>>> THIS IS "METROFOCUS" WITH RAFAEL PI ROMAN, JACK FORD AND JENNA FLANNIGAN.

METROFOCUS IS MADE POSSIBLE BY SUE AND EDGAR WACHENHEIM III, SILVIA A.

AND SIMON ENDOWMENT TO FIGHT ANTI-SEMITISM, THE PETER G. PETERSON AND COONEY FUND, BERNARD AND DENISE SCHWARTZ, THE AMBROSE MONELL FOUNDATION AND BY JODY AND JOHN ARNEHOLD, AND JUDY AND JOSH WESTIN.

DR. ROBERT C. AND TINA SLOAN FOUNDATION.

♪ ♪ >>> TODAY, EVERY HOUR ON TELEVISION, BLACKS HAVE NONE.

>> JAMES BALDWIN.

PATTI LABELLE.

AL GREEN.

STEVIE WONDER.

>> THIS IS EVERY DAY.

>> ELVIS CAME AT A TIME WHEN THERE WERE SO FEW POSITIVE AFRICAN-AMERICAN IMAGES ON TELEVISION.

THERE IS NOTHING, NOTHING WE CANNOT DO.

IT'S REVOLUTIONARY.

THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE TO SOUL.

♪ ♪ >>> HELLO.

I'M JENNA FLANNIGAN.

THAT WAS A QUICK PREVIEW OF THE AWARD-WINNING INDEPENDENT LENS DOCUMENTARY "MR.

SOUL," A FASCINATING, ENTERTAINING AND LONG OVERDUE CELEBRATION OF THE GROUNDBREAKING FLACK VARIETY SOUL "SOUL," INITIALLY PRODUCED FOR WNET, THE PROGRAM RAN FOR FIVE YEARS AND WAS BROADCAST BY PUBLIC TELEVISION STATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND IT HAD, AT ITS SINGULAR FOCUS, FULL NOT AND VIBRANCY OF THE BLACK EXPERIENCE.

SOUL WAS A SHOW MADE BY BLACK CREATORS FOR A BLACK AUDIENCE, SOMETHING THAT WAS COMPLETELY UNHEARD OF IN THE 1960s AND '70s AND THE SERIES IS NOW CONSIDERED A CULTURAL TREASURE.

JOINING ME NOW TO TALK ABOUT THE DOCUMENTARY IS THE DIRECTOR, PRODUCER AND WRITER MELISSA HISLIF, WELCOME TO THE PROGRAM.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH!

IT'S GREAT TO BE HERE.

THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

>> SO WONDERFUL TO HAVE YOU, AND THANK YOU FOR BRINGING US THIS AMAZING DOCUMENTARY, BUT FIRST, I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT SOME OF OUR VIEWERS AT WNET MIGHT REMEMBER THE PROGRAM "SOUL," BUT WHAT WAS IT TO YOU, AT LEAST THAT MADE IT SO UNIQUE FOR THE TIME THAT IT EXISTED.

>> I THINK THAT IT IS SUCH AN INCREDIBLE TIME CAPSULE FOR NOT ONLY PUBLIC TELEVISION, BUT THE LANDSCAPE OF TELEVISION AND TWHA FOLKS WERE DOING IN AMERICA AND HOW THEY WERE PUSHING BACK AND THIS BEAUTIFUL WINDOW INTO THE BLACK ARTS MOVEMENT AND A CREATIVITY AND A NEW EXPRESSION OF ART, POLITICS, THE FIGHT FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND THIS TRIFECTA WAS NOT WHAT WE KNEW ON TELEVISION AND IT WAS TO GO BACK AND SEE THIS MOMENT WHERE YOU HAVE SO MANY ARTISTS WHO ARE HOUSEHOLD NAMES NOW AND KNOW THAT THIS HAPPENED WITH THE BIRTH OF PUBLIC TELEVISION AND THE BIRTH OF DIVERSITY IN TELEVISION, REALLY, IT'S REALLY REMARKABLE, AND I LOVE UNSUNG HERO STORIES AND IT DEFINITELY FALLS IN THAT CATEGORY AND FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW THE SHOW IT'S LIKE THE GREATEST SHOW YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF, BUT HONESTLY IT WAS A REAL SHOW AND IT WAS REALLY GROUNDBREAKING.

