May 26 …

Miles Davis is widely considered one of the top musicians of the 20th century. Instrumental in the development of jazz, he charted new directions in jazz from the 1950s through the 1980s, innovating in postbop, classical, cool and fusion jazz styles. His various ensembles were among the greatest in jazz history, and his Kind of Blue album is rated by many critics the finest jazz recording ever made.

Born in Illinois on May 26, 1926, Miles Dewey Davis III was introduced to the trumpet at an early age, mastering it in his early teens. After high school he moved to New York City to study at Juilliard, but soon dropped out. He made his professional debut as a member of the bebop quintet of saxophonist Charlie Parker 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.

In the early 1950s, while addicted to heroin, Davis recorded some of the earliest hard bop music under Prestige Records. After a widely acclaimed comeback performance at the Newport Jazz Festival, he signed a long-term contract with Columbia Records and recorded the album ‘Round About Midnight in 1955. It was his first work with saxophonist John Coltrane and bassist Paul Chambers, key members of the sextet he led into the early 1960s.

During this period, Davis alternated between orchestral jazz collaborations with arranger Gil Evans, such as the Spanish music-influenced Sketches of Spain in 1960, and band recordings, such as Milestones in 1958, and Kind of Blue in 1959. The latter recording remains one of the most popular jazz albums of all time, having sold over five million copies in the U.S.

Winner of eight Grammy awards, Miles Davis died in 1991 from respiratory distress in Santa Monica, CA.

Footnotes:

• Editors, “Miles Davis Biography,” Biography.com, 24 May 2021, A&E Television Networks. Accessed 2 May 2025.
• “Miles Davis,” African American Desk Reference, (New York: The Stonesong Press, 1999) 382.