| Miles Davis |
|
|
|
Biography | ||
|
Born: May 26, 1926 Hometown: Alton, Illinois Instrument: Trumpet Music Training: trumpet lessons at 12; Julliard School of Music (Institute of Musical Art), Charlie "Bird" Parker Bands and Orchestras: Miles Davis All Stars Signature Song: Miles Davis biography: Unlike many famous Jazz personalities Miles Davis was not the product of an impoverished family. He was the son of Dr. Miles Dewey Davis, Jr. a dental surgeon who moved the family to East St. Louis shortly after the birth. Miles took up the trumpet at 12 and by 16 he was playing in local clubs and out of town on weekends. He joined Eddie Randle's Blue Devils at 17 and sat in with the Billy Eckstine Big Band when they played in St. Louis. It was here that he first met Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie "Bird" Parker and was introduced to their Bebop style of Jazz. He moved to New York to attend the Institute of Musical Art since renamed the Julliard School of Music, but abandoned his academic studies to pursue a full-time career in music. He first joined Benny Carter's Band where he made his first recordings, then Billy Eckstine and then Charlie Parker's group in 1947-48 where he mad his first recordings as a lead man. In 1948 he organized his own 9 piece band with an unusual horn section. After a stint at the Royal Roost in New York he received a recording contract with Capitol Records. In January of 1949 the group produced 12 tracks that garnered little attention. In may he co-led a band with pianist Ted Dameron at the Paris Jazz Festival. It was around this time that Davis was forced to deal with his growing dependence on heroin as his performance on the trumpet began to suffer. In January of 1951 he began a long series of recording for Prestige Records. After a stirring performance of "Round Midnight" at the Newport Jazz Festival in July of 1955 Columbia Records signed him to a contract. This enabled him to put together a permanent quintet which included John Coltrane. The groups debut album for Columbia was Round About Midnight. By now Davis had kicked his drug habit. Since he still was committed to producing 5 more albums for Prestige Davis spent much of his time in recording studios producing albums such as The New Miles Davis Quintet for Prestige and Miles Ahead a collaboration with Gil Evans for Columbia. In April of 1958 he added saxophonist Cannonball Adderley to his group making it a sextet for the album Milestones. In July he once again teamed up with Gil Evans for an album of music from Porgy and Bess. HIs 1959 offering Kind of Blue would become a landmark in Jazz recordings and Davis' all time best selling album, eventually selling over 2 million copies. In 1960 Davis and Gil Evans received a Grammy nomination for Sketches of Spain. In 1962 his Davis at Carnegie Hall album earned another Grammy nomination. Davis and Evans earned another Grammy nomination for their final collaboration Quiet Nights in 1964. As a whole the Columbia Collection would earn him a Grammy for Best Historical Album. In 1963 Davis reorganized the the quintet adding such notables as Herbie Hancock on piano. His 1970 offering of Bitches Brew represented his move into a more Rock oriented form of Jazz winning a Grammy for large-group Jazz performance. Davis was idled due to health reasons through most of the 70s returning to the chase in 1980 with the album The Man With the Horn. During the 80s he recorded a number of albums and went back on tour. We Want Miles earned him another Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance by a Soloist. His last album Doo-Bop recorded with rapper Easy Mo Bee won him a Grammy posthumously. Died: Sep 28, 1991
Links to sites of interest about Miles Davis: |
|
|
| Miles Davis |
| CDs/MP3 Downloads |
| Biography |
| Books |
| Concert Tickets |
| Music Videos |
| Posters |
| Fan Sites |
| Vote 4 Favorite Artist |
 |
| Performing Artists: |
| Male Celebrities |
| Female Celebrities |
| Recording Artists: |
| BY STYLE: | Blues & Jazz |
| Country & Western |
| Pop Charts |
| R & B |
| Rock 'n Roll | Rap / Hip Hop |
