Don Cheadle’s movie about Miles Davis, called Miles Ahead, opens Friday in New York. Much of it is set in 1979 during an era when Miles lived in a brownstone on the Upper West Side and was struggling with drug addiction. Though it attempts to capture Miles’ essence, the movie tells a fictional caper story, and so far it’s gotten mixed reviews. (The Times’ Manohla Dargis wrote “Purists may howl, but they’ll also miss the pleasure and point of this playfully impressionistic movie.”)
Miles lived at 312 West 77th street for about 25 years, and he was honored in 2014 with a street sign on the block.
There was a block party on the day of the naming, and dozens of family members and friends came to pay their respects and have a good time.
One of his former neighbors commented: “I lived in 310 W. 77th for many years. Miles Davis was a good neighbor. Every now and then someone would use our roof to try to break into his house! Never a dull moment on the Upper West Side…”
Photos of the street naming courtesy of Gregg Butensky.
Check out the Miles Ahead trailer below:
