --> 01:33:31,360
of all the bullshit
I'd been going through
1138
01:33:31,527 --> 01:33:32,904
all those long years.
1139
01:33:33,738 --> 01:33:35,656
I felt artistically drained.
1140
01:33:37,450 --> 01:33:40,036
I didn't have anything else
to say, musically.
1141
01:33:40,912 --> 01:33:44,123
I knew that I needed a rest,
and so I took one.
1142
01:33:44,957 --> 01:33:48,377
I put down the thing
I love most in life, my music.
1143
01:33:49,712 --> 01:33:51,422
And the more I stayed away,
1144
01:33:51,589 --> 01:33:54,550
the deeper I sank
into another dark world.
1145
01:33:57,011 --> 01:34:02,016
His apartment building
was his cave
1146
01:34:03,017 --> 01:34:05,520
and he sequestered
himself there.
1147
01:34:06,395 --> 01:34:09,690
There were days,
weeks, he wouldn't go out.
1148
01:34:12,610 --> 01:34:13,945
When I was 15 or 16,
1149
01:34:14,111 --> 01:34:17,865
I would go and stay in New York
during that dark period.
1150
01:34:19,075 --> 01:34:21,869
I remember it being dark,
always dark in the house.
1151
01:34:22,286 --> 01:34:27,875
I just remember cigarettes,
beer bottles and cocaine.
1152
01:34:31,420 --> 01:34:34,799
I remember going to visit him
a couple of times.
1153
01:34:35,341 --> 01:34:36,801
It was a dark time for him.
1154
01:34:38,010 --> 01:34:39,804
He was... I wasn't...
1155
01:34:41,806 --> 01:34:43,266
I was a little bit scared
of him.
1156
01:34:45,560 --> 01:34:48,104
He was in there by himself,
just dealing with pain
1157
01:34:48,271 --> 01:34:49,522
and not playing.
1158
01:34:50,690 --> 01:34:55,945
I know, for him, not playing is
like not having water any more.
1159
01:34:59,323 --> 01:35:00,950
I just wanted it to stop.
1160
01:35:01,117 --> 01:35:02,869
I wanted the darkness to stop.
1161
01:35:04,203 --> 01:35:05,830
He was like a person
I never knew.
1162
01:35:06,497 --> 01:35:12,712
And I wanted him to get back
to being my uncle, my superhero.
1163
01:35:19,969 --> 01:35:21,470
I remember going up to Harlem
1164
01:35:22,138 --> 01:35:24,348
and there would be a woman
in the car with us.
1165
01:35:25,516 --> 01:35:29,103
She'd be sitting next to me
and Miles would drive up there
1166
01:35:29,270 --> 01:35:30,813
and then just say, "Wait."
1167
01:35:33,524 --> 01:35:38,487
He'd come out of the building
that he was in very high.
1168
01:35:40,823 --> 01:35:43,701
There would be cocaine smudges
on his face
1169
01:35:43,868 --> 01:35:47,163
and I'd wanna say something
but I was too afraid.
1170
01:35:49,624 --> 01:35:54,545
He would kind of nudge me over,
and he'd say, "You fucked her."
1171
01:35:55,755 --> 01:35:57,798
And I'd say,
"I didn't fuck her."
1172
01:35:57,965 --> 01:36:01,135
He goes, "We're not leaving 'til
you tell me you fucked her."
1173
01:36:03,387 --> 01:36:04,722
He'd shut the car off.
1174
01:36:05,765 --> 01:36:08,184
I said, "All right. I fucked her
on the hood. Can we go?"
1175
01:36:08,351 --> 01:36:11,187
And he goes, "And I thought
we were friends."
1176
01:36:11,979 --> 01:36:14,857
This is an evening with Miles.
1177
01:36:23,074 --> 01:36:25,493
Miles would come around
during that time.
1178
01:36:25,660 --> 01:36:28,663
He needed money
and we'd lend him some money,
1179
01:36:28,829 --> 01:36:31,874
which we figured was gone.
