Miles Davis has been considered by many to be one of the
most influential musicians the 20th century has seen. With 48 studio
albums, 61 session compilations, 53 live albums and 72 collaborations set to
vinyl, the trumpeter was no stranger to the world of mainstream jazz.
Throughout his career, Davis had his finger in every jazz-pie imaginable,
recording albums delving into be-bop, cool jazz, Spanish-folk fusion,
psychedelic and even hip-hop. With his music aside, Davis is known to have had
an interesting life and is often described as something of an odd character.
Earlier in the year, George Tillman Jr. was named as director of a Miles Davis
biopic set to go into production soon, separate to the Davis biopic that Don
Cheadle has been developing for some time. The film is to portray the jazz icon’s
addictions, penchants for women as well as the hugely important musical career.
Miles Davis III was given his first trumpet at the age of
13 by his father, despite his mother’s wish for him to take up violin. He
became an apt player within a short
amount of time, and had developed his signature full-bodied, clear tone by the
age of 15 as his teacher, Illinois trumpeter Elwood Buchanan, insisted he
played without vibrato. This provided his sound with strong, yet calm notes. At
the age of 18, Davis made his recording debut as trumpet player in Charlie
Parker’s bebop quintet, with whom he was recording until he was 21. In 1945,
Davis made his debut recording as band leader, but this was not released until
1990, under the title First Miles. His debut release as leader came in
1951 with Blue Period under Prestige Records. By this stage, it was
already believed that Miles Davis had developed a serious addiction to heroin.
Davis returned to his father in Illinois in 1954 to cure himself of his
addiction, which he managed to do.
By this time, the entirety of the seminal compilation
Birth of the Cool had already been laid down, but was not released until 1957.
His recordings up until then received unimpressed criticisms, this being one of
the reasons for Davis’ deep addiction, so it came as a huge relief when his
1957 releases achieved acclaim. Those releases were Birth of the Cool, which is
considered to be the forerunner of ‘cool jazz’ and one of his best known works,
and Cookin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet, the first of four hard-bop session
recordings from 1956 (the others being Relaxin’, Workin’ and Steamin’ with the
Miles Davis Quintet). These recordings were the first with legendary
saxophonist John Coltrane in the Davis Quintet, who would remain in the band
during some of the most famous rounds. Already showing he could span genres,
with his move from bebop to cool jazz, he released Miles Ahead under Columbia
Records in a Big Band setting, playing a flugelhorn instead of a trumpet, and
then the Spanish folk themed Sketches of Spain. In 1959, he went into studio to
record what is considered by many to be his masterpiece, the improvisation lead
by Miles Davis that is Kind of Blue.
As Davis moved into his electric fusion stage with his
second great quintet in the 1960’s, he began to lose any traditional aspects
that remained in his sound and delved into a purely modal ‘freebop’ style of
improvisation. This can be heard in 1967’s Nefertiti and 1968’s Filles de
Kilimanjaro, the latter beginning to use electric instruments and also
portraying his new wife, gritty funk singer Betty Davis. Though the pair
divorced a year later, Betty (née Marbry) influenced Davis’ work to a huge
degree, leading him to release his most controversial record, the psyche-jazz
Bitches Brew. Originally entitled Witches Brew, Marbry convinced him to be more
edgy with the title and pushed him deeper into the funk and psyche scene. The
record contained two bassists, at times three drummers and three keyboard
players. The sound, though hugely innovative and well regarded by some,
alienated a lot of his followers, including many important jazz musicians, some
feeling it wasn’t jazz at all. Despite this it influenced many; in particular,
fusion group Weather Report.
Through the 70’s and 80’s, Davis went on to record many
forgotten collections, some wonderful compositions such as the R&B styled
Tutu and his tributes to Jack Johnson, but Davis sealed the end of his
recording career with his hip-hop album Doo-Bop, with rapper Easy Mo-Bee,
generally forgotten for good reason. In September 1991, Davis died due to
respiratory failure and pneumonia after having a stroke. He is still considered
one of the most influential musicians in modern music.
http://issuu.com/MSUVPSEC/docs/the_print_volume_3_issue_6/9
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