SO TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT IT WITH FRESH EYES AND WATCH WITH YOUR FAMILY, WITH MUSICIANS, DANCERS AND SINGERS AND IT JUST GIVES YOU A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON THE BLACK EXPERIENCE AND IT'S PARTICULARLY STARTLING HOW INTIMATE AND REVEALING IT IS AND HOW IT STILL RESONATES TODAY.

MANY OF THE THEMES THAT WERE PART OF THE SHOW.

>> WELL, SPEAKING OF FAMILY BECAUSE SO MANY OF THE PEOPLE THAT WERE FEATURED IN IT BE IT POET, WRITERS, DANCERS, MUSICIANS ARE PEOPLE THAT AT LEAST ESPECIALLY AFRICAN-AMERICANS OF MY GENERATION WOULD HAVE GROWN UP WITH IF YOU WERE BORN IN THE '70s, BUT THE FAMILY ASPECT IS PARTICULARLY UNIQUE TO YOU, AND I'M SURE SOME PEOPLE MIGHT REALIZE THAT YOU HAVE THE SAME LAST NAME AS THE HOST OF THE SHOW.

SO JUST TELL US QUICKLY, WHAT IS THE CONNECTION?

>> IT WAS NOT ONLY MY FAVORITE BABYSITTER, BUT HE WAS ALSO MY UNCLE AND I GOT TO KNOW HIM AS A CHILD AND HE WAS WITH US AT THE TIME HE WAS MAKING "SOUL."

HE LIVED ON THE UPPER EAST SIDE AND EVEN THOUGH HE HAD HIS OWN APARTMENT IN CHELSEA ON FIFTH AVENUE HE LOVED COMING BACK TO OUR PLACE AND SO I WAS REALLY EXPOSED AT A VERY EARLY AGE TO MAGICAL CODERY OF FRIENDS THAT I FOUND OUT LATER WERE JAMES EARL JONES AND MELBA MORRIS AND EVEN WHEN HE WOULD BRING OVER BETTY SHABBAZ AND THEIR CHILDREN, MALCOLM X'S CHILDREN, WE WOULD PLAY UNDER THE TV -- UNDER THE TABLE WHERE THE TV WAS.

IT ENCOURAGED ME GROWING UP AND HE WAS A MENTOR TO ME AND HELPED ME SEE MY TRAJECTORY AS AN ARTIST, AND I KNOW HE REALLY INSPIRED SO MANY MORE ARTISTS AND THAT'S WHEN I REALIZED THAT THE STORY REALLY WASN'T ABOUT ME AS MUCH AS I LOVED HIM SO MUCH, BUT IT REALLY REPRESENTED A VERY UNIQUE STAMP ON THE CURATIONS OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS, HISTORY, CULTURE AND ART.

>> SPEAKING ABOUT WHO SOMETHING IS ABOUT, THROUGH THE FILM WE LEARNED YOUR UNCLE ELLIS DIDN'T WANT "SOUL" TO BE A SHOW ABOUT HIM, AND HE WANTED IT TO BE FOR AND ABOUT THE CULTURE, BUT THE FILM IS TITLED "MR.

SOUL" AND IT IS VERY MUCH SORT OF THE SHOW THAT HE HELPED CREATE AND THE PEOPLE HE MADE SURE GOT NATIONAL ATTENTION ON TELEVISION.

>> EXACTLY, AND IN THE BEGINNING WE ENVISIONED THE FILM WOULD BE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, MR.

SOUL AND THE BIRTH OF BLACK POWER TELEVISION OR THE BIRTH OF BLACK POWER TV AND WE DIDN'T WANT IT TO BE ABOUT THE RISE AND FALL BECAUSE THAT WAS A LITTLE BIT -- AND WHY THEY CALLED HIM MR.

SOUL IS BECAUSE AFTER SHOWS HE WOULD GO OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY AND WE DIDN'T HAVE SOCIAL MEDIA AND IN ORDER TO GET A BEAT OR A READ ON HOW THE CULTURE WAS RESPONDING HE'D GO TO HARLEM OR THE VILLAGE AND HE'D ASK PEOPLE, IT WAS VERY EASY TO FIND PEOPLE AND ASK PEOPLE, DID YOU SEE SOUL?

OF COURSE, THEY HAD.

