Tape Project Forum

General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: ironbut on May 26, 2013, 08:35:21 PM

Title: The Miles Davis Story
Post by: ironbut on May 26, 2013, 08:35:21 PM
Here's another amazing film from BBC 4 made in 2001.
This is the best documentary on Miles I've seen. And being a card carrying Miles fanatic, this 2 hour film is couldn't be more appreciated.
Great interviews with tons of folks who worked in all of his many stages of evolution as well as relatives and producers.

Be sure and watch/listen to the 380p version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7CRdLSLy5Jg
Title: Re: The Miles Davis Story
Post by: KevO on June 04, 2013, 05:26:28 PM
Thanks for posting this. I drank a glass of champagne, OK - a bottle, and watched. Great documentary for any Miles fan.

I am trying to determine if 14 Miles albums are enough. No, I need a few more.

-Kevin
Title: Re: The Miles Davis Story
Post by: Listens2tubes on June 05, 2013, 04:16:17 PM
I watched this the same day you posted it, but never said how much I appreciated you're posting it. So, THANKS!
Title: Re: The Miles Davis Story
Post by: ironbut on June 06, 2013, 10:30:06 AM
Glad you guys enjoyed it (I know I did)!

14 albums is an excellent start!
Title: Re: The Miles Davis Story
Post by: X-Factor on June 11, 2013, 01:12:26 AM
This thread caused me to watch my DVD copy for only the second time since 2001. I had forgotten the section in which Miles Dvais first wife says she was only allowed in the studio once during recording. If I am not mistaken she is on the front cover of the "Miles Davis; In Person Friday/ Saturday Night At The Blackhawk". The liner notes don't indicate if she was in the audience though.
Title: Re: The Miles Davis Story
Post by: c1ferrari on June 11, 2013, 11:18:35 AM
Hi Steve,

Thanks for posting the link...I shall certainly watch!
Title: Re: The Miles Davis Story
Post by: rbwtapeinterlink-Bob on June 11, 2013, 06:22:12 PM
Good evening Steve,

I've known you were an avid jazz fan from way back. Somewhere along the line I suspected you would love Miles Davis. I went to see Miles when I came back from Germany in 1987 in Washington, DC.  Nancy Wilson was on that same bill. I went with my mentor who treated me to the event. While in Germany I had a chance to visit East Berlin where I purchased a 500 mm Carl Zeiss lens for $200 US dollars. A real bargain. At any rate, I took my camera to the concert and was prepared to sneak some photos. I did get a few of sweet Nancy Wilson, but my friend and I could only sit through one Miles Davis number before we left. Miles was no longer playing ballads and stuff like, If I were a bell and Woody'N You. The first set started out with Jack Johnson. The last time I had seen Miles was at a little jazz club on 11th and U street in Washington back in the early 1960's. Then he was playing all of the old standards I loved. My friend and I went to see Miles in 1987 to hear him play the music we loved. Needless to say it took me several years before I could appreciate Miles playing TuTu, Jack Johnson and the like. Sometimes it's difficult to change, and, as much as I did not want to change, I began to really dig what Miles was doing later on. Thank you so much Steve for loving this man as I do.

Bob W.
Title: Re: The Miles Davis Story
Post by: rbwtapeinterlink-Bob on June 15, 2013, 10:17:39 AM
I was thinking about the first time I actually had contact with Miles Davis. The time was, I think, 1966 in Washington, DC at the Bohemian Caverns. The Caverns was located where it has been since about 1926 (11th & U St. N.NW). All of the jazz greats came there to include, Diz, Max Roach, John Coltrane, and many others.

A friend and I went to see Miles but was short of money to pay cover charge. Cover charges were raised when big talent came into the club. My friend and I talked about what to do when Miles came outside to take a smoke. My friend got very excited and said to me in a quiet voice, Bob, there is Miles Davis. I turned around and there he was. He had bandages on his head where he had been beaten by the Baltimore, Maryland police when he came out of a club there to take a smoke. At any rate, my friend and I quickly decided to approach Miles to tell him how much we enjoyed his music and that we had every LP he made. While sharing this with him, I decided to ask if he could get us into the club for half price. To my surprised Miles reached in his pocket and pulled out 23 one dollar bills and gave them to us. This along with what we had permitted us to get into the club easily. Not only that, but back then, you could sit through 2 sets if you wished as long as you purchased a drink or two or three. I sure wish that were the case today, but then, I am living in Georgia now :).

 People talked about how mean and aloof Miles was, but here was a great musician who gave 2 strangers enough money to get in to see him play. Needless to say, my friend and I were overjoyed.  I fell more in love with Miles and his music from that point on than I had prior to this experience. Sorry to take up so much time, but I just wanted to share this bit of history. Thanks for listening all.

Bob W.
Title: Re: The Miles Davis Story
Post by: ironbut on June 15, 2013, 12:30:07 PM
That's a great story Bob!
Thanks for sharing it.

A similar thing happened when Miles was on his last tour.
He played at a local venue and some buddies and I went to see him for the last time.
We knew hotel where the artists usually stayed and one of my friends just had to get a picture with Miles.
Now my buddy was a rock and roller, white and kind of jive. He hung out in the lobby till Miles came out.
I was thinking that my friend was on the road to be disappointed but much to my surprise, Miles was happy to pose with my friend for several pictures.
My friend still has the best one hanging on his wall.

As mentioned in the video, his rep as a mean, aloof guy was an image that was good for marketing and was played up out of proportion.
I'd have to agree.
Title: Re: The Miles Davis Story
Post by: rbwtapeinterlink-Bob on June 15, 2013, 04:41:57 PM
Hello Steve and thank you for sharing this experience. Miles did not dislike all non-blacks. Actually, when you think about it, he saw a great deal or racisim during the early 50's and 60's. While in Baltimore Maryland, prior to coming to the Caverns, Miles was beaten very badly by several caucasian police and had to go to court for disturbing the peace. Miles and many other black musicians had a very difficult life trying to take their music to jazz lovers all over.

A white friend and I, while in our Army uniforms were arrested because we refuse to go to the back of the bus while coming through Danville, VA. That was in 1957. I say all of that to say, Miles was like me and many other blacks who have non-blacks we like and love dearly. That's why Miles was able to take photos with your friend. Thank you so much for sharing this. It means a lot to me sir. As a matter of fact, I consider every person on this forum, a friend. :) Happy Fathers Day to all DADS!

Bob W.
Title: Re: The Miles Davis Story
Post by: cam3xl on June 17, 2013, 01:16:42 PM
Bob Williams, you are still loved and thought about often in Baltimore Maryland.  Reading this thread brought back not so distant memories of our time together.  You were and are a great mentor and generous friend.  And for all those reading, please provoke him to more story telling.  You have a real music lover, musician, audiophile and piece of history in your midst.  I miss having him living around the corner. LOL!  Georgia's gain....

Title: Re: The Miles Davis Story
Post by: rbwtapeinterlink-Bob on June 17, 2013, 01:54:10 PM
Hello my friend Cam3xl and I am happy you are finally back here where you belong. I am hoping you get that Otari 5050 up and running because there is beginning to be a fair amount of new reel to reel music available. As I stated in an earlier post, there are a fair number of posters here who have your tape deck. I am more than certain, with your talents, you can get that machine up and running and save big bucks.

You know what, I learned as much from you sir. I knew little to nothing about the Grateful Dead and other such talented groups. You taught me what I know. Thanks for your friendship. Get that Otari up and running so we can hear about some of the tapes you will be pushing through that great tape deck.

Bob W.
Title: Re: The Miles Davis Story
Post by: cam3xl on June 17, 2013, 02:30:57 PM
Hey Bob!

I can mess with a soldering iron and some point to point wiring, but just getting one of these monsters apart is a bit much of a project for me.  I know when to cry uncle.  Found a good shop not far from my hometown in Jersey (by forum recomendation), so I'm going to take it up there next month.  Cost has always been the barrier for me and R2R so I have decided to let a TapeProject friendly tech get the internal electronics up to snuff, give the mechanics the once over, replace the heads and give me a good set of RCA outs.  This is still cheaper than a good outboard tape amp (which would give me a great rig, but no cash left for tape! HA!).  So I should be up and running by the end of July.  There have been a few other changes to the plan as well but I'll give you a call later this week and catch you up.  Here is a hint.....  I'm going back to Jolida.  Tickles me that they used one of my quotes on the main page pertaining to the listening session we did at United Audio.  Been here since ineption and still have not played a tape in my own home!  ;-)  We're getting there though.

Title: Re: The Miles Davis Story
Post by: c1ferrari on July 05, 2013, 02:09:29 PM
I was thinking about the first time I actually had contact with Miles Davis. The time was, I think, 1966 in Washington, DC at the Bohemian Caverns. The Caverns was located where it has been since about 1926 (11th & U St. N.NW). All of the jazz greats came there to include, Diz, Max Roach, John Coltrane, and many others.

