Miles at 100

Today would have been Miles Davis's one-hundredth birthday had he lived to see it, and I have some thoughts...

I am a fan, and I think that he may be the one jazz musician who does not make too many fans out there feel uncomfortable admitting that they love jazz. Yes, I love John Coltrane and his blistering style and influence over modern music, but Miles is the one whose albums and attitude I always return to...

But why?

Jazz was not the music of my household. There was all the music that my relatives and family carried with them to a very cold country. There was nothing that poured out of those stereos that you would hear on the radio, and I am still grateful for that. All those reggae, compa, soca, zouk, and calypso rhythms saw us through many apartment gatherings, house parties, camping trips and days and nights in our shared spaces.

But not for me.

I rebelled. Moving to the suburbs probably did it as well, but there was a part of me that did not want to listen to what was coming out of my community. I had friends who introduced me to Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, George Carlin (much more subversive than heavy metal or progressive rock), and I turned into a real FM-radio junkie who grew tired of the repetitive beats and basslines around me. Did this cause some friction with my family and relatives? Of course, but I did not care. It would be a very long time before I could accept that what was all around my eardrums was worth my time.

I had no such problems with jazz.

It was not Miles who got there first. It was the Marsalis brothers (Branford and Wynton) who drew me in when I first found a copy of 'Think of One' at the library, took it home, and admired the challenge of this particular sound. It seemed to allow each musician to step in, play their piece, and then return to the main melody (all horns, strings, beats and tempos accounted for). It seemed fair. It seemed right.

And then I heard Miles.

I thought that the Marsalis brood was the peak of American jazz because...well...they were new, presented themselves as the next wave, and were very much in the media's expanding eye. Well, shame on me. I found a copy of 'Round about Midnight', (Miles's first recording with Columbia, leading to many years of classics on that label). I found Quincy Troupe's doubtful biography (Alex Haley's interview for Playboy Magazine was also discovered to be a little apocryphal). And I found that he was the one jazz musician I could return to again and again, no matter what mutation of the form he steeped in (bebop, cool jazz, modal, fusion, etc.)

I can see that Sonny Rollins - a close buddy of Miles - passed away this week. I can imagine that he is playing some hot licks with his old rival, along with 'Trane, Dizzy, Bird, Satchmo, the Duke, and a host of other talents who built on or inspired the subject of this piece. And all I can recommend you do is start with the link above and find the sound that draws you in...

Brother Davis would approve.

*

Thank you for reading!

If you liked this, you can add your Insights, Comment, leave a Heart, Tip, Pledge, or Subscribe. I will appreciate any support you have shown for my work.

You can find more poems, stories, and articles by Kendall Defoe on my Vocal profile. I complain, argue, provoke and create...just like everybody else.

Give it a look...