1180
01:36:33,542 --> 01:36:36,796
Whatever the case, we left there
one day, and I said to Marie,
1181
01:36:36,963 --> 01:36:38,547
I said, "I think that's the end,
1182
01:36:38,714 --> 01:36:40,675
there's no way he can come back
from this."
1183
01:36:41,801 --> 01:36:44,553
And I said, "But you never
can tell."
1184
01:36:47,056 --> 01:36:48,724
Around this same time,
1185
01:36:48,891 --> 01:36:51,769
Cicely Tyson started coming
to see me again.
1186
01:36:52,979 --> 01:36:55,356
She had been dropping by
throughout all of this,
1187
01:36:55,523 --> 01:36:58,234
but now she started coming by
more often.
1188
01:37:00,111 --> 01:37:03,781
He was in terrifically bad
health in those years.
1189
01:37:04,156 --> 01:37:06,575
It was thought by many people
he was in such bad shape
1190
01:37:06,742 --> 01:37:08,411
that he would never play
music again.
1191
01:37:08,577 --> 01:37:10,705
He even thought he might never
play music again.
1192
01:37:11,998 --> 01:37:13,666
Cicely inspires him
1193
01:37:13,833 --> 01:37:17,670
to see, once again,
that he has something to offer,
1194
01:37:18,004 --> 01:37:20,840
that with his creativity,
his creative voice,
1195
01:37:21,048 --> 01:37:22,925
he has not reached
his creative peak.
1196
01:37:25,177 --> 01:37:27,805
She helped run all those
people out of my house.
1197
01:37:27,972 --> 01:37:30,016
She kind of protected me
and started seeing
1198
01:37:30,182 --> 01:37:32,852
that I ate the right things
and didn't drink as much.
1199
01:37:33,019 --> 01:37:34,937
She helped get me off cocaine.
1200
01:37:36,022 --> 01:37:39,316
She would feed me health foods,
a lot of vegetables,
1201
01:37:39,483 --> 01:37:41,110
and a whole lot of juices.
1202
01:37:42,611 --> 01:37:45,489
He was running
up and down the beach
1203
01:37:45,656 --> 01:37:47,616
and trying to be a vegetarian,
1204
01:37:47,783 --> 01:37:51,412
which was amazing
because he couldn't do it.
1205
01:37:53,039 --> 01:37:56,042
Miles would say, "Come by
the house, pick me up, man,
1206
01:37:56,208 --> 01:37:58,335
take me somewhere
where they got meat.
1207
01:38:00,379 --> 01:38:03,591
Just let me smell the smells
1208
01:38:03,758 --> 01:38:06,093
and then get me
a hot link sandwich."
1209
01:38:09,555 --> 01:38:13,350
Miles needed those years
to summon up the strength
1210
01:38:14,060 --> 01:38:20,733
to kick drugs, to play again,
to handle the public,
1211
01:38:21,358 --> 01:38:25,529
to handle the touring,
to handle the critics, to live.
1212
01:38:27,656 --> 01:38:32,369
From 1975 until early 1980,
I didn’t pick up my horn.
1213
01:38:33,037 --> 01:38:36,499
For over four years
I didn’t pick it up once.
1214
01:38:38,793 --> 01:38:41,504
In the end,
it was almost six years.
1215
01:38:44,215 --> 01:38:46,425
He kept bringing tapes
to my office
1216
01:38:47,093 --> 01:38:50,429
of a different sounding band,
electronic band.
1217
01:38:51,514 --> 01:38:55,434
I said, "I'll pay you $70,000
to do two concerts
1218
01:38:55,601 --> 01:38:57,103
at Avery Fisher Hall."
1219
01:38:58,479 --> 01:39:01,649
He looked at me as if I was
crazy, nobody did that.
1220
01:39:03,526 --> 01:39:09,782
I wrote out a check for $35,000
and gave it to him.
1221
01:39:14,078 --> 01:39:15,454
I held my breath.
