DVD of Note...

Miles Davis, That's What Happened: Live in Germany, 1987 (Eagle Rock Entertainment)
This 1987 concert DVD captures Davis and his late-career jazz-rock band live in Munich performing some of the staples of his repertoire. In the late 1980s, “Human Nature” and “Time After Time” did for a Davis concert what “Bye Bye Blackbird,” “My Funny Valentine” and “Someday My Prince Will Come” did in the 1950s and ’60s - enabling his band to expand the possibilities and dramatically reshape beloved and instantly identifiable ballads from popular culture.


This 90-minute performance of ballads, blues and funk has great musical moments from Davis and his band. Little new ground is covered in the supplemental interview and glimpse of his art, though there is one snippet in the former making it clear that composing and drawing were essential parts of his psyche - and shared some common elements. As he talks, he draws.


That was also the case when I had a lengthy interview with him at his Manhattan apartment in April 1986 for an extensive 60th birthday profile initially published by UPI as part of its LifeSize series. Here’s a link to an archived version on the Jazz Journalists Association's Web site that also explores his music-art connection.