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Birth
Born in Alton, Illinois, U.S. -
Miles gets his first trumpet
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Miles goes to university
In September, 1941, Miles enrolled at the Institute of Musical Arts in New York, later known as Julliard. -
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Charlie Parker recordings
Some of Miles' first recordings were done as a sideman with bebop master Charlie Parker. -
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Birth of the Cool record dates
The landmark album "Birth of the Cool" was recorded on three separate dates from 1949-1950. -
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The First Great Quintet
The era of Miles Davis' first great quintet, known for the "with the Miles Davis Quintet" run of records. The band consisted of: Miles Davis - trumpet
John Coltrane - tenor sax
Red Garland - piano
Paul Chambers - bass
Philly Joe Jones - drums -
Kind of Blue release date
The best-selling jazz album of all time, Kind of Blue changed the way jazz music sounded forever. The music heard on this album is an prime example of the new "modal jazz" or "cool jazz" sound. Still highly regarded more than 60 years later, this 5x platinum record is perhaps Miles' magnum opus. -
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The Second Great Quintet
In the mid-60s, Miles' second great quintet produced a number of classic hard-bop albums that featured a much more modern sound thanks to compositions by young new musicians. Each member of this group would go on to have immense success in their own right. Miles Davis - trumpet
Wayne Shorter - tenor sax
Herbie Hancock - piano
Ron Carter - bass
Tony Williams - drums -
Bitches Brew
Another landmark album that wildly influenced the development of the jazz genre was Bitches Brew, released in 1970. This album full of experimentation featured electric instruments and was a stark departure from the hard bop music of the mid to late 60s. In what would become known as one of the pioneering jazz fusion records, Bitches Brew featured young up and comers such as Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette, among others. -
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Musical Hiatus
Due to a number of health issues and personal factors, Miles lost his passion for music and took an extended break from all things musical. -
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The comeback and late period
The 80s saw the resurgence of Miles Davis following his ~5 year hiatus. This era was one of mixed critical reception as Miles strayed further and further from what was traditionally considered "jazz music". Many works in this period featured the compositions and production by bassist Marcus Miller, to the point where they became more or less Marcus Miller albums with Miles' name on the cover. -
Death
Died aged 65