Jazz Man

And for his next role, Don Cheadle will cast his sidekick suit of armor aside to pick up…a trumpet?

Oh yes he will, and he will kill it, too.

The Oscar nominee is set to direct himself as Miles Davis in Kill the Trumpet Player, a biopic about the legendary jazz man. Cameras are set to roll on the actor’s pet project next summer.

Ewan McGregor will co-star as a Rolling Stone reporter in the film, which will zero in on the time Davis briefly retired from music before reclaiming his place in the spotlight in 1979, while Zoë Saldana – who also has a biopic, about Nina Simone, coming out soon – will play Frances Davis, the trumpeter’s former wife.

I smell Oscar bait for the once-nominated star of Showtime’s House of Lies.

Photo: BlackClassicMovies.com.