Movies Like Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool (2019)

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool is a 2019 documentary, history, music film from Stanley Nelson with a MovieMagicScore of 7.2/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Chasing Trane and Let's Get Lost.

Documentary History Music

Chasing Trane

2017

An account of the life of the brilliant jazz musician John Coltrane (1926-67), a gifted saxophonist, an extraordinarily talented thinker whose original, avant-garde work has impacted and influenced people all over the world. A story about music's ability to entertain, inspire and transform.

7.3

MagicScore

Let's Get Lost

1988

Documentary about jazz great Chet Baker that intercuts footage from the 1950s, when he was part of West Coast Cool, and from his last years. We see the young Baker, he of the beautiful face, in California and in Italy, where he appeared in at least one movie and at least one jail cell (for drug possession). And, we see the aged Baker, detached, indifferent, his face a ruin. Includes interviews with his children and ex-wife, women companions, and musicians.

7.0

MagicScore

What Happened, Miss Simone?

2015

The film chronicles Nina Simone's journey from child piano prodigy to iconic musician and passionate activist, told in her own words.

7.4

MagicScore

The Cotton Club

1984

Harlem's legendary Cotton Club becomes a hotbed of passion and violence as the lives and loves of entertainers and gangsters collide.

6.5

MagicScore

Bird

1988

Saxophone player Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker comes to New York in 1940 and is quickly noticed for his remarkable way of playing. He becomes a drug addict but his loving wife Chan tries to help him.

6.8

MagicScore

Miles Ahead

2016

An exploration of the life and music of Miles Davis.

6.4

MagicScore

Amy

2015

A documentary on the life of Amy Winehouse, the immensely talented yet doomed songstress. We see her from her teen years, where she already showed her singing abilities, to her finding success and then her downward spiral into alcoholism and drugs.

7.6

MagicScore

'Round Midnight

1986

Inside the Blue Note nightclub one night in 1959 Paris, an aged, ailing jazzman coaxes an eloquent wail from his tenor sax. Outside, a young Parisian too broke to buy a glass of wine strains to hear those notes. Soon they will form a friendship that sparks a final burst of genius.

7.1

MagicScore

Shot! The Psycho-Spiritual Mantra of Rock

2017

A reckless joyride into the darkest corners of popular music that delves deep into the mind of Mick Rock, the genius photographer who immortalized the seventies and the rise to rock stardom of many legendary musicians.

6.9

MagicScore

#10

Lady Sings the Blues

1972

Chronicles the rise and fall of legendary blues singer Billie Holiday, beginning with her traumatic youth. The story depicts her early attempts at a singing career and her eventual rise to stardom, as well as her difficult relationship with Louis McKay, her boyfriend and manager. Casting a shadow over even Holiday's brightest moments is the vocalist's severe drug addiction, which threatens to end both her career and her life.

6.9

MagicScore

#11

Jammin' the Blues

1944

In this short film, prominent jazz musicians of the 1940s gather for a rare filming of a jam session. This highly stylized chronicle features tenor sax legend Lester Young.

6.9

MagicScore

#12

Soul

2020

Joe Gardner is a middle school teacher with a love for jazz music. After a successful audition at the Half Note Club, he suddenly gets into an accident that separates his soul from his body and is transported to the You Seminar, a center in which souls develop and gain passions before being transported to a newborn child. Joe must enlist help from the other souls-in-training, like 22, a soul who has spent eons in the You Seminar, in order to get back to Earth.

8.1

MagicScore

#13

The Color Purple

1985

An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry. After Celie's abusive father marries her off to the equally debasing 'Mister' Albert Johnson, things go from bad to worse, leaving Celie to find companionship anywhere she can. She perseveres, holding on to her dream of one day being reunited with her sister in Africa.

7.7

MagicScore

#14

Sweet and Lowdown

1999

In the 1930s, jazz guitarist Emmet Ray idolizes Django Reinhardt, faces gangsters and falls in love with a mute woman.

6.8

MagicScore

#15

New York, New York

1977

An egotistical saxophone player and a young singer meet on V-J Day and embark upon a strained and rocky romance, even as their careers begin a long uphill climb.

6.6

MagicScore

#16

They Shot the Piano Player

2023

New York, 2010. Jeff Harris, a music journalist, sets out to uncover the truth about Francisco Tenório Júnior, a young Brazilian samba-jazz pianist who disappeared in Buenos Aires on March 18, 1976.

6.4

MagicScore

#17

Young Man with a Horn

1950

Taken in by the musical world as a young orphan, Rick Martin grows up with a desire to play pure jazz instead of the commercial gigs he lands, whilst also coping with the problems caused by his tempestuous marriage to an aloof heiress.

6.4

MagicScore

#18

Blues in the Night

1941

A struggling band find themselves attached to a fugitive and drawn into a series of old feuds and love affairs, as they try to stay together and find musical success.

6.2

MagicScore

#19

Pete Kelly's Blues

1955

In 1927, a Kansas City, Missouri cornet player and his band perform nightly at a seedy speakeasy until a racketeer tries to extort them in exchange for protection.

6.1

MagicScore

#20

Shoot the Piano Player

1960

Charlie is a former classical pianist who has changed his name and now plays jazz in a grimy Paris bar. When Charlie's brothers, Richard and Chico, surface and ask for Charlie's help while on the run from gangsters they have scammed, he aids their escape. Soon Charlie and Lena, a waitress at the same bar, face trouble when the gangsters arrive, looking for his brothers.

7.2

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool?

The top films similar to Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool by MovieMagicScore are Chasing Trane (7.3), Let's Get Lost (7.0), What Happened, Miss Simone? (7.4). Each shares documentary/history/music themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool worth watching?

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.2/10 from 92 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool?

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool (2019) is a documentary, history, music film directed by Stanley Nelson, starring Carl Lumbly, Reginald Petty, Quincy Troupe.

Where can I find more recommendations like Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more documentary recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Chasing Trane Movies like Let's Get Lost Movies like What Happened, Miss Simone?Movies like The Cotton Club Movies like Bird Movies like Miles Ahead

About movies like Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

This ranked list pairs Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool (2019), a documentary and history and music film from Stanley Nelson, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Carl Lumbly take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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