Miles Davis

ONCE MILES DAVIS SAID:
"Without music, life would be a mistake"
"Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself"
"Don't fear mystakes, there are none"
"For me, music and life are all about style"
"Don't play what's there, play what's not there"
"Where words fail, music speaks"
"It's always been a gift with me, hearing music the way I do. I don't know where it comes from, it's there and I don't question it!"
"A LEGEND IS AN OLD MAN WITH A CANE KNOWN FOR WHAT HE USED TO DO. I'M STILL DOING IT" M.Davis
Miles Davis was one of the greatest visionaries and most important figures in jazz history. He was born in a well-to-do family in East St. Louis. He became a local phenom and toured locally with Billy Eckstine's band while he was in high school. He moved to New York under the guise of attending the Julliard School of Music. However, his real intentions were to hook up with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. He quickly climbed up the ranks while learning from Bird and Diz and became the trumpet player for Charlie Parker's group for nearly 3 years. His first attempt at leading a group came in 1949 and was the first of many occurrences in which he would take jazz in a new direction. Along with arranger Gil Evans, he created a nonet (9 members) that used non-traditional instruments in a jazz setting, such as French horn and Tuba. He invented a more subtle, yet still challenging style that became known as "cool jazz." This style influenced a large group of musicians who played primarily on the west coast and further explored this style. The recordings of the nonet were packaged by Capitol records and released under the name The Birth of the Cool. The group featured Lee Konitz, Gerry Mulligan, and Max Roach, among others. This was one of the first instances in which Miles demonstrated a recurring move that angered some: he brought in musicians regardless of race. He once said he'd give a guy with green skin and "polka-dotted breath" a job, as long as they could play sax as well as Lee Konitz. After spending 4 years fighting a heroin addiction, he conquered it, inspired by the discipline of the boxer Sugar Ray Robinson.
“It's always been a gift with me, hearing music the way I do. I don't know where it comes from, it's just there and I don't question it.” Miles Davis
After a triumphant performance of Thelonious Monk's classic 'Round Midnight at the 1955 Newport Jazz Festival, Miles became a hot commodity. He put together a permanent quintet that featured John Coltrane, Red Garland, "Philly Joe" Jones, and Paul Chambers. Miles had a gift for hearing the music in his head, and putting together a band of incredible musicians whose contrasting styles could result in meeting the end result he was looking for. He later added a 6th member, Cannonball Adderly and replaced Jones and Garland with Jimmy Cobb and Bill Evans. In the late 50s, his groups popularized modal jazz and changed the direction of jazz again. He made 2 more classics with the Sextet during this time, Milestones and Kind of Blue. After this time, most of his group left to form their own groups. This was a constant during Miles' career--he brought in the best up-and-coming musicians and after playing in his band and getting established, they formed their own groups. Among the bandleaders to have come from Miles band include: John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderly, Red Garland, "Philly" Jo Jones, Bill Evans, Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, (Shorter and Zawinul would go on to form the fusion group Weather Report) Keith Jarrett, Tony Williams, Herbie Hancock, John McGlaughlin, Chick Corea, John Scofield, Kenny Garrett, Mike Stern, and Bob Berg.During this time, Miles and Gil Evans collaborated again and made another unique record, Sketches of Spain, in which Miles plays Spanish Flamenco music backed by an orchestra. His tone is so beautiful and clear, it almost sounds like his trumpet is singing. After experimenting with different groups for 3 years, Miles, who was in his late 30s (old by jazz standards), fused his group with young players in order to bring in fresh ideas. In 1963, he put together his 2nd legendary quintet: Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and 16 year old drumming protege Tony Williams. For 5 years, this group pushed the limits of freedom and made some fiery jazz! In 1968, Miles brought in Joe Zawinul as a 2nd keyboardist and around this time, started experimenting with electric instruments. He made the classic In a Silent Way and a year later, he added British guitarist John McGloughlin and replaced Tony Williams (who left to form his own band) with Jack DeJohnette, and he took jazz in yet a whole new direction with the record Bitches Brew, in which he fused Rock Music with jazz and went heavily into electric music. This record fired the first shot in the fusion revolution which took jazz to a whole new level of popularity.In the early 1970s, Miles kept experimenting with the electric instruments and fusing more funk into his music. In 1976, a combination of bad health, cocaine use, and lack of inspiration caused Miles to go into a 5-year retirement. He conquered his cocaine habit, received new inspiration and returned in 1981 and made a series of records that I haven't heard. He did keep pushing music, as he was not one to rest on his laurels and play his old music. He started experimenting more with synthesizers and using studio techniques in his recordings. He won a series of Grammy Awards during this decade and continued turning out sidemen, such as Garrett, Stern, and Berg, listed above. Miles Davis died in 1991.
