We want Miles - Miles Davis vs. Jazz

We want Miles
Miles Davis vs. Jazz

Miles Davis, whose popularity goes well beyond the public of jazz lovers, has established himself as one of the great masters of silence, perpetually using a certain class and casualness as the foundations of his style. Always, there where it is not expected, he feels the urge to stray from his objectives as soon as he finds the means to achieve them.

The territories of Desire
Saint Louis, Charlie Parker, Harlem, 52^nd Street, Minton's Play House, Paris, Saint Germain Des Prés, Juliette Greco, the beautiful cars, boxing, the dress code, the Birdland incident, Klarwein, Mac Coy, etc.. form an ensemble made up of emblematic places, people, works and events that we have called ‘the territories of desire’ through which Miles Davis' musical universe was constructed and which unfold in a strictly chronological manner throughout the visit. The scenography places this set of territories at the peripheral limits of the spaces in the form of large pictorial panels, some details of which are highlighted to make them more evocative.

The giant ‘mutes’
In the centre of the space and outfitted in reflective coverings, ovoid volumes reflect the ‘territories of desire’. We have named them the ‘giant mutes’. The heart of each cavity is a live listening space organised around Miles’ trumpets. These acoustically treated volumes contain and absorb all the diffused sound sources, thus controlling the ‘inter-permeability’ of the sounds. Giant mutes line the two rooms and provide comfortable seating on their outer walls.

Project
Travelling exhibition "We want Miles"

Location
Le Cité de la Musique Paris 19e - 2009
Le Musée des Beaux-Arts Montréal, Québec 2010
Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, Brésil + SESC Pinheiros Sao Paulo - 2011

Tender
Public

Surface
700 m²

Team
Projectiles, architect + scenograph (project manager)
Wa75, graphic design
Nex acoustique, acoustician
Vincent Taurisson, sound design
Adequat, construction economist

Client
La Cité de la Musique de Paris

Stage
COMPETITION 2007
DESIGN IN PROGRESS 2008
CONSTRUCTION 2008 → 2009
IN USE from October 16, 2009 to January 17, 2010