Celebrating the Birthday of Miles Davis

On May 26, 1926, Miles Davis, the legendary jazz leader, composer, and trumpeter, was born.

I've spent many articles on Miles in the past; but you can never have enough of talking or discussing this great figure, for his contributions to music generally, and jazz specifically, are far too numerous.

Never seeking to stay stagnant or fade into obscurity or being considered a 'relic' of the past, Miles always kept pushing his music further.

It started when he moved away from bebop, into cool jazz, a style that he was monumental in developing, to his shift to hard bop during the early to mid, 50's. His leap into modal jazz was cemented when he released the best selling jazz album of all time, Kind of Blue, to much acclaim.

He started playing with electric sounds and literally creating the genre of fusion, Miles released In a Silent Way, and then the Electric Miles phase was born.

Electric Miles

He even released (although posthumously), a hip-hop/jazz album with the help of Easy Mo Bee called Doo Wop.

His trumpet style is also widely duplicated, in the philosophy of "less is more".

His legacy lives on through his music, and all the awards such as the Lifetime Achievement Award, several  Grammys  and the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame. 

We salute the King of the Cool, Miles Davis, and I leave you with one of his most recognizable songs, a live version of "So What" of the Kind of Blue album, featuring John Coltrane on the tenor sax, and don't forget the block party being hosted by his estate in NYC for the Miles Davis Way celebration!