1222
01:39:17,248 --> 01:39:18,874
I bought a brand-new,
1223
01:39:19,041 --> 01:39:25,756
canary-yellow 308 GTSi Ferrari
sports coupe, with a targa top.
1224
01:39:27,466 --> 01:39:29,635
I was ready to go back to music.
1225
01:39:33,347 --> 01:39:36,976
He bought that car
just to show up at that gig.
1226
01:39:37,143 --> 01:39:42,690
Yeah, man. I bought a new shirt,
he bought a Ferrari.
1227
01:39:46,360 --> 01:39:47,903
Miles was back.
1228
01:39:54,660 --> 01:39:57,955
And he had this whole new sound
with all the young musicians.
1229
01:40:05,838 --> 01:40:07,131
He was seven years out
1230
01:40:07,298 --> 01:40:08,799
and all of a sudden
he came back.
1231
01:40:09,675 --> 01:40:12,219
I mean this cat could've stopped
completely and said,
1232
01:40:12,386 --> 01:40:13,679
"I've done enough."
1233
01:40:13,846 --> 01:40:16,015
And everybody would have said,
"You sure have."
1234
01:40:16,182 --> 01:40:17,600
But he wanted to keep going.
1235
01:40:30,196 --> 01:40:34,658
It wasn't just a comeback
of an artist,
1236
01:40:34,825 --> 01:40:36,410
it was a comeback
of a human being.
1237
01:40:40,206 --> 01:40:42,625
I never saw anybody do that
like he did.
1238
01:40:45,628 --> 01:40:48,464
Do you still enjoy playing jazz
festivals in Europe?
1239
01:40:48,631 --> 01:40:51,508
Yes. I love to play in Europe
jazz festivals.
1240
01:40:51,675 --> 01:40:54,053
What about Molde?
You're arriving late.
1241
01:40:54,720 --> 01:40:56,096
I was sick this morning.
1242
01:40:56,680 --> 01:41:00,017
Starting with the first tour,
we were in a different city
1243
01:41:00,184 --> 01:41:02,478
or a different country
every single day.
1244
01:41:05,689 --> 01:41:07,942
Say a show starts at 8 o'clock,
1245
01:41:09,652 --> 01:41:12,696
we'd get back to the hotel
by midnight,
1246
01:41:13,239 --> 01:41:15,032
after that, he wants to paint.
1247
01:41:17,368 --> 01:41:20,204
He'd just pick up whatever
writing device he had
1248
01:41:20,371 --> 01:41:21,580
and start to draw.
1249
01:41:25,334 --> 01:41:26,460
When we were on the road,
1250
01:41:26,627 --> 01:41:29,004
he drew on the plane,
he drew in the car.
1251
01:41:29,171 --> 01:41:31,173
He drew in the lounge
waiting for the plane.
1252
01:41:31,924 --> 01:41:34,677
We get to the gig, he's drawing
in the dressing room.
1253
01:41:35,594 --> 01:41:37,638
It was literally flowing
through his arm,
1254
01:41:37,805 --> 01:41:39,473
into his hand, onto the paper.
1255
01:41:41,225 --> 01:41:42,977
When you make a wrong line,
1256
01:41:43,143 --> 01:41:46,355
does it feel with you like
the same as in music?
1257
01:41:46,772 --> 01:41:50,192
The note next to the one
that you think is bad,
1258
01:41:50,985 --> 01:41:53,362
corrects the one in front.
1259
01:42:01,996 --> 01:42:04,290
It was early morning
and I was going running.
1260
01:42:04,581 --> 01:42:07,209
I was waiting by the elevator
and the elevator opened
1261
01:42:07,376 --> 01:42:09,670
and there he was.
1262
01:42:10,504 --> 01:42:15,426
My heart was racing.
It was like in a movie
1263
01:42:15,592 --> 01:42:17,303
when you meet the vampire
1264
01:42:17,469 --> 01:42:19,847
and you know you're gonna die
and you don't care.
