Fred Astaire & Miles Davis, a poem by Jim Merod
It Could Happen To You, as Miles knew,
growing up affluent near East St. Louis,
his father's horse paddock down the path
from my Aunt Rica's house in Millstadt.
More than most in the Depression, Miles
had means and interest to see films,
among them Astaire's and Ginger Rogers'
mesmerizing otherworldly grace.
Miles' first quintet recorded be-bop classics
alongside ballads for Bob Weinstock.
All his life Miles' adored lyrical beauty,
increasingly resisting its irresistible seduction.
Listen to his hip use of space, temporal
intervals inviting movement's gliding flow,
dance-like ease skating relaxed across
gorgeous quickly-caught recordings.