Miles Davis at 80

Had he lived, Davis would have been 80 this Friday and BBC Radio 3 is doing a week or so of programming around this.

Annoyingly, they actually kicked it off yesterday with the first of six programmes from Ian Carr as part of Jazz File (if you stick the following like into realplayer you can listen again - I haven't got round to it yet, but Carr wrote an absolutely wonderful biography of Davis - http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/shows/rpms/radio3/jazzfile.rpm).

Those of you who read my library in Fredrik's thread will know I have one or two (okay hundred) discs from this remarkable artist yet they still seem to have managed to dredge up a few things I don't have.

Sadly, given some of the tendencies of R3's Jazz schedule (and the fact that so much of the programme appears to be folded into Late Junction) I fear that there is going to be an overfocus on Miles' electric period. That's not to say there aren't some fine records here (In a Silent Way, to be featured in Monday's programme is sublime and Jack Johnson is one of the finest albums ever made), however, I'm not sure it's the easiest starting point for anyone new to his music. Where is the focus on Birth of the Cool or his magical partnerships with Coltrane, Bill or Gil Evans?

Anyone, perish the thought, who might not have a single disc in their collection, could do worse than pick up the following (perhaps others can suggest better lists, this is somewhat off the top of my head, and biased by my own personal favourites):

Kind of Blue
Miles Ahead
Porgy and Bess
In a Silent Way
Jack Johnson



It was once said, I forget by whom, that you could write the history of Jazz in the 20th century (from 1950-90) with reference only to Miles Davis and it would be reasonably comprehensive. Of course, this is nonsense, but if one stops to think about it, not by that much, and less so that it would be for just about any other name you could mention. One of the reasons I love Davis so much as an artist is he was constantly innovating and out looking for new things. There are so many points in his career when he might have stopped and churned out more of the same and been set for life, but that wasn't him.

Of course, he died reasonably you (at just 65) and it's something of a sad story. In hospital for (I think - but I might be wrong) pneumonia, the doctors insisted on putting a tube down his throat to feed him. Miles didn't want this, lost his temper severely, resulting in a massive stroke. He went into a coma and died a few days later. When I think of this story two things normally occur to me. First, I think what a tragedy it is and had he only kept his temper what wonderful music might we be getting today, where might he be taking jazz in the 21st century? But, secondly, I remember that without that temper, without the fire that drove him, Miles probably would not have been the peerless musician that he was. His temper had caused him problems his entire life - years earlier, following a delicate operation on his vocal cords and under strict instructions from his doctor not to raise his voice, he lost his temper haggling over the price of a new Ferrari. The result was the thin raspy voice that is instantly recognisable.

And then, he had many reasons to be angry. On one occasion, force to go outside to smoke, because the place he was performing wouldn't allow him, as a black man, to do so inside, he was beaten up by police and jailed. On another occasion, in 1964, he insisted his band members play without charge so their fees could go towards the civil rights movement. Of course, Miles was extremely rich and this was much less hard on him than on them. There was a blazing row but in the end the band went out and played one of the finest concerts I have on disc (available titled 'The Complete Concert').


Miles Davis was an incredible musician and his untimely death left the musical world poorer. Radio 3's tribute (imperfect though it may be) should still provide some wonderful listening and I recommend it and his albums to everyone as well as Ian Carr's stunning biography.

regards, Tam