Davis was born 25 May 1926 into a comparatively wealthy middle-class family
and both his mother and sister were capable musicians. He was given a trumpet
for his thirteenth birthday by his dentist father, who could not have conceived
that his gift would set his son on the road to becoming a giant figure in
the development of jazz. Notwithstanding his outstanding talent as master
of the trumpet, Davis' versatility encompassed flugelhorn and keyboards
together with a considerable gift as a composer. This extraordinary list
of talents earned Davis an unassailable reputation as the greatest leader/catalyst
in the history of jazz. Such accolades were not used lightly, and he can
justifiably be termed a 'musical genius'. Davis quickly progressed from
his high school band into Eddie Randall's band in 1941, after his
family had moved to St. Louis. He studied at the Juilliard School
of Music in New York in 1945 before joining Charlie Parker, with
whom he had previously played in the Billy Eckstine band. By 1948 Davis
had played or recorded with many jazz giants, most notably Coleman Hawkins,
Dizzy Gillespie, John Lewis and Gerry Mulligan. That
year was to be a landmark for jazz; Davis, in collaboration with Gil
Evans, recorded a series of compositions that were eventually released
in 1956 as the highly influential album Birth Of The Cool. Davis had now
refined his innovative style of playing, which was based upon understatement
rather than the hurried action of the great bebop players. During the early
50s Davis became dependent on heroin and his career was put on hold for
a lengthy period. This spell of inactivity lasted until as late as 1954.
The following year his seminal quintet included, variously, Red Garland,
John Coltrane, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones, Bill Evans and Sonny Rollins.
Among their output was the acclaimed series of collections Cookin', Relaxin',
Workin' and Steamin'. During this time Davis was consistently voted the
number 1 artist in all the major jazz polls. No longer totally dependent
on drugs by this time, he set about collaborating with Gil Evans once again.
The orchestral albums made with Evans between 1957 and 1959 have all become
classics: Miles Ahead, Someday My
Prince Will Come , Round
About Midnight, Porgy
And Bess and the sparsely beautiful Sketches
Of Spain. Evans was able to blend lush and full orchestration with Davis'
trumpet - allowing it the space and clarity it richly deserved. Davis went
on further, assembling a sextet featuring a spectacular line-up including
Coltrane, Chambers, Bill Evans, Jimmy Cobb and
Cannonball Adderley. Two further landmark albums during this fertile
period were the aptly titled Milestones, followed by the fantastic Kind
Of Blue. The latter album is cited by many critics as the finest in jazz
history. More than 30 years later his albums are still available, and form
an essential part of any jazz record collection, with Kind Of Blue at the
top of the list. Ian Carr, Davis' leading biographer, perceptively
stated of Kind Of Blue in 1982: "The more it is listened to, the more it
reveals new delights and fresh depths". Miles was finding that as Coltrane
grew as a musician their ego's would clash. Miles would always play simple
and sparingly, Coltrane began to play faster and more complicated pieces
that soloed for far too (according to Miles).
Shortly before their inevitable final split an incident occurred which has
been passed down and repeated by musicians and biographers. Miles, who had
a dry sense of humour had chastised Coltrane for playing too long a solo.
Coltrane replied apologetically that; "I just get carried away, I get
these ideas which just keep coming and coming and sometimes I just can't
stop". Miles laconically replied; "Try taking the motherfucker out
of yo' mouth". In 1959, following the bizarre arrest and beating he
received at the hands of the New York Police, Davis took out a lawsuit,
which he subsequently and wisely dropped. Davis entered the 60s comfortably,
still the leading innovator in jazz, and shrugged off attempts from John
Coltrane to dethrone him in the jazz polls. Davis chose to keep to his sparse
style, allowing his musicians air and range. In 1964 Davis created another
musical landmark when he assembled arguably his finest line-up. The combination
of Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, and Tony
Williams, delivered the monumental E.S.P. in 1965. He continued
with this acoustic line-up through other recordings, including Miles
Smiles, Sorcerer,
Nefertiti,
Filles
De Kilimanjaro and some live recordings, including My Funny Valentine,
Four
& More and In
Europe. By the time of Filles De Kilimanjaro, Davis had gradually electrified
his various groups and took bold steps towards rock music, integrating multiple
electric keyboards and utilizing a wah-wah pedal connected to his electrified
trumpet. Additionally, his own fascination with the possibilities of electric
guitar assumed an increasing prominence in his bands. Davis, who recognized
the potential of blending traditional rock rhythms with jazz, was interested
in psychedelic and experimental rock, although he was often contemptuous
of some white rock musicians at this time. The decade closed with his band
being accepted by rock fans. Outstanding musicians Davis employed included
John McLaughlin, Keith Jarrett, Airto Moreira, Chick
Corea, Dave Holland, Joe Zawinul and Jack DeJohnette.
The major albums from this period were In
A Silent Way, Water Babies, Bitches
Brew (which unconsciously invented jazz rock and what was later
to be called fusion), On
The Corner and Jack
Johnson. These records were marketed as rock albums, and consequently
appeared in the regular charts. By the early 70's Davis had alienated himself
from the mainstream jazz purists by continuing to flirt with rock music.
In 1975, after a succession of personal upheavals including a car crash,
further drug problems, a shooting incident, more police harassment and eventual
arrest, Davis, not surprisingly, retired. During this time he became seriously
ill, and it was generally felt that he would never play again, but, unpredictable
as ever, Davis returned healthy and fit six years later with the comeback
album, The
Man With The Horn. He assembled a new band and received favourable reviews
for live performances. Among the personnel were guitarist John Scofield.
On the predominantly funk-based You're Under Arrest
and Decoy,
he tackled pure pop songs, and although unambitious by jazz standards. The
aggressive disco album Tutu
followed, featuring his trumpet played through a synthesizer. A soundtrack
recording for the Dennis Hopper movie The
Hot Spot found Davis playing the blues alongside John Lee Hooker.
During his final years - Amandla,
Siesta
- Davis settled into a comfortable pattern of touring the world and recording,
able to dictate the pace of his life with the knowledge that ecstatic audiences
were waiting for him everywhere. Following further bouts of ill health,
during which times he took to painting, Davis was admitted to hospital in
California and died in September 1991. Miles Davis' influence on rock music
is considerable; his continuing influence on jazz is inestimable.
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