Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music. Davis adopted a variety of musical directions in a five-decade career that kept him at the forefront of many major stylistic developments in jazz. Born and raised in Illinois, Davis left to study at the Juilliard School in New York City, before dropping out and making his professional debut as a member of saxophonist Charlie Parker's bebop quintet from 1944 to 1948. Shortly after, he recorded the Birth of the Cool sessions for Capitol Records, which were instrumental to the development of cool jazz. (read more on wikipedia)
Links to Peel[]
Although modern jazz never played a major role in John Peel's programmes, his producer John Walters was a trumpeter with a keen interest in contemporary jazz, unlike Peel, who preferred older styles of the music. Nevertheless, the DJ would occasionally play tracks by contemporary jazz artists, even playing an entire side of Miles Davis' Agharta album in 1975.
Davis was a highly influential figure at this time, having broadened his appeal by changing his style of small-group jazz to incorporate electric instruments and the inlluence of late 1960s rock and soul musicians such as Jimi Hendrix and James Brown. He also played to rock audiences at venues such as New York's Fillmore Auditorium (alongside the likes of the Steve Miller Band and the Grateful Dead) and at the 1970 Isle Of Wight Festival. By doing so he inspired many of the jazz-rock bands who were heard on Peel shows in the early 1970s, such as fellow trumpeter Ian Carr's group Nucleus and former Davis sideman John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra. (Carr wrote a book on Davis and presented a six-part series devoted to the trumpeter's career on BBC Radio 3; his own style was deeply infuenced by Miles's playing).
"Miles", as he was known, was one of the few jazz musicians with pop star charisma. He had a wider following than most of his contemporaries from the late 1950s to his death, and his work, ranging from his earlier recordings to his latest releases, was regularly played on the BBC jazz shows of Humphrey Lyttelton and Peter Clayton. He continued to be a cult figure for later generations of musicians, including a few who did Peel sessions. In 1992, Peel played tracks from trumpeter, Terry Edwards' Miles Davis cover EP called Terry Edwards Executes Miles Davis Numbers. In 1995 in an interview with the Wire magazine, Peel couldn't recognise a Miles Davis tune from the Rated X album, that was played to him by the interviewer. After he was told it was Miles Davis, he replied that he thought he'd probably got that album.
Shows Played[]
- 22 February 1972: Gemini / Double Image (LP – Live Evil) CBS
- 1975
- 01 December 1975: Prelude (Part 1) (2xLP - Agharta) CBS
- 1982
- 03 May 1982 (& Charlie Parker): Merry-Go-Round
- 07 July 1982: Rouge (LP - Birth of the Cool) Capitol
- 24 July 1982 (with Charlie Parker): A Night In Tunisia (album - Bird & Miles) DJM DJML 062
- 31 July 1982 (with Charlie Parker): Yardbird Suite (album - Bird & Miles) DJM DJML 062
- 1984
- 24 January 1984: Morpheus
- 1986
- 21 October 1986: Backyard Ritual (LP - Tutu) Warner Bros.
- 1987
- 03 February 1987: Take-Off (LP - Vol. 3) Blue Note