1265
01:42:20,681 --> 01:42:22,683
I looked back and he said,
"You better run fast
1266
01:42:22,850 --> 01:42:24,727
'cause when I get back
I'm gonna catch you."
1267
01:42:25,602 --> 01:42:28,564
And that was it.
We started painting together.
1268
01:42:35,612 --> 01:42:38,615
There was just all this interest
in everything he was doing
1269
01:42:38,782 --> 01:42:39,867
coming from everywhere.
1270
01:42:40,034 --> 01:42:41,910
Miles, what got you
into painting?
1271
01:42:42,119 --> 01:42:43,954
He was never more in demand.
1272
01:42:44,204 --> 01:42:45,331
Who are you guys?
1273
01:42:46,081 --> 01:42:48,709
It seems almost as if he forgot
who he had been.
1274
01:42:48,876 --> 01:42:50,377
It's like a brand-new start
for me.
1275
01:42:50,544 --> 01:42:51,962
He was on talk shows...
1276
01:42:52,129 --> 01:42:54,590
Hello, good evening.
This is Miles Davis.
1277
01:42:54,757 --> 01:42:55,924
...on late night television.
1278
01:42:56,091 --> 01:42:56,675
Miles Davis.
1279
01:42:56,842 --> 01:42:57,426
Miles Davis.
1280
01:42:57,593 --> 01:42:58,218
Miles Davis.
1281
01:42:58,385 --> 01:42:59,261
Miles Davis.
1282
01:42:59,595 --> 01:43:00,512
Miles Davis!
1283
01:43:01,555 --> 01:43:05,684
He was accepting interviews
in every city he played in.
1284
01:43:06,185 --> 01:43:09,104
He was a totally different
seeming person.
1285
01:43:16,904 --> 01:43:19,990
He was even going out
and sitting in with Prince.
1286
01:43:20,282 --> 01:43:24,411
He loved Prince. It was destiny
that they worked together.
1287
01:43:31,293 --> 01:43:33,796
I got a call from Tommy LiPuma
1288
01:43:33,962 --> 01:43:37,508
who was an A&R
vice president at Warner Bros.
1289
01:43:37,674 --> 01:43:39,968
He said, "Miles Davis
just left Columbia
1290
01:43:40,135 --> 01:43:41,553
and he's coming to Warner Bros."
1291
01:43:41,720 --> 01:43:43,430
I said, "Really?
Congratulations!"
1292
01:43:43,597 --> 01:43:44,807
He said,
"Do you have any music?"
1293
01:43:50,437 --> 01:43:54,233
As soon as I hung up the phone,
that bass line to "Tutu" hit me.
1294
01:44:04,993 --> 01:44:07,996
When I'm writing a song for
somebody if I can see them going
1295
01:44:08,288 --> 01:44:10,916
like grooving to the song, I go,
"OK, this is right for him."
1296
01:44:16,755 --> 01:44:19,508
I'm looking across the studio
and I'm looking at Miles.
1297
01:44:20,008 --> 01:44:22,803
And then he just started playing
stuff on the piano for me.
1298
01:44:24,805 --> 01:44:25,973
Looking back on it,
1299
01:44:26,140 --> 01:44:29,726
I realise this dude never
recorded like that before,
1300
01:44:30,018 --> 01:44:32,271
with headphones,
playing to a track
1301
01:44:32,438 --> 01:44:34,857
with drum machines
and all that stuff.
1302
01:44:38,318 --> 01:44:39,528
He was into it,
1303
01:44:39,695 --> 01:44:42,531
he wasn't just like stepping
gingerly into it, he owned it.
1304
01:44:42,698 --> 01:44:43,532
Yeah!
1305
01:44:45,951 --> 01:44:48,871
At the core, he's just
staying that young kid
1306
01:44:49,037 --> 01:44:50,831
who came to New York
to play the hip music.
1307
01:44:50,998 --> 01:44:52,916
He wanted to always have
that feeling.
1308
01:44:56,879 --> 01:44:59,756
Miles never talked about
his old records.
