By Lucy Komisar

“Miles” at the Edinburgh Fringe is about the great jazz musician, his art and his life, Written and directed by Oliver Kaderbhai, it is not only a biography but a fascinating exploration of Miles Davis’s music with details that will fascinate jazz fans and musicologists. (Helps to know about flats and sharps!)

Benjamin Akintuyosi as Miles lies on a block of wood as a tape recorder plays Miles. The man becomes the music. Interesting background. His faither teaches him when to throw, when to swerve, visuals of Joe Louis fighting. Studied at Julliard. Talks about the influence of Prokofiev and Stravinsky.

Then when he was 22 in Paris 1949 he has an affair with singer Juliette Greco. Says something about his sophistication. Akintuyosi is excellent as Miles. You feel his energy, his passion and his sorrows.

He played with Charlie Parker, Dizzie Gillespie. The backdrop of the story is the “Kind of Blue” album he did in 1959. He thought it his most important. There were complaints about it. Did everybody get credited? I thought it was inside baseball.

Sometimes genius has its dark side. He was shooting drugs. Why was that so prevalent among jazz musicians? He went cold turkey on his father’s farm in Iowa.

And abuse of women. He was a womanizer, represented here by his carrying around one hanger of a glittery dress, and another of his wife’s plain dress. Hookers gave him money.

But then there is his screaming horn. And he starts to tap dance, explaining he learned a combination of African and Irish dance.

Akintuyosi is a charmer, tough. It’s a play that acolytes of Miles Davis want to see.

“Miles.”  Written and directed by Oliver Kaderbhai. Summerhill Courtyard, Edinburgh. Runtime 1 hr. July 31 to Aug 25, 2025.