HE CALLED IT THE DRUM.

YOU KNOW IN AFRICAN CULTURE AND ESPECIALLY OUR HISTORY, THE DRUM WAS THE WAY THE MESSAGES WERE SENT ACROSS IN DRUMMING CIRCLES AND DRUMMING MESSAGES OFTEN ESPECIALLY WHEN FOLKS WERE ENSLAVED.

SO HE CALLED IT THE DRUM WHEN HE WAS CONNECTING EVERYONE AND THEY'D SEE HIM ON THE STREET AND THEY COULDN'T PRONOUNCE HIS NAME AND THERE GOES SOUL -- MR.

SOUL.

THAT'S MR.

SOUL.

THAT'S THE GUY FROM SOUL.

MR.

SOUL.

SO THAT BECAME HIS NICKNAME AND WE THOUGHT HOW PERFECT.

EVEN ON HIS TOMBSTONE, AND WE THOUGHT, THIS IS PERFECT BECAUSE IT SORT OF EMBODIES WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO WITH THE FILM WHICH IS A MARRIAGE OF THE BIOGRAPHY OF THE SHOW AND THE BIOGRAPHY OF THE MAN WHICH IS NOT YOUR USUAL, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT THE USUAL TEMPLATE FOR A DOCUMENTARY.

YOU USUALLY CHOOSE ONE OR THE OTHER AND MAKE A BIOPIC OR YOU MAKE A SHOW THAT'S MORE LIKE A GREAT PERFORMANCES OR AMERICAN MASTERS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, BUT WE THOUGHT IT'S INEXTRICKABLE, THE IMPACT AND THE IMPRINT OF THIS MAN ON THIS SHOW AND SO THAT'S WHY WE CALLED IT MR.

SOUL.

>> WELL, ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT AGAIN, JUST MAKES THE DOCUMENTARY, EVERY DOCUMENTARY, OF COURSE, WILL DRAW ON ARCHIVAL IMAGES AND FOOTAGE, ET CETERA, BUT THE FOOTAGE THAT YOU WERE ABLE TO GET FROM THE SHOW, WASN'T NECESSARILY SOMETHING THAT YOU CAME ACROSS EASILY.

ONE MIGHT THINK THAT OF COURSE, IF IT'S AIRED ON TV BY TODAY'S STANDARDS IT WOULD ALL BE ARCHIVED SOMEWHERE, BUT THAT WASN'T NECESSARILY YOUR JOURNEY.

>> NO, IT CERTAINLY WASN'T, AND I WOULD SAY I CHARACTERIZED THE JOURNEY AS MORE OF A COMBINATION OF A WILD GOOSE CHASE MEETS A PRIVATE DETECTIVE MEETS A SCAVENGER HUNT, OKAY?

BECAUSE YOU WERE CONSTANTLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT AND PIECE TOGETHER WHERE ARE THE TAPES?

WHERE ARE THE ARCHIVES?

CHANNEL 19, A PBS STATION IN NEW YORK HAD 46 HARD COPIES, BUT THERE WERE 130 EPISODES OVER A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS.

SO MY MISSION, REALLY WAS TO GO OUT INTO THE WORLD AND FIGURE OUT WHERE ARE THEY?

ARE THERE ANY BOOTLEGS?

WHERE IS THE GUY IN THE WEST VILLAGE THAT USED TO SPREAD OUT HIS BLANKET AND SELL IT ON WEDNESDAY.

I WON'T SAY HIS NAME.

I WENT OVER TO ANA MARIA'S HOUSE AND PEOPLE MADE TAPES FOR HER OVER THE YEARS.

SHE WOULDN'T LET ME LEAVE WITH THEM AND SHE LET ME WATCH THEM.

PEOPLE HAVE A PROPRIETARY EXPERIENCE.

I KNEW THERE WERE A FINITE EPISODES IN THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AND A FINITE NUMBER IN THE SMITHSONIAN.

HIS COLLECTION WAS THERE AFTER HE PASSED AWAY AND ANACOSTIA WHICH IS THE SMITHSONIAN AND THE Q ANACOSTIA MUSEUM.

AND SO LITERALLY CALLING OUT THE GUY THAT WAS THE SOUND GUY.

I KNOW YOU HAVE THE TAPES BECAUSE YOU RECORDED IT.

MAYBE YOU HAVE A FEW STASHED ON THE SIDE?

IT'S NOT AN ISSUE OF PIRACY.

THIS IS AN ISSUE OF ARCHIVAL AND ARCHIVING AND AS YOU WERE SAYING, THIS CONCEPT OF ARCHIVING STARTED VERY LATE IN OUR SOCIETY AND THERE WERE OTHER SHOWS LIKE THE GREAT AMERICAN DREAM MACHINE AND OTHER PUBLIC TELEVISION SHOWS THAT FELL UNDER THAT DEMISE, AS WELL BECAUSE THE IDEA OF KEEPING LIVE TELEVISION SHOWS AND IT JUST DIDN'T MAKE SENSE.

YOU TAPED OVER IT OR YOU THREW OUT THE TAPE BECAUSE IT DIDN'T WORK.

SO IT WAS QUITE A JOURNEY PULLINGING THIS ARCHIVE TOGETHER AND SOMETIMES I HAVE CLIPS OF PERFORMANCES, BUT NOT ACTUAL SOUL EPISODES.

WE REALLY HAD TO THINK ABOUT THAT AND FIND THE BEST MOMENTS AND TRY TO MATCH THAT WITH THE MOMENTS THAT WERE HAPPENING IN THE ELLIS' LIFE.

>> SPEAK OF PUBLIC TELEVISION.

OUR MISSION, IF YOU WILL, IS TO BE EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION AND I THINK FOR SOME VIEWERS ESPECIALLY AT THAT TIME THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN CONFUSING TO SEE A SHOW LIKE SOUL ON A CHANNEL THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE EDUCATIONAL.

IT DOES SERVE THAT PURPOSE AND I'M WONDERING IF YOU CAN EXPLAIN HOW THAT WORKED AT LEAST THROUGH ELLIS' EYES.

>> HE BELIEVED THAT IT WAS A SOURCE OF LIBERATION.

EVEN THOUGH IT WAS NATIONAL EDUCATION TELEVISION AND WNET, AFTER IT BECAME WNET, AND IT WAS A BLACK EXPERIENCE AND IF YOU SHARED THAT THAT WAS GOOD ON YOU AND HIS JOB WAS NOT TO CREATE OR TO BE THE PURVEYOR OF THE CULTURE, BUT RATHER TO PRESENT THE CULTURE IN ITS AUTHENTICITY AND ITS UNAPOLOGETICALLY BLACK CONCEPT.

IT ENDS UP BEING ENTIRELY EDUCATIONAL BECAUSE OF THE WORLD WE ARE IN AND THE FACT THAT PEOPLE DIDN'T HAVE THAT KIND OF INFORMATION.

THE ONLY BLACK PUBLIC TELEVISION AT THE TIME WAS THE PUBLIC AFFAIRS SHOW WHICH WAS A NEWS BROADCAST.

FOR HIM TO COMBINE THE PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND, YOU KNOW, LIFT IT UP WITH BLACK CULTURE AND WHAT WAS HAPPENING WITH THE STREETS AND THE GRILLOS, THAT WAS EXPONENTIALLY EDUCATIONAL AND I STILL THINK IT HAS A VERY EDUCATIONAL -- WELL, AN EDUCATIONAL VIBE TO IT TODAY.

I THINK YOU CAN LEARN SO MUCH FROM IT.

>> WELL, WE'VE ONLY GOT A FEW MOMENTS LEFT, ABOUT 30 SECONDS, BUT I'D LOVE TO GET YOUR TAKE BECAUSE WATCHING THE DOCUMENTARY "MR.

SOUL" AFTER HAVING LIVED THROUGH IT, LIKE 2020, IT'S UNBELIEVABLY RELEVANT AND IT'S ALMOST 50 YEARS OLD.

DO YOU THINK THERE'S ROOM FOR A SHOW LIKE "SOUL" TO EXIST AGAIN?

>> I THINK THERE IS ROOM.

THE QUESTION IS WHAT WOULD THE PLATFORM BE?

I THINK THE DESIRE IS THERE AND I THINK WE NEED AN UNFILTERED, UNFETTERED, NON-COMMERCIAL SPACE TO BE FREE IN ORDER TO ASSESS OURSELVES FULLY IN ALL OF OUR COMPLEXITIES AND DISAGREEMENTS AND BEAUTY AND THE MYRIAD FORMS OF THAT AND NOT PRESCRIBED BY CRITICS OR MONEY OR COMMERCIALIZATION AND THAT KIND OF AGENDA.

