Great title but not a great documentary. With Miles words spoken by actor Carl Lumbly and music performed by Miles Davis.

This should be an ideal primer for me, a person who knew of Miles Davis but not enough about his life and music.

When the first talking head appeared I knew what the problem was. There were just to many talking heads, often talking across his music. It was too conventional.

Maybe this could had been framed differently, radical like his music. I can understand hearing from his family, friends and collaborators. Not sure we needed to hear from writers and historians.

Carlos Santana stated something important about Miles Davis. He could hold a slow note, play something slow or romantic that came from within him.

It is clear that despite his talent he was not an easy man to get along with. An alcoholic, a drug addict, a wife beater. He suffered from ill health and he looked bad in his later years.

There was a nice humorous touch with a news clip of Walter Cronkite calling jazz 'musical noise' that is corrupting society.

For someone who's not really a jazz fan, I found this documentary illuminating on one of the seminal influences in that genre of music. It takes a cradle to grave approach on the life and career of Miles Davis, and is a good introductory look at a musician you may have heard of but don't know much about. To say that Davis was a complex man would be a major understatement, as the genius and creativity he had was marred by bouts of alcoholism, drug use and violence that often afflicts those of high achievement. A host of musical celebrities who knew and/or performed with Davis are seen on screen reflecting on his career, among them Quincy Jones, Carlos Santana and Herbie Hancock. Son Erin Davis also had a few things to say about his Dad, mostly complimentary in memory of the musician who consistently reinvented himself with the times. The picture is narrated by actor Carl Lumbly reading from Davis's own words, while photos and clips of Davis serve to illustrate the various chapters of his life in perfect harmony with what we see on screen. Sometimes it even looks like Davis himself is reacting to the narration of his life by virtue of still shots selected to frame the narrative. In tone and presentation, this effort is much like the 2016 film "Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary", and for jazz fans, both are well researched and informative on their respective personalities.

Miles Davis was one of the 20th century's great musical innovators; an icon of black America; and a difficult, deeply flawed man. This documentary uses his words (although almost no direct interview footage) and music to tell his story. Although it might sound like fairly standard fare, it's really interesting, mostly because Miles, his life and his musical journey are such good subjects; and because Miles' struggles are linked very closely to the broader history of black America. Tellingly, we do get a real sense of how his music evolved, from up-tempo bebop, through the cool beauty of his most famous tunes, to his later, genre-fusing innovations. It seems the real key to his longlasting musical relevence was his keenness to work with younger generations of musicians - although hardly a mentor in any normal sense, a remarkable cavalcade of talent passed through his various bands. But we also get a sense of his own innate talent and his personal contribution to the sound they produced. It's hard to think of any musician around today who might leave behind such an fascinating legacy.