In search of Diz and Bird

I was really impressed with Collateral. Great shots of LA at night. Aerial shots from helicopters, landscape views, simple shots of streets and highways. At one stage, Tom Cruise suggests going to this jazz bar where Mingus played along with all the West Coast giants. He meets the owner, a trumpet player. Subsequent to their chat, you see a jazz band playing. I thought the music was familiar and then realised it was fusion-era Miles. I could hear Joe Zawinul's keyboard lines crystal clear and I thought that it would be near possible to re-create that precisely. I stayed after the film to check the credits and they had simply just played the Miles original and the band were miming. Cheap, but still good. The chat had this guy telling a story about Miles walking into this club and bad-mouthing this well-to-do couple. Then Cruise gives this guy a chance to answer a question to save his life. He asked where Miles learned to play. The owner guy said 'Juillard, NYC'. Cruise shot him and said that he dropped out after a year and went in search of Diz and Bird and learnt his trade through them. I would have said Juillard. Calexico were also on the soundtrack.

Collateral,jazz,Miles Davis,