TV Reviews : ‘Miles Davis’ Profiles an Artist in Decline

“Miles Davis and Friends,” which the Bravo cable channel will show tonight at 7 and midnight, was taped in Paris during the trumpeter’s final European tour. It is not, however, the reportedly memorable concert at which Davis, during a concert in Montreux, Switzerland, revived some of the classic works arranged by Gil Evans. There’s the rub.

Taped a few weeks before that event, which will be seen later, this is primarily a representation of the electronic/rock/funk era through which Davis passed during his last decade. It also marks a reunion with several distinguished former sidemen, but the exciting prospects offered by their presence are seldom realized.

True, Herbie Hancock is on hand playing his own “Watermellon Man.” Granted, the memorable “All Blues” is heard, with Chick Corea at the keyboard. But neither performance comes within blowing distance of the originals, recorded decades ago.

An ailing, gum-chewing, seemingly disinterested Davis is a shadow of his pristine self. Such pieces as “Human Nature” and “Jean Pierre” come across threadbare and perfunctory. Only on “In a Silent Way,” with Joe Zawinul on keyboard and his old Weather Report partner Wayne Shorter on saxophone, is the level of the early treatment approached.

John McLaughlin on guitar, Dave Holland on bass, and the saxophonists Kenny Garrett, Bill Evans and Steve Grossman are among the fast-changing cast of characters in this uneven portrait of a superb artist in his decline. The most memorable aspect of “Miles and Friends” is the consistently admirable camera work. We can hardly wait for the Montreux tape to remind us that this was not really the end of the miracle Miles.