With the eagerly-anticipated Miles Ahead movie set for UK release on 22 April, Columbia/Legacy are releasing a brace of reverantly-related boons celebrating the great innovator, which also serve to mark the trumpet titan’s 90th birthday on 26 May.

First off the blocks is Miles Ahead – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, the music to Don Cheadle’s directorial debut, featuring 11 essential slices of Dark Magus magic spanning 1956 to 1981, alongside select dialogue taken from the film and five original compositions by Grammy-winning jazz pianist and producer Robert Glasper.

Then comes Everything’s Beautiful, which finds the imperious Glasper to the fore once more, collating a consummately-crafted collection of reinterpretations of Davis’ music. Featuring a wealth of stellar cameo appearances from luminaries such as Erykah Badu, John Scofield and Stevie Wonder, this collaborative coup incorporates outtakes from Davis’ peerless Columbia catalogue to create a suite of visionary soundscapes.

“I wanted to do something where we can take some of Miles’ ideas, shake them up, and try to show the influence of Miles and make new things. And that’s the beauty of this whole album,” explains Glasper. “The whole project is based on Miles, but it’s based on Miles’ vision, it’s based on Miles’ voice, it’s based on Miles’ composition, it’s based on Miles’ influence, it’s based on Miles’ swag.”

-        -– Spencer Grady     

from http://www.jazzwisemagazine.com/