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Miles Ahead (film)
''Miles Ahead'' is a 2015 American biographical-drama film directed by Don Cheadle in his feature directorial debut, which Cheadle co-wrote with Steven Baigelman, Stephen J. Rivele, and Christopher Wilkinson, which interprets the life and compositions of jazz musician Miles Davis. The film stars Cheadle, Emayatzy Corinealdi, and Ewan McGregor, and closed the New York Film Festival on October 11, 2015. The film takes its title from Davis's 1957 album. Cheadle took a free-form approach to the film's narrative. Skipping around in time, it depicts Davis' attempts to get his career back on track following a period of inactivity and drug addiction in the 1970s, fictional adventures with a journalist (played by McGregor) who wants to profile him, and his troubled marriage to a former dancer (Corinealdi). The film's score covers, in non-linear fashion, Davis' actual recordings throughout his career, beginning with '' Agharta'' (1975) before jumping back and forth in scenes featuring '' K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don Cheadle
Donald Frank Cheadle Jr. (; born November 29, 1964) is an American actor. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including two Grammy Awards, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has also earned nominations for an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards and 11 Primetime Emmy Awards. His Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony nominations make him one of few black individuals to be nominated for the four major American entertainment awards (EGOT). Following early roles in ''Hamburger Hill'' (1987), and as the gangster "Rocket" in the film ''Colors'' (1988), Cheadle built his career in the 1990s with roles in ''Devil in a Blue Dress'' (1995), '' Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault'' (1996), ''Rosewood'' (1997), and '' Boogie Nights'' (1997). His collaboration with director Steven Soderbergh resulted in the films ''Out of Sight'' (1998), ''Traffic'' (2000), ''The Ocean's Trilogy'' (2001–2007), and ''No Sudden Move'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Variety (magazine)
''Variety'' is an American media company owned by Penske Media Corporation. The company was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933 it added ''Daily Variety'', based in Los Angeles, to cover the motion-picture industry. ''Variety.com'' features entertainment news, reviews, box office results, cover stories, videos, photo galleries and features, plus a credits database, production charts and calendar, with archive content dating back to 1905. History Foundation ''Variety'' has been published since December 16, 1905, when it was launched by Sime Silverman as a weekly periodical covering theater and vaudeville with its headquarters in New York City. Silverman had been fired by ''The Morning Telegraph'' in 1905 for panning an act which had taken out an advert for $50. As a result, he decided to start his own publication "that ouldnot be influenced by advertising." With a loan of $1,500 from his father- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the post-bop sound. In the 1970s, Hancock experimented with jazz fusion, funk, and electro styles, utilizing a wide array of synthesizers and electronics. It was during this period that he released perhaps his best-known and most influential album, ''Head Hunters''. Hancock's best-known compositions include " Cantaloupe Island", " Watermelon Man", " Maiden Voyage", and " Chameleon", all of which are jazz standards. During the 1980s, he enjoyed a hit single with the electronic instrumental " Rockit", a collaboration with bassist/producer Bill Laswell. Hancock has won an Academy Award and 14 Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year for his 200 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Evans
William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block chords, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines continues to influence jazz pianists today. Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, United States, he was classically trained at Southeastern Louisiana University and the Mannes School of Music, in New York City, where he majored in composition and received the Artist Diploma. In 1955, he moved to New York City, where he worked with bandleader and theorist George Russell. In 1958, Evans joined Miles Davis's sextet, which in 1959, then immersed in modal jazz, recorded '' Kind of Blue'', the best-selling jazz album ever. In late 1959, Evans left the Miles Davis band and began his career as a leader, with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian, a group now regarded as a se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gil Evans
Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian–American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role in the development of cool jazz, modal jazz, free jazz, and jazz fusion. He is best known for his acclaimed collaborations with Miles Davis. Early life Gil Evans was born in Toronto, Canada on May 13, 1912 to Margaret Julia McConnachy. Little is known about Evans' biological father, although a family friend said that he was a doctor who had died before Evans was born. Originally named Gilmore Ian Ernest Green, Evans took the last name of his step-father, John Evans, a miner. The family moved frequently, living in Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon, migrating to wherever Evans' father could find work. Eventually, the family ended up in California, first in Berkeley, where Evans attended the ninth and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sketches Of Spain
''Sketches of Spain'' is an album by Miles Davis, recorded between November 1959 and March 1960 at the Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City. An extended version of the second movement of Joaquín Rodrigo's ''Concierto de Aranjuez'' (1939) is included, as well as a piece called "Will o' the Wisp", from Manuel de Falla's ballet ''El amor brujo'' (1914–1915). ''Sketches of Spain'' is regarded as an exemplary recording of Third Stream, a musical fusion of jazz, European classical, and styles from world music. Background Davis' wife Frances Davis insisted he accompany her to a performance by flamenco dancer Roberto Iglesias. Inspired by the performance, Davis bought every flamenco album he could get at Colony Records shop in New York City. The album pairs Davis with arranger and composer Gil Evans, with whom he had collaborated on several other projects, on a program of compositions largely derived from the Spanish folk tradition. Evans explained: ehadn't intended to m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frances Taylor Davis
Frances Taylor Davis (September 28, 1929 – November 17, 2018) was an American dancer and actress who was a member of the Katherine Dunham Company, and the first African American ballerina to perform with the Paris Opera Ballet. Credited as Elizabeth Taylor, she had roles in the Broadway musicals ''Mr. Wonderful'', '' Shinbone Alley'', and was an original cast member of ''West Side Story''. Taylor also appeared in the Off-Broadway productions of ''Carmen Jones'' and ''Porgy and Bess''. At the peak of her career, she left Broadway to marry jazz musician Miles Davis. Life and career Early life Taylor was born on September 28, 1929 in Chicago, Illinois. Taylor grew up in the Rosenwald Courts in Chicago. Her father worked at the post office. She began dancing classical ballet at the age of 8, and by the age of 16 she was performing '' Swan Lake''. Her instructor encouraged her to audition for the Edna McRae School of the Dance where she became the only African American stud ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sony Classics
Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloom. It distributes, produces and acquires specialty films such as documentaries, independent and arthouse films in the United States and internationally. As of 2015, Barker and Bernard are co-presidents of the division. History Sony Pictures Classics was formed in 1992, by Michael Barker, Tom Bernard, and Marcie Bloom, set up as an autonomous division of Sony Pictures. The model of the company is to produce, acquire and/or distribute independent films from the United States and internationally. Sony Pictures Classics has released prestigious films that have won 37 Academy Awards and garnered 155 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture nominations for '' The Father'', ''Call Me By Your Name'', ''Whiplash'', '' Amour'', ''Midnight in Paris'', ''An Educ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
We Want Miles
''We Want Miles'' is a double album recorded by jazz trumpeter Miles Davis in 1981, produced by Teo Macero and released by Columbia Records in 1982. The album combines recordings from the first live appearances by Davis in more than five years, at Boston's Kix Club, on June 27, 1981. Other tracks were recorded at Avery Fisher Hall, New York City, on July 5, and a specially prepared stage at Nishi-Shinjuku in Tokyo, Japan, October 4 of that year. Background Miles Davis had returned to the studio in 1980, after a long hiatus during which he left the trumpet alone and focused on women and cocaine, according to his autobiography. Changing some personnel while recording '' The Man with the Horn'', he formed a live band consisting of Mike Stern on guitar (replacing Barry Finnerty), Al Foster on drums, Mino Cinelu on percussion (he had replaced Sammy Figueroa), Bill Evans on soprano, and Marcus Miller on bass.Freeman 178-80. By this time it had been six years since he played live. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bitches Brew
''Bitches Brew'' is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Miles Davis. It was recorded from August 19 to 21, 1969, at Columbia's Studio B in New York City and released on March 30, 1970 by Columbia Records. It marked his continuing experimentation with electric instruments that he had featured on his previous record, the critically acclaimed ''In a Silent Way'' (1969). With these instruments, such as the electric piano and guitar, Davis departed from traditional jazz rhythms in favor of loose, rock-influenced arrangements based on improvisation. The final tracks were edited and pieced together by producer Teo Macero. The album initially received a mixed critical and commercial response, but it gained momentum and became Davis' highest-charting album on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200, peaking at No. 35. In 1971, it won a Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. In 1976, it became Davis' first gold album to be certified by the Recording Industry A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Someday My Prince Will Come (Miles Davis Album)
''Someday My Prince Will Come'' is the seventh studio album by Miles Davis for Columbia Records, catalogue CL 1656 and CS 8456 in stereo, released in 1961. Recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in Manhattan, New York City, it marked the only Miles Davis Quintet studio recording session to feature saxophonist Hank Mobley. Background Keeping to his standard procedure at Columbia to date of alternating small group records and big band studio projects with Gil Evans, Davis followed up ''Sketches of Spain'' with an album by his working quintet. In 1960, however, the jazz world had been in flux. Although Davis had garnered acclaim for ''Kind of Blue'', the entrance of Ornette Coleman and free jazz via his Fall 1959 residency at the Five Spot Café and his albums for Atlantic Records had created controversy, and turned attention away from Davis. Production Similarly, Davis' touring band had been in flux. In 1959, Cannonball Adderley left to form his own group with his brother, reduc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kind Of Blue
''Kind of Blue'' is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Miles Davis. It was recorded on March 2 and April 22, 1959, at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City, and released on August 17 of that year by Columbia Records. For the recording, Davis led a sextet featuring saxophonists John Coltrane and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, pianist Bill Evans, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Jimmy Cobb, with new band pianist Wynton Kelly appearing on one track – "Freddie Freeloader" – in place of Evans. Influenced in part by Evans, who had joined the ensemble in 1958, Davis departed further from his early hard bop style in favor of greater experimentation with musical modes, as on his previous album ''Milestones'' (1958). Basing ''Kind of Blue'' entirely on modality, he gave each performer a set of scales that encompassed the parameters of their improvisation and style, and consequently more creative freedom with melodies; Coltrane later expande ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
