Miles Davis 100! Vince Mai Plays Miles

Vancouver is celebrating the 100th birthday of Jazz icon Miles Davis this May with a series of events covering every era of this musical trailblazer. Local trumpet legend Vince Mai Vince Mai will be performing music from some of Miles’ most memorable 1950s albums, including Kind of Blue, Walkin’, Relaxin’ and more. After Vince’s live set, enjoy Stanley Nelson’s definitive documentary.

Vince Mai – trumpet
Steve Kaldestad – Saxophone
Laurence Mollerup – Bass
Miles Black – Piano
Bernie Arai – Drums

About the film:

Nelson’s fascinating biographical portrait might have used a couple more hours to really dig into the many shades and aspects of a complicated and conflicted man and an artist who was constantly reinventing himself, but even if you’re a Miles Davis aficionado you will come away with unexpected insights and revelations from a stellar round up of interviewees, supplemented with wonderful archival photographs and footage, and excepts from Miles’s autobiography read by actor Carl Lumbly. If you enjoy the music but aren’t familiar with the story behind it, this is the place to start.

One of the towering figures of the twentieth century, Miles Davis took jazz to a pinnacle of perfection in his album Kind of Blue, bringing tender, aching grace notes to the frantic fury of bebop. He didn’t stop there, always looking for new aural textures, new shapes and sounds.

A tantalizing portrait: rich, probing, mournful, romantic, triumphant, tragic, exhilarating, and blisteringly honest… Immensely gratifying.

Owen Gleiberman, Variety

Essential.

Rolling Stone