WE DEFINITELY NEED THAT AND WE NEED A PLATFORM, FOR NOT JUST WHAT SOUL WAS AND A PLATFORM, AND THIS TRIFECTA IS WHAT WE DO NEED RIGHT NOW.

I SAY YES, I THINK WE COULD DEFINITELY USE A LITTLE SOUL TO RESTORE THE SOUL OF A NATION.

>> IT'S REVOLUTIONARY, YOU KNOW?

IT MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE.

>> UNFORTUNATELY, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO LEAVE IT THERE AND I CAN CONTINUE TALKING TO YOU ABOUT THIS FILM AND FOR VIEWERS WHO WANT TO KNOW, YOU CAN CATCH THE INDEPENDENT LENS PRESENTATION OF "MR.

SOUL" RIGHT HERE ON 13,WHERE, ARE WNET WHERE IT STARTED OR GO TO MET LOW FO FOCUS.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION.

>>> GOOD EVENING.

I'M JENNA FLANNIGAN.

MILES DAVIS REDEFINED FUNK MANY TIMES OVER.

DAVIS LOVED MUSIC AND LIVES HIS LIFE ON HIS OWN TERMS AND BOTH HIS MUSIC AND HIS LIFE ARE THE SUBJECT OF A BRILLIANT NEW AMERICAN MASTERS DOCUMENTARY, MILES DAVIS: BIRTH OF THE COOL.

WITH FULL ACCESS TO THE MILES DAVIS ESTATE, THE FILM'S NEVER BEFORE SEEN ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE, STUDIO OUTTAKES AND RARE PHOTOS AS IT TELLS THE STORY OF A TRULY SINGULAR TALENT AND UNPACKS THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF AN AMERICAN ICON.

HERE'S A PREVIEW.

>> MUSIC HAS ALWAYS BEEN LIKE A CURSE WITH ME.

IT'S THE FIRST THING IN MY LIFE.

I GO TO BED THINKING ABOUT IT AND WAKE UP THINKING ABOUT IT.

THAT'S ALL I LIVE FOR.

♪ ♪ >> MILES STARTED VERY EARLY.

HE LOOKED AT THINGS DIFFERENTLY, AND SAW THINGS DIFFERENTLY.

>> HE WANTED TO BE AN ARTIST JUST LIKE STRABINSKI.

>> A LOT OF THE OLD GUYS THOUGHT IF YOU WENT TO SCHOOL IT WOULD MAKE YOU PLAY LIKE YOU WERE WHITE.

I WANTED TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON IN ALL OF MUSIC.

>> JULIA, IN THE DAYTIME AND AT NIGHT HE'D BE ON THE TRIP TO SECOND STREET.

>> HE PUT THE BELL ON HIS HORN RIGHT INTO THE MICROPHONE AND CHANGED THE WHOLE WORLD OF JAZZ RIGHT THERE.

>> HE COMES UP WITH A STYLE THAT IS TRULY REFLECTIVE OF WHO HE IS.

HE WAS ANGRY, ANTI-SOCIAL.

>> BUT THEN HE STARTS PLAYING AND PEOPLE ARE -- HE JUST DISARMS YOU.

>> HE SURROUNDS HIMSELF WITH YOUNG, EMERGING, UNKNOWN VOICES.

>> WE WERE KIDS AND MILES IS A HEAD CHEMIST.

>> HE WANTED US TO LIVE ON THE STAGE, CREATING IN FRONT OF THE PEOPLE.

DON'T LEAN ON WHAT YOU KNOW.

WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR IS THE STUFF CROWE DON'T KNOW.

>> WE DIDN'T JUST WANT TO PLAY WITH MILES.

WE WANTED TO BE MILES DAVIS.

♪ ♪ >> MILES' AUDIENCE WAS CHANGING AND WITH WHAT WAS HAPPENING NOW.

>> IF ANYBODY WANTS TO KEEP CREATING THEY HAVE TO BE ABOUT ♪ ♪ >> I LOVED.

BEFORE I KNEW IT, I HAD A HEROIN ADDICT.

