Why no jazz fan ever saw Miles Davis.

I finally got to see Don Cheadle’s superb performance as Miles Davis in the biopic Miles Ahead last night. But jazz buffs aren’t like the rest of us. You don’t go and “see” a jazz band, you go and “hear” them. A rock concert will have all sorts of visual elements but at Ronnie Scott’s or the Jazz Cafe, you go to hear more than to see. It’s all about the music and they take it very seriously indeed. Which may be the reason I can’t. I know A Kind of Blue is often cited as one of the greatest records ever made but it is A Kind of Boring. I know I should pick something nine minutes long by Miles Davis but on this beautiful sunny day, wouldn’t you rather hear this?