1309
01:45:00,215 --> 01:45:01,550
He didn't keep them
in the house.
1310
01:45:01,717 --> 01:45:02,968
He didn't have any of them.
1311
01:45:03,177 --> 01:45:05,971
Not one of them and he didn't
want them in there.
1312
01:45:06,138 --> 01:45:08,348
He wanted only the stuff
he was working on.
1313
01:45:19,026 --> 01:45:21,862
When I first got in the band,
Miles seemed cool.
1314
01:45:22,029 --> 01:45:25,240
He was alert and on top of it,
1315
01:45:25,407 --> 01:45:29,244
but soon after that,
he started looking not so good.
1316
01:45:30,537 --> 01:45:33,081
If you see a concert we did
on Saturday Night Live,
1317
01:45:33,248 --> 01:45:34,791
you'll see
what I'm talking about.
1318
01:45:34,958 --> 01:45:38,504
He's just kind of moving
and his sound is very fragile.
1319
01:45:40,255 --> 01:45:44,343
He was tormented
'cause he couldn't get the tone.
1320
01:45:46,386 --> 01:45:48,722
Sometimes he'd hobble
around the stage.
1321
01:45:48,889 --> 01:45:51,391
But he was still Miles.
1322
01:46:03,695 --> 01:46:05,531
I'd been trying
for fifteen years, man.
1323
01:46:06,698 --> 01:46:10,953
I kept bugging him about it.
Kept bugging him about it.
1324
01:46:11,119 --> 01:46:13,539
And he said, "OK, motherfucker."
1325
01:46:14,289 --> 01:46:16,583
If he never played another note,
he doesn't have to
1326
01:46:16,750 --> 01:46:19,920
because he has led the way
on the cutting edge
1327
01:46:20,087 --> 01:46:21,630
for the last 50 years.
1328
01:46:21,797 --> 01:46:24,216
To see him at 65 years old
1329
01:46:24,383 --> 01:46:28,679
trying to recreate his 25-year-
old self was just amazing, man.
1330
01:46:29,304 --> 01:46:30,973
My love, my brother,
1331
01:46:31,139 --> 01:46:34,476
and one of my favorite musicians
and idols, Miles Davis!
1332
01:46:36,270 --> 01:46:37,813
Yeah, I loved him, man.
1333
01:46:38,855 --> 01:46:41,733
It just makes my soul smile.
1334
01:46:46,989 --> 01:46:49,074
There was a tune
called "The Pan Piper".
1335
01:46:49,700 --> 01:46:53,328
I knew that
that was a hard piece,
1336
01:46:54,204 --> 01:46:57,457
and I wasn't sure that he'd
be able to play that one.
1337
01:47:03,672 --> 01:47:05,173
He would never say that.
1338
01:47:10,804 --> 01:47:15,058
So, when it was time for us
to do it, I remember jumping in.
1339
01:47:29,114 --> 01:47:30,490
I remember him telling me,
1340
01:47:30,657 --> 01:47:33,619
"Listen, if I ever went back
to that old stuff, I'd die."
1341
01:47:35,579 --> 01:47:38,874
I sat there in front of the TV
and I was like, "He's sick.
1342
01:47:40,250 --> 01:47:41,209
He's sick."
1343
01:47:52,721 --> 01:47:57,059
He said, "When God punishes you,
it's not that you..."
1344
01:47:59,144 --> 01:48:00,354
It's so sad.
1345
01:48:01,396 --> 01:48:03,607
"...It's not that you don't get
what you want.
1346
01:48:05,317 --> 01:48:09,488
You get everything that you want
and there's no time left."
1347
01:48:17,746 --> 01:48:18,914
Miles Davis!
1348
01:48:20,082 --> 01:48:21,208
Quincy Jones!
1349
01:48:27,839 --> 01:48:32,135
Miles went into the hospital,
Labor Day weekend of 1991.
1350
01:48:33,595 --> 01:48:36,014
We were talking
and listening to music.
