The Influence Of Miles Davis

Music is often a way to trace the changes in culture and society overall. America experienced a period of turmoil and change during the 1960s. Powerful people were emerging from the African American communities to raise their voice for equal rights by giving voice to the people. Miles Davis demonstrated the will of the people through his music. The transitions in musical style of jazz artist Miles Davis in combination with his own personal experiences are a reflection of movements within the civil rights period. By defying expectations of the jazz genre, Davis fought against oppression by creating music for the community. However, it was only after he became aware of his influence that Miles Davis truly became an iconic symbol of power and

In what would be later named the ‘Birdland incident’, Davis described being beaten by a white police officer after escorting a young white woman into a taxi. Author Ingrid Monson describes, “the struggle was so noisy that members of the Hodges-Robbins Orchestra who were rehearsing across the street… captured New York City’s finest calling Miles Davis the n-word”. The judge later dropped the case, leaving Davis with an interminable sense of cynicism. A dear friend of Davis once commentated on the Birdland incident and Davis’ reaction to the outcome. “He feels that he was attacked because he is a black man and that he was denied justice because he is a black man”. This incident was a shock to the musical world. Davis would later learn the impact he had after meeting Hugh Masekela, a South African trumpet player. “He told me that I had been a hero of his and other blacks in South Africa when I stood up to that policeman outside of Birdland that time and I remember being surprised that they even knew about that kind of thing over there in Africa”. It was at this point that Davis realized the extent of his political influence and musical

Although often described as having a strong personality, it was a combination of childhood experiences of oppression and realization of his political influence that would take Davis to the top of the musical spectrum. Not only did his music influence the later musical style of artists like Prince, Mos Def and Santana, but he also stood as a symbol for the black power movement. His transition from artistically pleasing standards on Milestones (1958) to the funk rhythms of Bitches Brew (1970) help show the power of an artist’s influence and the lasting changes brought about from the work and life of Miles