Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

This article is about the documentary film. For the Miles Davis album from which the film takes its name, see Birth of the Cool.

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
Poster
Directed by	Stanley Nelson Jr.
Produced by	Stanley Nelson Jr. Nicole London [1]
Narrated by	Carl Lumbly[2]
Edited by	Lewis Erskine[1]
Release date	January 2019 (2019-01) (Sundance Film Festival)[3]
Running time	114 minutes
Language	English

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool is a 2019 American documentary film about Miles Davis, directed by Stanley Nelson Jr.[4][5][6][7]

Production

The film was made for the PBS American Masters television series[8] and premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.[9][10] It uses interviews that Nelson has done with people who knew Davis, and with scholars, as well as still photographs and film clips. The text of the voice-over narration (performed by Carl Lumbly) is entirely by Davis.[8]

Accolades

The film won two Emmy Awards in 2021 for Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary and Outstanding Sound.[11] It was also nominated for Best Music Film at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2019, but lost to Beyoncé's Homecoming.

Cast

• Carl Lumbly (as Miles Davis; narrator)
• Miles Davis (as self; archive footage)
• Frances Taylor Davis (as self)
• Reginald Petty (as self)
• Quincy Troupe (as self)
• Farah Griffin (as self)
• Lee Annie Bonner (as self)
• Ashley Kahn (as self)
• Benjamin Cawthra (as self)
• Billy Eckstine (as self; archive footage)
• Walter Cronkite (as self; archive footage)
• Jimmy Heath (as self)
• Jimmy Cobb (as self)
• Dan Morgenstern (as self)
• Charlie Parker (as self; archive footage)
• Greg Tate (as self)
• Gerald Early (as self)
• Quincy Jones (as self)
• Wayne Shorter (as self)
• Ron Carter (as self)
• George Wein (as self)
• Stanley Crouch (as self)
• Herbie Hancock (as self)

See also

• List of American Masters episodes
• Cool jazz
• Modal jazz

References

1. "Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool". Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
2. "Miles Davis: Birth Of The Cool - the film". Jazz Journal. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
3. Kreps, Daniel (19 February 2020). "'Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool': PBS Shares New Trailer, Clip for Doc". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
4. "'Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool' Review: A Complicated Artist". The New York Times. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
5. Chiu, David. "'Miles Davis: Birth Of The Cool' Documentary Explores The Life And Career Of A Musical Trailblazer". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
6. "Review: Miles Davis biopic, Birth of the Cool". Jazzwise. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
7. Allen, Nick. "Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool movie review (2019)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
8. "Review: "Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool" and the Problem of the Archive". The New Yorker. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
9. DeFore, John (28 January 2019). "'Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool': Sundance 2019 Film Review". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
10. Gleiberman, Owen (31 January 2019). "Sundance Film Review: 'Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool'". Variety. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
11. Grein, Paul (2021-09-30). "'Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool' Doc Wins 2 Emmy Awards". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-07-05.

External links

• Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool at IMDb
• Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool at Rotten Tomatoes