Miles & 'Trane - Kind Of Blue Period (1955-1961) The Collaboration That Created the Greatest Jazz Album of All TimeMiles debuted on Columbia Records with 'Round About Midnight, which established his classic first quintet and defined hard bop. As a result of Miles' exposure John Coltrane began to develop a reputation amongst musicians as a major voice. Milestones was Davis' first use of modes and joined by Cannonball Adderly the band became a powerful sextet. The '58 Sessions introduced Bill Evans to the world of Miles Davis and Evans' influence was apparent from these initial sessions.Miles' attitude became more focused and romantic and resulted in the Kind Of Blue recording, which many consider to be one of Jazz Music's great recordings. Someday My Prince Will Come brought Miles into a funkier setting with Hank Mobley and Wynton Kelly joining Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb. Coltrane was brought in to record two songs on this session.
Miles & Gil - Sketches Of Spain Period (1957-1968)These albums are the definitive examples of how Miles Davis' voice was the catalyst for Gil Evans' lush and simpatico orchestrations. Miles Ahead was the first major production that Columbia undertook on behalf of Miles and the music is powerful and exciting. Porgy And Bess furthered the collaborative efforts of Davis and Evans with this glorious recording. On Porgy And Bess Miles was given the background by Gil Evans that allowed him to be the "singer of songs" that Gil wanted him to be. Sketches Of Spain (based on Rodrigo's "Concerto De Aranjuez for Guitar and Orchestra") was the most successful blending of jazz and classical music and created for Miles a sound that he developed further in his career. Quiet Nights was an attempt to define the Brazilian sound that was becoming fashionable during the early Sixties.
The Second Great Quintet Period (1965-1968) When Miles assembled Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams he had a band that straddled both the traditions of jazz and the new frontiers that lay ahead. ESP was the first studio recording that captured the interplay and creative potential that the band was to develop. Miles Smiles is one of the best small group jazz albums that Miles made and the music was daring and ferocious. Sorcerer and Nefertiti were mysterious albums that captured the impressionistic side of the Quintet. Both albums were recorded during June and July of 1967 and reflect the band as a work in progress. Miles In The Sky pointed to the changing direction that Miles was seeking as he added the Fender Rhodes Electric Piano to his arsenal of sound as well as the incorporation of funk into the band's rhythmic palate. This group was one of the most influential bands in jazz.
The Electric Period - Rock, Fusion, Funk (1968-1972) Once Miles had made a commitment to move his music forward he began a journey that changed the jazz world forever. Starting in 1968, he began using electric keyboards exclusively and soon electric bass and electric guitar, percussion and bass clarinet began to come into the Miles' uncanny sense of musical color.Water Babies was a collection of sessions that was released in 1976 - eight years after its recording - and it sounded just as fresh. Filles De Kilimanjaro was a ground breaking album that defined Miles' move into the world of Rock and Roll. In A Silent Way was an influential recording in that it showed that the Rock influence in Miles' music still had a pretty side.However, Bitches Brew was Miles' breakthrough album, selling over 400,000 copies in the first year of it's release. Every major fusion star from the Seventies appeared on this recording and Miles became successful as well as controversial. This album is considered by critics as the great divide between jazz tradition and jazz mutation.A Tribute To Jack Johnson was Miles' only totally rock influenced album and was used as a soundtrack to a documentary of the famous boxer. Live-Evil was a mix of studio experimentation and a live concert from Washington, DC. Black Beauty and Live At Fillmore captured Miles' band at it's creative peak and intensity as Miles pushed the limits of jazz and rock. On The Corner was Miles' attempt to reach the young black audience that had eluded him. This also became a very controversial record at the time, but has been defined today as avant-garde with the use of overdubbing, looping and intense dance rhythms. In Concert, Dark Magus, Pangaea, and Agharta were recorded live and represented Miles' band at it's most abstract and atmospheric, with the use of three guitars and long vamps. Get Up With It was Miles' last studio album to be released before he retired from active playing in 1976, and contains a beautiful, haunting tribute to Duke Ellington.
The later works The Man With A Horn & Beyond — The Later Works Miles On The Comeback When Davis returned to an active musical life in 1980, he had a new band and a sound that was contemporary but not so abstract. The Man With A Horn was his debut recording from this period and brought Miles back into the limelight. We Want Miles captured his new touring band live in concert and brought more young fans into Miles' world as a result of his touring. Decoy and You're Under Arrest are studio albums that showed Miles was still listening to contemporary black music and making it very personal. Aura was Miles' last great recording, using an orchestra and performing a suite written specially for him. Unlike his other recordings from the Eighties, Aura is a mostly acoustic album that brought back memories of an earlier Miles to the ears of his fans.