Miles Davis: A Brief Musical Biography

Music is an essential part to life! It may sound cliché but music is a glue that bonds people together, that message could be a Political one, one of Love, or just a southing rhythm. I enjoy all types of music from country, to rock and roll, Gospel, R&B and rap, but I must admit my favorite genre is Jazz and R&B. Being an African American within a large family I grew up listening to “old school music” I’m talking the pips, Duke Ellington, James brown, Aretha franklin and one of my all-time favorites Miles Davis. As a child I use to have trouble sleeping at night, and from the time I can remember my mother would put music on for me while I slept. She had so many cassette tapes; she would either put gospel on or Jazz. My mom actually had 3-4 cassette tapes with just Miles Davis playing on it.

Mile Davis was born into a family of somewhat prominence; he was born on May 25, 1926 in Alton Illinois to Miles Dewey Davis and Cleota Mae Davis, who moved him to East St. Louis shortly after he was born and raised him there. Miles’ father was a Dentist and his mother was a music teacher. Growing up he was drawn to music and rightfully so, I imagine there was a lot of that around him considering his mother was a music teacher. Miles began taking trumpet lessons around the age of 12 and began playing in local bars around St. Louis, and making a name for himself in the process.

In September of 1944, Miles he went to study at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. It was here where he was re-acquainted with a saxophonist Charlie Parker whom he had met years before back home. They ended up rooming together at Juilliard, and Miles joined Parkers quintet. The next year Davis had neglected his studies at Juilliard and devoted his all of his tim...

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...ng like ‘My Funny Valentine,' some old thing that I might have done when they were ‘screwing' this special girl and the music might have made them both feel good, I can understand that. But I tell them to go buy the record. I'm not there in that place any longer and I have to live for what is best for me and not what's best for them."

It didn’t stop; in 1991 he joined Quincy Jones Orchestra at the Montreux Jazz Festival recreating his Gil Evans Collaboration. Miles Davis died in September of 1991 from repertory failure and, phenomenal, and a stroke. Davis’ Last studio album was a collaborative project produced by Rapper Easy Mo Bee; called Doo-Bop it was released in after Miles Death in 1992 and won a Grammy for Bes Rhythm and Blues Instrumental Performance. In 1993 Miles and Quincy Love at Montreux won Davis his 7th Grammy for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance.