One of the most influential figures in jazz music history,
Miles Davis changed styles as easily as some people changed clothes and became a true cultural icon revered by fans and critics alike.
Davis was born in Alton, Illinois on May 26, 1926, and grew up in East St. Louis, where he played in his high school band and with several local R&B groups. Davis chose jazz over these other forms and soon headed off to Julliard music school in New York City to pursue his jazz career there. Davis dropped out of Julliard for an opportunity to play in Charlie Parker’s band
Continued...
and underwent a trial by fire, eventually learning to become a formidable jazz man. After leaving Bird, Davis joined a band that in direct contrast to Birds’s frenetic pace, was playing with a more relaxed, laid back approach. Davis became their ad hoc leader, developing the style that would become widely known as cool jazz. In the 50s, Davis played with another group, which included
John Coltrane and Paul Chambers. The group became very popular and recorded several essential albums, including Cookin', Steamin', Workin', and Relaxin'. When the quintet broke up, Davis spent time collaborating with arranger Gil Evans, resulting in great albums like Porgy and Bess and Sketches of Spain. He finished the decade out by recording one of the best known jazz albums of all time, Kind of Blue.
In the 1960s, Davis put together another group which included up and coming star
Herbie Hancock. The music of this group was more complex, and opened the way for group improvisation and jazz freestyling. In the70s, Davis realized that rock had replaced jazz as the music of choice for the younger generation. In order not to get left behind, he began to perform with an electronic band: electric guitar, electric bass, banks of electronic keyboards, and even an amplified trumpet. Critics and hardcore fans didn’t know what to make of the new sound, but the general public gobbled it up as Davis’s 1970 album Bitches Brew, turned out to be the best-selling jazz album of all time. Davis continued to perform and record throughout the 1970s and 1980s, primarily with electronic groups. He died on September 28, 1991, but not before his music, style, and collaborations had made him a pop culture hero.
