“WE WANT MILES”

Miles Davis vs. Jazz

April 30 to August 29, 2010

With this exhibition, the Museum pays tribute to Miles Davis (1926-1991), one of the twentieth century’s greatest musicians. The multimedia retrospective (musical excerpts, film and documentary clips, drawings by Miles Davis; paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Mati Klarwein; photographs by Annie Leibovitz and Irving Penn; costumes, musical instruments and scores lent by the Davis family, etc.) recalls the highlights of his life and career, including his memorable concerts in Montreal.

It is an unusual encounter with a complex and committed character, a man of darkness and light, a protean artist, a creative genius who said of himself in 1987 that he had "changed the course of music history five or six times." The scenography, entirely designed around Davis’s music and the visitor’s listening comfort, includes recordings of the most iconic pieces by this legendary figure, who still arouses passionate admiration and whose influence goes far beyond the boundaries of jazz. This initial venture into the realm of jazz continues the Museum’s exploration of links between the visual arts and music launched with Warhol Live and Imagine.

$ Admission Fee
Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavilion