Learn about Miles Davis

Miles Davis was a jazz trumpeter and one of the most influential jazz musicians of the twentieth century. Miles Davis was forever innovating and exploring new musical directions.

Hi! and welcome to Fun Facts with Leslie. Today we are going to be talking about Miles Davis. Miles Davis is someone who has been so instrumental in the musical movement over the years that he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, even though he passed away from a stroke in 1991. So that's certainly means that he is enjoying and that people still think about him, well over a decade after his passing. Here are some interesting things about Miles Davis and, what makes him really an icon and someone that we need to look back on? First of all, we need not forget that he was an African-American at a time when it was very difficult for performers to break through the color barriers. And he was able to look up to musicians like Charlie Parker who he studied under when he came to New York. And he was also very lucky because he came from a family that was really supportive of his craft. And he is a jazz trumpeter, he had lessons when he was a kid and he really is sort of accustomed to what giving a child music lessons can do. Miles Davis is someone who went through his life really trying different forms of music, taking Quintets and making them accessible to the public, which is something that no one had really done before him. And in the 70s a lot of people accused him of selling out, but really he was just trying a new genre and he went and released an album called Bitches Brew. It was his first album to the world. And it's actually an album that I would recommend that the viewer check out, if you want to get a really good feel for Miles Davis. It's very much like a jam session, its easy listening and it's really fantastic. Before his death in 1991 of a stroke, he was again collaborating, reinventing himself. He also as a side note had a brief marriage to Cicely Tyson, and he was still performing when he passed away in New York at the age of 65. So he is definitely someone whose influence on music is still felt today. And like I said if you want the content, pick up a copy of the Bitches Brew, you will not regret it, bye.