1351
01:48:36,181 --> 01:48:40,852
I looked at him and he looked
funny, like, still.
1352
01:48:41,019 --> 01:48:44,356
Then I looked up and a doctor
came in to the door,
1353
01:48:44,523 --> 01:48:47,984
he walked over
and it was just a second.
1354
01:48:48,151 --> 01:48:50,362
I was sitting with his head
in my lap
1355
01:48:51,196 --> 01:48:53,073
and the doctor started
pounding on him.
1356
01:48:53,240 --> 01:48:55,784
Then he beeped something
and then another doctor came in
1357
01:48:55,951 --> 01:48:58,245
and a bunch of doctors
and nurses came in.
1358
01:48:58,412 --> 01:49:02,082
And I was still sitting
on the bed and he was blank.
1359
01:49:02,290 --> 01:49:05,293
I mean, he was breathing.
I knew he didn't die.
1360
01:49:05,460 --> 01:49:07,003
It was horrifying.
1361
01:49:07,170 --> 01:49:11,258
They're working on him and
pounding him and injecting him,
1362
01:49:11,425 --> 01:49:13,677
and then they roll us
both out like that
1363
01:49:13,844 --> 01:49:16,138
into the elevator,
into the hall.
1364
01:49:16,304 --> 01:49:18,890
They didn't even notice
that I was on the bed
1365
01:49:19,057 --> 01:49:21,268
when his head was still
next to me.
1366
01:49:21,435 --> 01:49:24,354
We were surrounded by people,
1367
01:49:24,521 --> 01:49:29,985
we're in the elevator and
they said, "He had a stroke."
1368
01:49:45,876 --> 01:49:48,170
Deborah, my ex-wife,
called me, and she says,
1369
01:49:48,336 --> 01:49:51,089
"I think you'd better hold on
to something."
1370
01:49:51,256 --> 01:49:53,425
I said, "Well, what's going on?"
and she says,
1371
01:49:54,885 --> 01:49:56,511
"Miles Davis just passed."
1372
01:50:05,854 --> 01:50:08,356
And it just felt like...
1373
01:50:12,235 --> 01:50:17,240
someone hit me with a jackhammer
over the head.
1374
01:50:29,294 --> 01:50:30,670
I think Miles was definitely,
1375
01:50:30,837 --> 01:50:33,548
without a doubt, the most
unique person I've ever known.
1376
01:50:39,095 --> 01:50:42,474
He did things in a different way
than everybody else.
1377
01:50:42,641 --> 01:50:45,393
He looked at things differently,
he saw things differently.
1378
01:50:48,146 --> 01:50:49,689
You have to be true to yourself,
1379
01:50:49,856 --> 01:50:52,234
and I think a lot of that
was his philosophy.
1380
01:50:59,866 --> 01:51:03,036
How can someone come up
with such beautiful music
1381
01:51:03,203 --> 01:51:04,996
when you can have
that other side?
1382
01:51:06,498 --> 01:51:11,002
Sometimes I couldn't take it.
Sometimes it was just perfecto.
1383
01:51:15,298 --> 01:51:21,054
I don't regret, I don't forget,
but I still love.
1384
01:51:27,853 --> 01:51:28,895
I miss him.
1385
01:51:29,062 --> 01:51:31,273
I miss him.
I dream about him a lot.
1386
01:51:33,900 --> 01:51:35,110
He...
1387
01:51:36,236 --> 01:51:37,612
What a big presence.
1388
01:51:48,748 --> 01:51:50,083
Of course I loved him.
1389
01:51:52,002 --> 01:51:57,507
He was like a brother who did
dumb things and you accepted it.
1390
01:52:05,265 --> 01:52:06,349
He was real.
1391
01:52:10,854 --> 01:52:11,855
Very real.
1392
01:52:15,066 --> 01:52:18,069
There won't be
many Mileses again.
1393
01:52:19,905 --> 01:52:21,948
That's enough. I'm through.
109148
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