jazz

“Miles Ahead” of Other Biopics?

Don Cheadle as Mr. Davis in “Miles Ahead”

It’s safe to say that biopics of famous musicians is not everyone’s favorite film genre—esp. when it comes to iconic rock/pop superstars. High expectations can be easily shot down by a fan’s extensive knowledge of their favorites vs. the often formulaic storyline of difficult childhood-rise to fame-wilderness years-redemption.

With the subject or his/her estate often acting as executive producer, one can expect that the rough edges will get sanded down (the uninspired “Marley: One Love”) or omitted entirely: the new “Michael” blockbuster conveniently ends Mr. Jackson’s story in 1987, just before the first child-abuse allegations.

Other times these movies can fly off in the direction of Icarus-style myth (Oliver Stone’s fever dream “The Doors”) or just land with a quiet thud. This could be said of the earnest “Bruce Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” where the recording of the Boss’ uncommercial “Nebraska” album, staves off his impending super-duper stardom while he comes to terms with his troubled father and a composite girlfriend. The same goes for Timothee Chalamet as Dylan in the underwhelming “A Complete Unknown.” Uncle Bob’s life is so extremely documented that it would be extraordinary to come up with a fresh angle: and that film didn’t.

Is there any way out of these common pitfalls? Well, you could just give up and commit to the more entertaining parody biopic. The 2007 howler “Walk Hard” (starring John C. Reilly as “Dewey Cox”) features the greatest of all difficult-childhood scenarios when young Dewey gets ostracized after accidentally cutting his brother in half with a machete.

But for films based on an actual person may I submit “Miles Ahead,” the 2016 joint directed by Don Cheadle and starring himself as the tempestuous jazz legend. Cheadle has the Miles Davis look and raspy voice down pat. The movie heads down the “wilderness years” path as the trumpeting icon contemplates and end to his 5-year layoff that began in 1975.

Well, “contemplate” may be too soft a word. Davis was famously contentious, imperious and volatile. Cheadle, instead of filing down the rough edges, doubles down on this reputation. And in a big way: there is so much cocaine and gunplay in “Miles Ahead” that it makes the notorious East Coast-West Coast rap wars look like a kindergarten recess.

Don Cheadle’s Miles Davis shows Ewan McGregor’s reporter the most effective way to negotiate with the bigwigs at Columbia Records.

The apocryphal storyline concerns the theft of some coveted home-studio tapes that becomes a MacGuffin among various parties (including Columbia Records that wants Davis to deliver some product). The film co-stars the reliable Ewan McGregor as a dodgy (and fictional) Rolling Stone reporter named Dave Brill. He worms his way into Miles’ New York City lair in hopes of getting the comeback scoop—but not before getting punched in the face for his trouble. But eventually, Davis lets the “Irish prick” become his driver and drug buddy while opening up a bit about his life and music.

As hinted at in the trailer, Cheadle employs an impressionistic style that blends the late Seventies plot with glimpses of his popular late Fifties peak, with dynamic concert reconstructions and scenes of his troubled first marriage to dancer Frances Taylor (Emayatzy Corinealdi)

Then it’s straight back to the thug life. There’s an improbable (but really fun) car chase thru nighttime Manhattan with Dave as his reluctant accomplice, although before long the reporter is brandishing a firearm as well.

Sure, this is all a bit off-the-hook but delivered with an irreverence I found easy to like. Plus, Miles’ famously flinty personality makes for some great one-liners: when a fawning white fanboy insists on over-complimenting his idol, Davis can only reply, “Back up off of me, Hitler!”

Of course, the soundtrack here is a big selling point as well. Casual fans will enjoy the snatches from such well-known classics like “Kind of Blue” and “Sketches of Spain” while deep-diving connoisseurs will love the fact that the first sounds heard are from the cosmic cacophony of “Agharta,” the last LP he put out before his hiatus.

To top it off, “Miles Ahead” has a beautifully well-crafted ending. When Cheadle’s Davis wanders onto stage for his expected 1980 comeback and raises his trumpet, we are delighted to find that his band is made up of a couple of his old bandmates (saxophonist Wayne Shorter and pianist Herbie Hancock) as well as some torch-carrying younger players, such as bassist Esperranza Spalding and guitarist Gary Clark, Jr. It is a sweet way to go out and a reminder that maybe if you mix the sentimental vibe with a little irreverence along the way, you may be on your way to a better biopic.

Koln 75: The Girl Behind an Epic Concert

Stylish, brash, and unusual at times, the 2025 German film “Koln ‘75” injects some life into a moribund genre: fictional features based on real-life rock stars or musical events. It tells the tale of about how teenage concert promoter Vera Brandes booked (despite a variety of obstacles) Keith’s Jarrett’s exalted “Koln Concert,” a completely improvised one-hour performance that became the biggest-selling solo jazz album in history.

After the dullish results of such entries as Bob Marley: One Love, Bruce Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere and Back to Black (the Amy Winehouse misfire, 35% on Rotten Tomatoes) the freewheeling enthusiasm of “Koln 75” is like a blinding ray of sunshine after a month of overcast days. A lot of this is due to the focus on the precocious Brandes (played by an effervescent Mala Emde) and her equally spirited friends. I will venture to say that a Keith Jarrett biopic would not have been as fun, although the brooding pianist (played by American actor John Magaro, below) is a notable presence, esp. in his scene with Brandes.

For a little background, Keith Jarrett had been doing his solo recitals across Europe, just him and his manager, travelling in that type of car you see there that is built for neither comfort nor speed. He was in physical pain, wearing a back brace, and having trouble sleeping and eating. But when Vera sees Keith perform his majestic improvisations at a West Berlin jazz fest, the teen has both a musical revelation and a more practical one. Though she was already booking local shows for the London-based Ronnie Scott Trio, Brandes was under intense pressure from her tyrannical father to give up her bohemian ways and go into the family business—dentistry.

Don’t expect much Jarrett music in “Koln 75” aside from the few minutes where a mesmerized Brandes watches the maestro in Berlin. Here is the concluding segment from the actual show.

She figures that pulling off a show at her hometown opera house by a renowned pianist who she intuitively knew was onto something special would prove she had the chops to make it in the business. That she was able to do this (later becoming a prolific producer and music researcher) despite multiple snafus gives the movie its manic energy that resembles at times both “24 Hour Party People” and fellow German film “Run Lola Run.”

Seemingly faced with the prospect of offering Jarrett the hall’s sub-standard rehearsal piano, the unusual late-night starting time (after that night’s opera performance) and Jarrett’s physical issues, “Koln 75” kicks into comic high gear as Vera chases down piano tuners and desperately tries to whip up publicity. When Jarrett refuses to play on the busted-ass baby grand, he and Vera have a climatic clash of wills, where the girl boldly stands up to him by saying “I have a lot of experience with narcissistic men.” (Probably referring to her vain and cruel father who, according to the film’s framing device, didn’t appreciate his successful daughter even into middle age).

Like a lot of other based-on-a-true-story movies, some of this may be embellishment: other accounts say that Jarrett’s ultimate decision to go on was because the recording equipment was already set up. Sure, “Koln 75” is a crowd pleaser. It is also one not afraid to show some dark edges and to wear its heart on its sleeve when showing the determination (and sometimes just dumb luck) that goes into making your own little bit of history.

Koln 75–Directed by Ido Fluk–2025–117 minutes

Available on Roku and DVD