Musician Spotlight: Miles Davis
One of the most influential and acclaimed individuals in the history of jazz and 20th-century music, Miles Davis is one talented musician. As an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader and composer, he’s managed to adapt to a variety of musical directions that span over a fifty-year career.
Davis had quite the life as a popular figure within Jazz, whether it be as a musician or composer.
Who was Miles Davis?
Miles Davis was born on May 26, 1926, in Alton Illinois. However, he was raised in East St, Louis. Although Davis would study at the Julliard School in NYC, he dropped out to make his professional debut as a member of Charlie Parker’s bebop quintet from 1944 to 1948. He had plenty of further success during his career and many recognizable signings and recordings too.
From an early age, it was clear that Davis enjoyed music and in 1935, he received his first trumpet from a family friend. However, his mother wanted him to play the violin instead. Davis said that by the age of 12, he had realized that music had become the most important thing in his life and so took trumpet lessons and play in talent shows that he and his siblings would put on.
What genre did Davis cover?
Due to his influences from an early age of the blues, gospel, and big bands, Davis certainly involved himself within jazz music. His effect on jazz would even influence rock as a genre too. In every major development that happened in jazz, from the mid-1940s, you can guarantee that Miles Davis was a part of it.
In his career that spanned five decades, he was the most widely recognized jazz musician of his era. Quite an impressive mark to make on a music genre and one that continues to reign on today.
Major accomplishments
Some of his major accomplishments would include a variety of different signings with record labels, the first being the Birth of the Cool sessions for Capitol Records. In the early 1950s, he would go on to record hard bop music while on Prestige Records. He had a comeback in 1957 at the Newport Jazz Festival and it was here that he signed a long-term contract with Columbia records.
He recorded the album Round About Midnight in 1957 too which he would work with saxophonist John Coltrane and bassist Paul Chambers. During the early 1960s, he varied in orchestral jazz collaborations and sold one of the most popular jazz albums of all time, the Kind of Blue in 1959.
Take a listen to his signature trumpet style in this video:
What instruments did Davis use?
When it comes to instruments, Davis played the trumpet, flugelhorn, and the electric organ piano. It doesn’t seem as if his mother’s wishes to play the violin, ever came to fruition.
Having been both a musician, bandleader, composer, and producer, Davis certainly had a talent in life that was destined for the music industry. He’s a legend in jazz music and without him, this genre of music might not have been like it is today or as popular because of Davis.

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