Miles the artist? Have I got this right? Well, yes: not content with his monumental achievements in jazz, Mr Davis also sought to express himself visually.
You can see the results for yourself all this week at London’s Exchange Court Gallery (Maiden Lane, WC2) where Keith Denney and Andrew Clarke of Balmain Fine Art have assembled around 40 exhibits acquired from Miles’s sculptress girlfriend, Jo Gelbard.
It was on meeting Jo that he stopped drawing and switched to oils, but some of his last sketches are on display too: angular works influenced by his love of Star Trek and Aliens as well as the high-cheekboned beauty of his previous muse, Giulia Trojer.
The paintings give off a strong sense of anger – at least, they do to me but Keith Denney doesn’t agree. Either way, there’s the trademark Davis lack of compromise and the quality of a one-off about every piece. Miles never felt the need to do anything twice.
Each item has been sympathetically framed and Andy Clarke has even added apt titles such as Fly Me To The Moon and Time After Time (recalling Miles’s cover of the Cyndi Lauper hit). Though the artist didn’t bother to name any of them, Jo Gelbard feels he would have approved of this touch.
I only saw Miles Davis on stage once, at Hammersmith in 1982 when his playing was sparse and much of his evening was spent glowering at the rest of the band. Keith Denney recalls him in the front row of the audience at Ronnie Scott’s.
Picture it: the lugubrious Ronnie has the temerity to remove the Davis shades and don them himself, declaring to the room, “I can see why you wear them, Miles. Through these, EVERYONE looks black!” Thankfully, Miles smiles.
The exhibition – mounted to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Kind Of Blue – continues till Saturday 6th June at 6pm.
