The first footage of Don Cheadle playing late jazz great Miles Davis in the upcoming Miles Ahead has surfaced, and it’s enough to get us excited for the 2016 biopic. In the Yahoo Movies exclusive clip, Cheadle can be seen channeling the legend during a studio session with his band, in which Miles is reaching for a precise sound in mind.
Cheadle is the director, star, producer and co-writer for the film, which closed the New York Film Festival this past weekend. The movie is reportedly just as subversive as it is engaging, following Cheadle’s Davis through a low point in life – one of writer’s block, of losing the thread on his own musical voice before regaining his mojo. The film reportedly has a notably low number of musical performances, though gun fights and car chases are present in the true story.
To stay in tune with the character, Cheadle read none other than the writings of the musician himself, who was always talking about mixing it up, not repeating himself, trying to play what hadn’t been played before. Miles Davis was Don Cheadle’s guide in a movie about Miles Davis.
