We Definitely Want Miles!

Miles Davis, much more than a

musician, a symbol, a legend, an icon for the music, Miles represents a

thought, an ever changing cognitive mass of creative inspiration bounded by no

walls, no rules only by the limits of his own imagination which constantly expanded

with each new sound.

Paris and Montreal were two

very special places for Miles. Paris was an influence de amour and played a

part in the initiation of new music sparked by those feelings of love, human

equality and appreciation. Montreal represented a return to creativity after

a period of dormant activity and served as a “Re-Birth”, so to speak, to new

streams of consciousness as the savior returned to the light!

 

Both Paris and now Montreal

have been the first to feature the entire exhibit of

“We Want Miles”, a multimedia retrospective of the life, the music, the periods of change and

inspiration that took music to new heights, new direction and new meaning in

the lives of past, present and future generations.

Simply uttering the word

“Miles” sparks multifaceted conversations about life and music. The name

represents an association and an aspiration to be or to have knowledge. There

are those who use the word Miles through personal association, to reference

memorable intimate musical experiences, as an education in the growth of ones

own musical abilities, as a poignant moment of change in ones musical

philosophy, as a façade to pass for knowledge but, what ever the reference, the

word “Miles” is an institution in knowledge and sound that does and will

continue to permeate through the ideals of modern contemporary music.

 

The Festival International de

Jazz de Montreal represents one of the many major changes in the life of the

legend, which is why it is so fitting that “We Want Miles” is being hosted at

the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

 

I knew that the Miles exhibit

was in Montreal and there was no way that I was going to miss an opportunity to

experience the totality of Miles Davis from musical inception to greatness. I

called Vince Wilburn, nephew of Miles Davis and said, “ Vince, I am here! Plug

me in!” Little did I know that I was about to embark upon an over abundant

Miles Davis multimedia experience. I mean from film, to photographs,

documents, statues, art, letters, instruments, cloths, records you name it and

it was represented in full factual detail.

 

The museum was closed on

Monday but I was afforded a private VIP tour of the exhibit. Yes, no one else

there except for Miles and me! I spoke and met Sabrina Merceron, the head of

public relations at the museum and a pure spectacle of authentic French

Canadian beauty in her own right. Stunned by the sight of sheer loveliness and

welcomed with an invitation of such warmth set the perfect platform to shed all

other thoughts of the outside world and step into the fascinating,

immortalized, ever-changing, spinning sphere of life, music and Miles!

 

Oh my, Oh Miles! There are

several rooms on the third floor each representing different periods of

evolution throughout the life and career of Miles Davis. Interestingly enough,

my journey did not start at the beginning but at the end. I stumbled upon the

gift shop first and entered the exhibit through the last room. As I pulled back

the curtain and entered, I had the joy of a 5 year old getting a new bike at

Christmas! Enamored by sound, color along with still and moving images of Miles

in all directions, I was instantly inundated with my associations along with

new media and a larger that life size statue in the form of the legend.

Click on the Miles statue!

 

Red, the color of mystique,

seems to be a common denominator. Miles expresses himself in many ways and

there always appears to be a splash of fire everywhere, the Village Vanguard

door to enter the pathways of the Miles Davis express. Miles Davis, MD, music

direction, mystic definition, multiple dimensions, mystic demeanor, massive

dialog, mad dissonance, melodic deconstruction, however you put the two letters

together, you get a shade of the MD perception.

 

Miles was a never-ending mass

of combustible, alluring, creativity whose persona was free which allowed his

mind to think and compose outside of the chains of Western rules. If you look

at the eyes in the many photos of Miles here at the “We Want Miles” exhibit,

you don’t get a glimpse into his world but you do get a sense that he has

already looked past yours and his vision was always our future.  His search for something greater in the

music is captured on record, paper and film at so many wonderful key and crucial

stages, which have become synonymous with our history. At the Museum, you can

witness these artifacts and in retrospect connect all the dots, see, feel and

hear the influences that lead to a lifes worth of great art, a gift left for

the world to enjoy.

 

A painting of Miles is not

just one painting. There are a multitude of expressions and meanings that are

manifested as each section forms its own array of consciousness. Just like the

music, the inception of thought and color fire off a synapse that sparks

fertility and births more. Davis was never just a musician, he was thought, and

he spent his life successfully formulating them. With success comes cognitive

invincibility and the projectile of imagination becomes limitless.

 

With the label, the

producers, the musicians, the critics and the public all enamored by the power

of the creative mystique, visionary genius, alluring sound and daunting

personality, they basically paved a yellow brick road of Carte blanch

possibilities making Miles the musical “Neo” of a generation. Like it, love it,

understand it, perplexed by it, theorize, idolize it all you want, we are all

consumed by Miles.

 

You are able to witness and

feel these formulations, as you yourself become the thought that literally

passes to the next phase of your existence as you enter the next section of the

exhibit. Since I started out in reverse order, I am Miles as I turn around and

follow the path back towards my musical infancy in search of the “Blue Flame”.

 

From Global Icon, On the

Corner, Electric Miles Rock Distortion, Miles Smiles Controlled Freedom, Miles

Ahead for Columbia, Out of the Cool Invention of Self-Loathing back to St.

Louis and his search for the Bird or visa versa, the journey along the dash

between 1926 and 1991 is an extraordinary glimpse into not only the life of Miles

but also your own parallel reality.

       DASH       

 

Spend some time and you will

experience the music, the creativity, the invincibility, the responsibility,

the pride, the pain, the solitude, the desire and the love of a man who changed

the music and the world. Yes,

“We Want Miles”

LeRoy Downs