See Don Cheadle as Miles Davis in first Miles Ahead clip

The screening marks the film’s world premiere.

“The clip below shows off a recording session and off the bat Cheadle nails Davis” raspy voice.

Cheadle clearly goes for the latter in his directorial debut, set in the five-year period Davis spent out of the public eye in the late ’70s (a decade before his death in 1991 at 65). “It hasn’t been, I’d say, until the a year ago that I’ve been playing consistently”. Cheadle has done a real-life portrayal before in 2004’s Hotel Rwanda.

“I just wasn’t interested in doing a story that way with this particular artist – this singular artist”, he said. Movies posted the first clip.

Given the unconventional nature of the project, Cheadle and his co-screenwriter, Steven Baigelman, took a few factual liberties: for instance, the reporter McGregor plays is a composite of a number of writers who clamored to interview Davis in the 70s. What he wanted to make, he continued, was “something that was different and more dynamic than something that a documentary could do a lot better”. “We did a lot of the editing in the script and then we handed it over to John Axelrad after we finished shooting it and he took it all the way home”, he told me. It started to feel like a mandate. “We didn’t know if it would say something unusual about the movie, and that nobody believes in it”.

The production came to the Queen City soon after production wrapped on “Carol”. The actress added that having the opportunity to portray Taylor, who meant so much to her, was also an honor and a rewarding process.

Frances – who is played in the film by the terrific Emayatzy Corinealdi – is in her 80’s now and is still attractive.

“Miles Ahead” will hit USA cinemas early next year. “I think had we told it in a way that was chronological, was cradle to grave, was standard telling, we would’ve been pigeonholed into these moments that coincided with the music, and they would’ve all been given short shrift”. “I saw his facial expressions, talked to my cousins and we all said here we are!” “So I wanted to create a piece in which the music could support those stories”.

The elegant after party was at Tavern on the Green and the music was sensational: a jazz quartet performed and the soundtrack featured, of course, music by Miles Davis, Janis Joplin and Marvin Gaye. His character’s first encounter results in Miles punching him out. I moved to New York, met some cats, made some music, did some dope, made some more music.

Cheadle did not want to make a standard biopic.

In explaining the unusual structure and energy of the film, he told me on the red carpet he was going for something original and in the spirit of Robert Fosse’s “All That Jazz” and “Lenny”.

See Gil Evans and Miles Davis onstage together in this clip from 1959, where they’re performing “New Rhumba” off Miles Ahead.

Additionally, Cheadle was inspired by Davis’ music and said he has wanted to make a film about Davis for a long time.