Miles Davis

Lore & Background

Born into an affluent family in Alton, Illinois, and raised in East St. Louis, Davis started on the trumpet in his early teens. He studied at the Juilliard School in New York City before dropping out to make his professional debut with Charlie Parker's bebop quintet in 1945. He later recorded the Birth of the Cool sessions, instrumental to cool jazz, and in the early 1950s recorded some of the earliest hard bop music. After a comeback at the Newport Jazz Festival, he signed with Columbia Records and recorded 'Round About Midnight in 1955 and 1956, his first work with John Coltrane and Paul Chambers. During this period, he alternated between orchestral collaborations with Gil Evans, such as Sketches of Spain, and band recordings like Kind of Blue, which remains one of the most popular jazz albums of all time.

Reader's Guide

Miles Davis's career spanned nearly five decades, during which he was at the forefront of major stylistic developments in jazz, including bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, third stream, modal jazz, avant-garde jazz, and jazz fusion. His legacy extends into rock, funk, classical, and hip-hop. The album Kind of Blue has sold more than five million copies in the U.S. alone and 6.4 million worldwide. His 1970 record Bitches Brew helped spark a resurgence in jazz fusion's commercial popularity. After a five-year retirement due to poor health, Davis resumed his career in the 1980s, employing younger musicians and pop sounds, garnering his highest level of commercial recognition. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, recognized as 'one of the key figures in the history of jazz.' Rolling Stone described him as 'the most revered jazz trumpeter of all time, not to mention one of the most important musicians of the 20th century.'

Did You Know?

• Davis's first trumpet was a gift from John Eubanks, a friend of his father, when he was around nine years old.
• His mother wanted him to play the violin instead of the trumpet.
• Davis's 1970 album Bitches Brew sold over a million copies.
• He died from the combined effects of a stroke, pneumonia, and respiratory failure in 1991.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991) was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer." — Miles Davis "I’ll play it and tell you what it is later." — Miles Davis "In Szwed, John (2012). So What: The Life of Miles Davis. Random House. ISBN 9781448106462. , and in many other booksSometimes rendered as: I'll play it 'first and tell you what it is later." — Miles Davis "During a recording session for Prestige, on the album "Relaxin' with the Miles Davis Quintet" (1956)." — Miles Davis