Is anyone out there familiar with the date May 26, 1926? Jazz historians might quickly point out that was the birth date of Miles Davis. Born in Alton, Illinois, and raised in East St. Louis, Illinois, young Davis would grow to become one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time. Interestingly, his start came from a middle-class home with a father who was a dentist. Quite different from many of his fellow artists who came from dirt poor starts to find later success. Young Miles Davis learned trumpet in the fertile, blues-drenched music scene of his hometown. Over twenty years later Davis would record one of the most celebrated compilation albums of all time, The Birth Of The Cool. The album was, and is more than a collection of songs. It represents a movement. I’ll explain a little later in this post.
Davis had an older sister, Dorothy Mae, and a younger brother, Vernon. His mother, Cleota Mae Henry of Arkansas, was a music teacher and violinist. Thus Davis would be exposed to the mechanics and theory of music. Davis experienced the normal childhood, attending school and enjoying mathematics, music and sports. He really enjoyed blues, big band and gospel music.
In 1935, Davis received his first trumpet as a gift from John Eubanks, a friend of his father. He took lessons from Elwood Buchanan, a teacher and musician who was a patient of his father. His mother wanted him to play violin instead. Against the fashion of the time, Buchanan stressed the importance of playing without vibrato and encouraged him to use a clear, mid-range tone. Davis said that whenever he started playing with heavy vibrato, Buchanan slapped his knuckles. Those early lessons always leave a clue to the successes later in life. In later years Davis said, “I prefer a round sound with no attitude in it, like a round voice with not too much tremolo and not too much bass. Just right in the middle. If I can’t get that sound I can’t play anything.”
The more I read and think about the start in music for Miles Davis, I am reminded of my own start. On his thirteenth birthday his father bought him a new trumpet, and Davis began to play in local bands. He took additional trumpet lessons from Joseph Gustat, principal trumpeter of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. That’s brilliant because it lays a solid foundation for a young trumpet player to study the basics. Wynton Marsalis speaks highly of this type of musical education and over the years has demonstrated his ability to play classical and jazz music with a full understanding of both.
In 1941, the 15-year-old attended East St. Louis Lincoln High School, where he joined the marching band directed by Buchanan and entered music competitions. Years later, Davis said that he was discriminated against in these competitions due to his race, but he added that these experiences made him a better musician. Davis realized that reading music was extremely important. He began to seek out books and anything that would help him learn music theory.
In July 1944, Billy Eckstine visited St. Louis with a band that included Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, and Charlie Parker. Trumpeter Buddy Anderson was too sick to perform, so Davis was invited to join. He played with the band for two weeks at Club Riviera. After playing with these musicians, he was certain he should move to New York City “where the action was.” His mother wanted him to go to Fisk University, like his sister, and study piano or violin. Davis had other interests.
In September 1944, Davis accepted his father’s idea of studying at the Juilliard School, in New York City. After passing the audition, he attended classes in music theory, piano, and dictation. But he spent much of his time in clubs looking for his idol, Charlie Parker. According to Davis, Coleman Hawkins told him “finish your studies at Juilliard and forget Bird.” After finding Parker, he became one of a cadre of regulars at Minton’s and Monroe’s in Harlem who held jam sessions every night. The other regulars included J. J. Johnson, Kenny Clarke, Thelonious Monk, Fats Navarro, and Freddie Webster. I would have loved to been there to hear some of those sessions. My father did.
Miles Davis would drop out of Julliard because he wanted to perform full-time. That he did. He began performing at clubs on 52nd Street with Coleman Hawkins and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis. He recorded for the first time on April 24, 1945 when he entered the studio as a sideman for Herbie Fields’s band. During the next year, he recorded as a leader for the first time with the Miles Davis Sextet plus Earl Coleman and Ann Hathaway. In 1945, he replaced Dizzy Gillespie in Charlie Parker’s quintet. On November 26, Davis participated in several recording sessions as part of Parker’s group Reboppers that also involved Gillespie and Max Roach, displaying hints of the style he would become known for. Was this the birth of the cool? Before the album? Maybe.
By this time Miles Davis was a star in the jazz world. He even declined an offer to join Duke Ellington’s orchestra. Something big was in the works. Davis had entered rehearsals with a nine-piece band with pianist and arranger Gil Evans and baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, taking an active role on what soon became his own project. Evans’ Manhattan apartment had become the meeting place for several young musicians and composers such as Davis, Roach, Lewis, and Mulligan who were unhappy with the increasingly virtuoso instrumental techniques that dominated bebop. These gatherings led to the formation of the Miles Davis Nonet, which included the unusual additions of French horn and tuba. The intent was to imitate the human voice through carefully arranged compositions and a relaxed, melodic approach to improvisation.
At this time I must say that my father really liked Gerry Mulligan, personally and musically. When I finally started to perform in the college jazz band, I remember conversations we had about the importance of the baritone sax. My father felt that if you wanted to play baritone sax, you had to listen to Mulligan. He also though Gil Evans was a genius and ahead of his time creatively. I tend to agree. His work the Miles Davis Nonet, among other arrangements set Gil Evans as one of the true jazz greats. Of course, now he was paired with jazz trumpet giant Miles Davis.
A lot has been written about Davis’ drug addiction. There were other problems as well but many stories Davis disputed. Trust me, my father told me some stories that I would never print, or mention depending upon who is present. However, I do want everyone to know Miles Davis was one of the best. That fact is never disputed.
Birth Of The Cool is one of albums every Miles Davis fan, and jazz music collector must have. There are so many more. I think ‘Round About Midnight, Miles Ahead, Kind Of Blue, Sketches Of Spain and Bitches Brew are necessities. Please download and give the above mentioned albums a listen.
Miles Davis continued to play right up to his death in 1991. He was introduced to another generation of fans and remained “cool”. Especially as he covered Michael Jackson’s song Human Nature.
Yes, the cool still lives because there are still young trumpet players out there who study jazz in high school and college and learn about Miles Davis. We still have many young artists making there way to perform jazz music. The music might be original, but the Miles Davis cool is still there. Yes, Miles Davis left us in 1991, but the cool lives on.