The Miles Davis Story And Herbie Hancockís Future 2 Future Live

15-Nov-02

British-produced 2-hour documentary film on Miles Davis features interviews with family members and musicians from every phase of his life, plus vintage performance footage104-minute concert by Herbie Hancock with a techno-funk band at the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles, 2002, celebrates his contemporary edge from Headhunters to ìRockitîFull menu of interactive options and selections, special discography and biography features, and added program content take full advantage of DVD format on both releases, set to arrive in stores November 26th on Columbia/Legacy JazzThe artistry of Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock ñ creative visionaries whose careers at Columbia Records intertwined in 1960s jazz but then transcended the musicís confines as the ë70s arrived, both evolving into the most influential fusionistas of their generation during the 1980s and ë90s ñ continues to inspire as the 40th anniversary of their partnership approaches in 2003.Two newly-produced video projects that utilize state-of-the-art digital technology as they magnify the relationship of Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock while paying homage to their musical contributions are scheduled to arrive in stores November 26th on Columbia/Legacy Jazz, a division of Sony Music. The Miles Davis Story, a critically hailed two-hour documentary directed by acclaimed British filmmaker Mike Dibb, is a worthwhile complement of this yearís career-spanning (1945 to 1986) double-CD collection, The Essential Miles Davis and its single CD companion, The Best Of Miles Davis (both on Columbia/Legacy). The first authorized film of Milesí life and times, featuring candid interviews and a generous array of performances from throughout his career, will be issued in VHS and interactive DVD formats.Future 2 Future Live, featuring Herbie Hancock and an all-star funk band and running approximately 104 minutes, was recorded at the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles earlier this year. It is presented on DVD (only) in Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 surround sound, incorporating the unique MX multi-angle remote option on nearly 30 minutes of material, as well as other interactive content including the full-length original ìRockitî promotional video clip from 1983. F2FL arrives two months after the Columbia/Legacy release of The Herbie Hancock Box (in stores October 1), the 4-CD career retrospective boxed set whose production was personally supervised by Hancock. While the strikingly post-modern transparent box encompasses every phase of Hancockís tenure as a leader from 1972 to 1988 - Mwandishi, Headhunters, VSOP, and the techno-funk years - the video is all about 2002.Described in the liner notes written by San Francisco journalist David Goldberg as ìa marriage of sound, image and interactivity,î F2FL finds Herbie Hancock (on piano and keyboards) in the company of a stellar group: Darrell Diaz on keyboards and vocals, Terri Lyne Carrington on drums and vocals, bassist Matthew Garrison, Wallace Roney on trumpet, and DJ Disk at the turntable. With heads, hands and feet firmly planted in the past, present and future, the band covers every base. Their new version of 1973ís ìChameleon,î for example, actually includes keyboard sounds sampled from the original master tapes. Jumping ahead one decade, 1983ís ìRockitî is reinvigorated by DJ Disk, who utilizes his ìrepertoire of crabs, tars, orbits, and tweaksî (writes Goldberg) to extend Grandmaster DXTís original pioneering scratches.The sold-out performance at the Knitting Factory was shot on 8 cameras, which facilitates the MX multi-angle function. At times during the performance, when a picture-in-picture window pops up at the bottom of the screen, the viewer can use the left and right arrow buttons on the DVD remote to select alternate camera angles. In addition to the original 1983 ìRockitî video clip, other interactive content includes an exclusive interview with Herbie Hancock; a selected discography with bonus audio samples; biographies of band members and solo highlights; and web links to the band site and other related sites. The tracklist comprises: ìWisdom,î ìKebero,î ìThis Is DJ Disk,î ìDolphin Dance,î ìVirtual Hornets,î ìThe Essence,î ìButterfly,î ìTony Williams,î ìRockit,î and ìChameleon.îThe Miles Davis Story is the first major documentary to be produced on Miles in nearly 15 years. An in-depth study of every aspect of his personal and professional life and career, The Miles Davis Story was carried out with attention to detail, historicity and context by British director Mike Dibb. Milesí biographer Ian Carrís commentary is a cornerstone of the production, but terse interview segments abound, some fresh and others archivally rare. Introduced are extended family members (Irene Coffin, Cheryl Davis, Frances Davis, Erin Davis, Vince Wilburn), recording gurus (Bob Weinstock, George Avakian), and a staggering cast of musicians (Jimmy Cobb, Shirley Horn, Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie, Gil Evans, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, Dave Holland, jack DeJohnette, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Joe Zawinul, Don Alias, Dave Liebman, Bill Evans, Marcus Miller, and others).Vintage film and photographic resources amassed from the U.S. and abroad, film performances from around the world, and ongoing footage from a private interview with Miles in 1985 contribute to this fascinating portrait. Miles the musical genius, social trendsetter, mercurial son and brother, husband and parent are all revealed. Rarely seen filmed and taped performance showcase many influential and timeless numbers, including ìSo What,î ìBlue in Green,î ìWalkiní,î ìMiles Ahead,î ìAll Blues,î ìMilestones,î ìIn a Silent Way,î ìBitches Brew,î ìTutu,î ìTime After Time,î and more.The DVD configuration of The Miles Davis Story will contain interactive menus, chapter selections, and album profiles of every major Columbia album he recorded. There will also be an exclusive biography written by jazz journalist Francis Davis, the author of such essential works as The History Of The Blues and Bebop And Nothingness: Jazz And Bebop At The End Of The Century.The Miles Davis Story, which will premiere in the U.S. on the Bravo cable channel (tentatively scheduled for February 2003) enjoyed its world premiere in the U.K. earlier this year. The production was described by The Sunday Telegraph as ìsuperlativeÖan absorbing and revealing exploration of a brilliant musician and complicated man.î Noted The Guardian, ìProducer/director Mike Dibb and Davis biographer Ian Carr are behind an unprecedented two hour account of Davisí life and times that catches his power and inspirational charisma without mystifying the process by which his music was made.î The Observer characterized the film as ìwonderfully detailedÖthis Davis profile is hard to beat, providing as it does perhaps the last word on musicís greatest proponent of multiculturalism.

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