Miles Davis Research Paper

Introduction Music has adapted itself over the years, but no one could have morphed it more than Miles Davis. Over six full decades he changed jazz and rock music for the better without looking back once. “Grammy Award winner Miles Davis was a major force in the jazz world, as both a trumpet player and a bandleader (Miles Davis Biography.com).” Miles Davis was a man who ascended through personal struggles and managed to change the face of jazz forever.

Support Paragraph 1 Every musician has a story of climbing to the top, Miles had to start somewhere. That somewhere was in Alton Illinois, on May 26, 1926, Miles Dewey Davis III was born. Miles grew up as an average child in a middle class household. His father, Dr. Miles Dewey Davis, Jr was

After leaving Illinois for New York, Miles immediately sought after alto saxophonist Charlie Parker, whom he met in St. Louis a year ago. He and Miles were roommates at Juilliard (Rolling Stone). With his fatherś permission, Miles dropped out of Juilliard where Parker, Miles and the rest of the quintet began to play at Harlem nightclubs and become full time jazz musicians. At these nightclubs, Miles encountered many musicians that he would eventually play alongside to form the modern day of jazz. But still, Miles sought after his own kind of music, which lead him to create his first recording as a band leader of the Miles Davis Sextet (Miles Davis Biography.com). What made Miles Davis’ band special was his uncommon additions to a jazz band they called “Birth of the Cool”. His band featured french horn, trombone, and tuba which was a real surprise to his audience and was also what made Miles unique (Miles Davis Biography.com). Miles had an ascending career up until his addiction to heroin that put a damper on his

His latest album released in march and april 1959, “Kind of Blue” that sold over 2 million copies (Ruhlmann). This was by far the most successful album in his career and considered one of the greatest jazz albums to this day (Miles Davis Biography.com)! “Davis also continued an important musical partnership with Gil Evans, recording four releases in five years: Miles Ahead, Porgy and Bess, Sketches of Spain, and Quiet Nights (NEA Jazz Masters).” The release of these albums spread like wildfire, gaining Miles a popular appearance. Miles shifted his music and sound throughout the 1960’s and he even switched from quintets, to sextets and even to small orchestras (Rolling Stone). This all tied into the effect of what made Miles different than most