The Miles Davis Story: 2. Back off the Ropes

About this episode

Clarke Peters explores a period when Miles Davis, the "King of Cool," was nearly knocked out for good. By the early 1950s, Miles had hit rock bottom - scraped off a Manhattan gutter by a friend and forced to pawn his trumpet to fund a heroin habit that had swallowed his career and his reputation. Clarke follows Miles on a desperate, 20-hour bus ride back to his father’s farm, where he would face his greatest demon in a brutal, solitary fight for his life. We discover how Miles used the grit and physical discipline of his boxing idols, Jack Johnson and Sugar Ray Robinson, to survive a "cold turkey" recovery and find a radical new way to play. Using a Harmon mute to create a dark, aching, and intensely intimate sound that would become his signature, Miles began a high-stakes hustle to reclaim his throne. From the shame of a prison cell to a last-chance appearance at a major jazz festival, this is the story of a legendary artist fighting his way back from the brink to see if the world was still listening. Narrator and longtime fan Clarke Peters (The Wire, Treme) explores the restless genius and radical evolution of Miles Davis. Across five episodes, Clarke traces a 50 year odysse