>> MILES BECOMES REPRESENTATIVE OF A KIND OF COOL, KIND OF SOPHISTICATION, A KIND OF MASCULINITY.

>> MILES.

>> WE WERE A HOT COUPLE.

THE ELEVATOR OPENED AND THERE HE WAS.

>> IT WAS LIKE IN A MOVIE WHEN YOU MEET THE VAMPIRE AND YOU KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO DIE AND YOU DON'T CARE.

>> HE BECOMES OUR BLACK SUPERMAN.

>> ALL I EVER WANTED TO DO WAS COMMUNICATE WHAT I FELT THROUGH MUSIC.

♪ ♪ >>> JOINING US NOW IS THE PRODUCER AND DIRECTOR OF MILES DAVIS, BIRTH OF THE COOL, STANLEY NELSON.

WELCOME TO "METROFOCUS".

>> THANK YOU.

>> I WANT TO START WITH A QUOTE THAT I HEARD IN THE CLIP A LITTLE BIT, BUT I WANT TO READ IT SO I GET IT RIGHT.

MYLES USED TO SAY MUSIC IS LIKE A CURSE TO ME AND COMES BEFORE ANYTHING UPON.

HOW IS THAT EMBLEMATIC OF THE LIFE OF THE MAN THAT YOU SPENT SO MUCH TIME IMMERSED IN?

>> FOR MILES, MUSIC WAS FIRST, SECOND, THIRD, EVERYTHING, YOU KNOW?

AND IT WAS MORE THAN HIS RELATIONSHIPS.

IT WAS MORE THAN THE PEOPLE IN HIS BAND.

WE'VE SEEN THAT OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN THE FILM.

MILES -- MUSIC IS JUST THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, YOU KNOW?

IF HE HAS TO SACRIFICE RELATIONSHIPS FOR MUSIC, HE DOES AND PEOPLE IN HIS BAND DON'T WANT TO MOVE AHEAD AND PLAY WHAT HE'S PLAYING THEY GO.

IT WAS -- HE'S KIND OF BEING A LITTLE BIT COY THERE BECAUSE TO MILES, MUSIC WAS EVERYTHING.

IT ALSO IS GOOD, BUT IT ALSO IS BAD.

>> OF COURSE.

SO THIS DEFINITELY TELLS US THE FULL STORY OF MILES DAVIS.

SO I WANT YOU TO TAKE US BACK A LITTLE BIT TO THE BEGINNING BECAUSE I'M NOT SURE HOW MANY PEOPLE KNOW HIS ORIGIN STORY AND THE ROLE OF THE LIFE THAT HE LEFT TO COME TO NEW YORK PLAYED IN THE PERSON HE BECAME.

>> MILES WAS BORN IN 1926 IN EAST ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

IT WAS THE SOUTH AND EVERYTHING THAT GOES WITH IT IN 1926, BUT MILES DAVIS' FATHER WAS A DENTAL SURGEON AND MILES DAVIS GREW UP ESPECIALLY FOR A BLACK KID IN THAT TIME, RICH.

THEY HAD A HOUSE IN EAST ST. LOUIS, BUT THEY ALSO HAD A FARM OUTSIDE OF EAST ST. LOUIS WHERE THEY HAD CATTLE AND PIGS AND HE HAD HIS OWN HORSE AND THAT'S HOW MILES GREW UP.

MILES HAD TWO JOBS IN HIS LIFE.

HE HAD ONE JOB AS A PAPER BOY AND HE WAS A MUSICIAN.

HIS FATHER WAS ABLE TO SUPPORT HIM FOR GOING TO JUILLIARD AND OTHER THINGS AND MILES' LIFE WAS VERY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE THINK OF AS THE JAZZ MUSICIAN IN HIS LIFE, BUT MILES WAS A PROTEGE.

SO MILES STARTS PLAYING WHEN HE'S 14 WITH BANDS AROUND EAST ST. LOUIS AND WE HAVE PICTURES OF HIM AND YOU SEE HE'S A LITTLE KID.

HE'S PLAYING WITH MEN AT 14 AND BECAUSE THE MEN ALL HAD DAY JOBS AND MILES BECOMES THE BAND MANAGER AND MANAGES THE BAND AT 14 AND 15, AND IN SOME WAYS WE SEE THAT INFLUENCE OF THAT IS MILES PROBABLY BECOMES THE GREATEST SMALL GROUP BAND LEADER IN THE HISTORY OF JAZZ.

