Miles Davis was one of the greatest visionaries and most important figures in jazz history. He played the trumpet in an introspective and melodic style. To examine his career is to examine the history of jazz from the mid-'40s to the early '90s. He was part of almost every important innovation and stylistic development of jazz music during that period.
Born into a well-to-do family in East St. Louis, he became a local legend and toured with Billy Eckstine's band while he was in high school. He then moved to New York to attend the Julliard School of Music. However, his real intentions were to hook up with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie and quickly climbed up the ranks learning from them for almost 3 years.
He then invented a more subtle, yet challenging style known as "cool jazz." His first attempt at leading a group came in 1949; the first of many occurrences in which he would take jazz in a new direction. Miles had a gift for hearing the music in his head, and putting together a band of incredible musicians. Along with arranger Gil Evans, he created his first group with nine members that used non-traditional jazz instruments such as French horn and Tuba. This style influenced a large group of musicians who played primarily on the west coast and further explored this style.
Miles became a hot commodity after a triumphant performance of Thelonious Monk's classic ‘Round Midnight’ at the 1955 Newport Jazz Festival. He put together another group featuring: John Coltrane, Red Garland, "Philly Joe" Jones, and Paul Chambers. He made 2 classics with the Sextet during this time; Milestones and Kind of Blue. In 1968, Miles began experimenting with electric instruments. And again, he took jazz in another direction with the record Bitches Brew, in which he fused Rock Music with jazz and went heavily into electric music which took jazz to a whole new level of popularity. He won a series of Grammy Awards and had a professional career lasting 50 years. The great Miles Davis died in 1991, but his music lives on.
Here is one of Miles Davis' last performances, Micheal Jackson's 'Human Nature'
For music and memorabilia check:
http://www.legacyrecordings.com/
http://www.icon-collectibles.com/
