That rarity a prime time spot for a jazz themed programme hoves into view on national TV.

Tonight at 9pm Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool is on BBC2. Directed by Stanley Nelson who, when the film first entered cinemas last year, said: “The story of Miles Davis has often been told as the story of a drug-addled genius. You rarely see a portrait of a man that worked hard at honing his craft, a man who deeply studied and understood classical music. An elegant man who could render ballads with such tenderness, yet hold rage in his heart from the racism he faced throughout his life. “He could be extremely generous, yet rescind that generosity on a whim. He could be shamelessly romantic with the women in his life, then unspeakably cruel. Miles was a man apart — in life, in love, in music — and there has never been a major documentary about this man who never looked back, rarely apologised, and changed everything we thought we knew about jazz, about music — several times in his career.”

Features ''never-before-seen archival footage, studio outtakes and rare photos.''

Miles Davis above. Photo: Tom Palumbo.