>> OF COURSE, AS WE FOLLOW MILES' CAREER AND HE OF COURSE, COMES TO NEW YORK AND STUDIES AT JUILLIARD WHICH I'M NOT SURE A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW, BUT EVEN THEN THERE'S THIS UNIQUE INDIVIDUALISTIC REBELLIOUS STREAK THAT IS VERY CLEAR FROM THE VERY BEGINNING AND I'M JUST WONDERING HOW AS A YOUNG BLACK MAN IN THE '40s AND '50s EVEN IN A CITY LIKE NEW YORK, HOW IS HE ABLE TO NAVIGATE THAT WITHOUT GETTING SERIOUSLY HURT ALTHOUGH WE DO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE WERE TIMES WHEN HE GOT HURT, BUT WITHOUT GETTING SERIOUSLY HURT?

>> MILES IS LIVING AS A JAZZ MUSICIAN.

SO HE DOES HAVE THAT BUT HE TAKES A BEATING IN 1959 FROM A COP OUTSIDE OF BIRDLAND.

HE'S REALLY BLOODIED AND WE TALK ABOUT THAT IN THE FILM AND THERE ARE INCREDIBLE PICTURES AND JIMMY COBB WHO IS THERE AND FRANCIS TAYLOR WHO IS THERE AND TALK ABOUT THAT INCIDENT, BUT YOU KNOW, THAT WAS ALWAYS ONE OF THE KIND OF DICHOTOMIES THAT MILES EXISTED WITH, YOU KNOW?

HE'S BORN RICH, BUT HE'S BORN BLACK IN EAST ST. LOUIS AND HE BECOMES VERY EARLY ON AND THIS VERY SUCCESSFUL JAZZ MUSICIAN AND HE'S STILL SUBJECTED TO THE RACISM IN AMERICA AND IT ALWAYS IS SOMETHING THAT MILES DEALS WITH ALL HIS LIFE.

>> AS WE ALSO GET A CHANCE TO FOLLOW HIS CAREER AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIS MUSIC, AND WE OF COURSE GET TO THE SEMINAL ALBUM THAT HE DID WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING AND IS STILL ONE OF THE GREATEST JAZZ ALBUMS EVER RECORDED.

TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT IT WAS THAT -- HOW DID HE COME TO THAT PLACE?

BECAUSE WE FOLLOW A MUSICAL EVOLUTION AND IT'S NOT LIKE THE ALBUM CAME OUT OF NOWHERE.

>> THAT WAS WHAT WE FOUND IN THE FILM THAT THERE WAS THIS EVOLUTION AND IT ALL KIND OF MAKES SENSE.

SO MILES GOES TO FRANCE.

HE GOES TO FRANCE TO PLAY IN '57 AND '58 AND HE'S PLAYING THERE AND HE'S ASKED TO DO A SOUNDTRACK FOR THIS FRENCH FILM CALLED ELEVATED TO THE GALLOWS AND THE WAY HE DOES THE SOUNDTRACK IS HE GOES INTO THE STUDIO AND THEY PUT THE FILM UP ON THE STAGE AND HE PLAYS TO HIS BAND TO THE IMAGES ON THE SCREEN AND HE HAS A COUPLE OF NOTES AND THAT'S ALL HE HAS, AND HE MAKES A VERY FAMOUS RECORDING ELEVATED FROM THE GALLOWS AND HE BECOMES A SUCCESSFUL FRENCH FILM.

WHEN HE COMES BACK, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT HE DOES THE REST OF HIS LIFE.

HE GOES INTO THE STUDIO A YEAR LATER AND HE GOES INTO THE STUDIO FOR JUST SOME SKETCHES AS JIMMY COBB SAID NO, HE HAS A COUPLE OF PIECES OF PAPER AND I ASKED HIM WHAT DID MILES TELL YOU, THEN?

MILES JUST TOLD ME TO SWING AND WHAT COMES OUT OF THAT IS THIS ALBUM OF PURE IMPROVISATION THAT I WOULD ARGUE IS ONE OF THE GREATEST JAZZ ALBUMS OF ALL TIME.