A friend and I went to see Miles but was short of money to pay cover charge. Cover charges were raised when big talent came into the club. My friend and I talked about what to do when Miles came outside to take a smoke. My friend got very excited and said to me in a quiet voice, Bob, there is Miles Davis. I turned around and there he was. He had bandages on his head where he had been beaten by the Baltimore, Maryland police when he came out of a club there to take a smoke. At any rate, my friend and I quickly decided to approach Miles to tell him how much we enjoyed his music and that we had every LP he made. While sharing this with him, I decided to ask if he could get us into the club for half price. To my surprised Miles reached in his pocket and pulled out 23 one dollar bills and gave them to us. This along with what we had permitted us to get into the club easily. Not only that, but back then, you could sit through 2 sets if you wished as long as you purchased a drink or two or three. I sure wish that were the case today, but then, I am living in Georgia now :).

 People talked about how mean and aloof Miles was, but here was a great musician who gave 2 strangers enough money to get in to see him play. Needless to say, my friend and I were overjoyed.  I fell more in love with Miles and his music from that point on than I had prior to this experience. Sorry to take up so much time, but I just wanted to share this bit of history. Thanks for listening all.

Bob W.

Holy Cow -- thank you, Bob, for regaling us with that personal experience...FABULOUS!
Title: Re: The Miles Davis Story
Post by: rbwtapeinterlink-Bob on July 06, 2013, 11:12:14 AM
Hello cIferrari,
I hope you and everyone here had a great 4th of July holiday celebration. It's great to be alive. I wanted to share this bit of history regarding my own experience with Miles Davis so that those interested might also know that as good as Miles, his musicians and his music was, he still ran into many more problems than was the case with others. In most cases he dealt with those problems well and went on to contribute some of the most memorable music of our time. Thank you sir for your response.

Bob W.
Title: Re: The Miles Davis Story
Post by: c1ferrari on July 13, 2013, 09:11:33 PM
Hi Bob,

Same to you : -)
Do you have other experiences that you can share?

- Sam
Title: Re: The Miles Davis Story
Post by: rbwtapeinterlink-Bob on July 14, 2013, 12:34:56 PM
Hello and good Sunday afternoon to you and yours c1ferrari,

I just came from church and wanted to respond to your question. Sam, while I worked for the Dept Of The Army in Germany I had many wonderful experiences where jazz was concerned. I was blessed to work at a club in Frankfurt Germany as a photographer. Mind you, when I left Washington DC I had a Minolta 35mm manual camera but would only call myself a rank beginner. When I arrived in Germany and after beginning to learn my job as an addictions program manager and how to get around, I learned of a photo lab on a nearby military post. After checking it out, I found out the manager was willing to teach me about the camera in all it's glory. When I had been under his instructions for about 7 months, I started going on weekends to a jazz club in Frankfurt. I got to know the manager who would permit me to take photos only if I promised him 3 (9x14) black and whites of every jazz musician who came to the club. I promised I would. Each time a talent would come to play, I would do the photos. By the way, I processed each print myself in the photo lab. I took photos of many jazz greats to include Dizziy Gilesspie, Nat Adderly, Woody Shaw, Chet Baker, Joe Henderson, the Heath brothers, and others. Many jazz greats would stop in Germany from Paris to make extra money before returning to the USA.

I have a stash of negatives brought back from Germany I was never able to process. I keep telling myself I am going to get them done here in the USA. Everything is digital now so I've got to find a photo business that is still processing 35mm negatives. I don't dare take them to Walmart or CVS Pharmacy who is going the try and process them through a machine.  Anyway, thanks for asking sir. You may PM me if you have other questions sir.

Bob W.
Title: Re: The Miles Davis Story
Post by: c1ferrari on July 14, 2013, 01:30:23 PM
Thanks, Bob -- I sympathize regarding the processing of film...I consider it chemical magic :-)

-Sam
Title: Re: The Miles Davis Story
Post by: Listens2tubes on July 15, 2013, 10:52:18 AM
Bob, When you say "process" do you mean develop the negatives? Or do you have negatives that need to be printed? Look for a local photography club or even college coarse. Check for municipal night school coarses that may also have a class that includes a darkroom. I miss my darkroom. :-(
Title: Re: The Miles Davis Story
Post by: rbwtapeinterlink-Bob on July 15, 2013, 11:45:32 AM
Hello Listens2Tubes,
You are right on target my friend. I had not even given any thought to colleges (schools) with dark room, etc. Man, that's great. I have negatives that need to be printed. I will follow your lead sir.

Bob W.