>> WELL, ONE OF THE UNOFFICIAL CHARACTERS OF THIS FILM IS ALSO THE CITY OF NEW YORK AND THE ROLE THAT IT PLAYED NOT ONLY IN MILES' LIFE, BUT JUST IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF JAZZ.

THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER MUSICIANS WHO ARE HERE AT THE TIME WHO ARE JAMMING WITH HIM AND SITTING IN ON SESSIONS, ET CETERA.

TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THAT VIBE WAS LIKE.

>> SO MILES, HE GRADUATES HIGH SCHOOL IN EAST ST. LOUIS AND ALMOST LIKE THE NEXT DAY GETS ON THE TRAIN TO NEW YORK AND HE'S, LIKE, I'M GOING TO NEW YORK AND YOU KNOW, HIS PARENTS ESPECIALLY HIS MOTHER WANT HIM TO BE A VIOLINIST.

>> YEAH.

>> SO HE ENROLLS IN JUILLIARD, AND SO WHAT CAN HIS MOTHER SAY?

YOU'RE IN JUILLIARD, AND OKAY, YOU CAN GO TO NEW YORK AND HE COMES TO JUILLIARD AND HE'S STUDYING IN JUILLIARD DURING THE DAY AND PLAYING ON 52nd STREET WITH CHARLIE PARKER AT NIGHT AND VERY QUICKLY AT 19 OR 18, HE BECOMES A TRUMPETER FOR PARKER AND THAT WAS WHAT MILES HAD ALL HIS LIFE.

HE ALWAYS -- EVEN IF HE HAD A PLACE IN MALIBU, HE ALSO HAD A PLACE IN NEW YORK.

ONE OF THE THINGS I THOUGHT WAS INTERESTING IS THAT THIS FILM IS NOT JUST FOR THE JAZZ ENTHUSIAST.

I'VE HAD A CHANCE TO SEE IT AND WATCH IT WITH MY FAMILY AND SOME MILLENNIALS AND ET CETERA, AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE FULLY IMMERSED IN THE JAZZ WORLD TO APPRECIATE WHO MILES WAS AND WHAT HIS WORK REPRESENTED.

>> WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST INTENT THAT YOU WANTED IN MAKING THIS?

>> THAT IS SUCH AN INTERESTING QUESTION.

I'VE BEEN MAKING FILMS FOR 40 YEARS.

I WENT TO CITY COLLEGE IN NEW YORK AND MAKING FILMS FOR 40 YEARS AND THIS WAS A CHANCE TO MAKE A FILM ABOUT MILES DAVIS AND I WANTED TO PUT EVERYTHING I KNEW UP ON THE SCREEN AND TRIED TO MAKE A FILM THAT IN SOME WAYS WANT MOCKED, BUT KIND OF IMITATED AND KIND OF HAD THIS CREATIVE SENSE OF MILES.

SO WE FLEW -- AND WHEN I SAY WE, THE EDITOR, PRODUCER AND ASSOCIATE PRODUCER, WE PUT EVERYTHING WE COULD TO GIVE MILES HIS DUE.

THIS WAS A FILM ABOUT MILES DAVIS.

>> YEAH.

>> ABSOLUTELY.

IT COVERS SUCH AN AMAZING -- THE BREADTH OF SUCH AN AMAZING LIFE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS FILM.

IT WAS A REAL HONOR.

>> IT WAS SO GREAT ANDEN GROSSING TO WATCH.

>> FOR MORE INFORMATION ON AMERICAN MASTERS' PRESENTATION OF MILES DAVIS: BIRTH OF THE COOL.

VISIT US AT METROFOCUS.ORG.

♪ ♪ >>> METROFOCUS IS MADE POSSIBLE BY SUE AND EDGAR WACHENHEIM III, SILVIA A.

AND SIMON B.

POINT OF PROGRAM ENDOWMENT TO FIGHT ANTI-SEMITISM.

THE PETER G. PETERSON AND JOAN GANTZ FUND.

BERNARD AND DENISE SCHWARTZ.

BARBARA HOPE ZUCKERBERG.

THE AMBROSE MONELL FOUNDATION AND BY JANET PRINDEL SIDE LER, AND JUDY AND JOSH WESTIN.

DR. ROBERT C. AND TINA SLOAN FOUNDATION.

♪ ♪