I know we have a handful of Miles fans in here and I was wondering if they can explain to me why he is such a great musician? I watched 'The Miles Davis Story' the other day and I wanted to do some research on the man, because I always hear about him being this great Jazz musician.

There's nothing I hate more than hearing about an artist and not really 'getting' why people consider them exceptional.

I knew that he assembled some great bands, with John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, among others.

If you can, please contrast him with some other greats of his day (ex. Dizzy Gillespie, etc). I would really like to enjoy his music at a higher level, but I need some background.

So what's so great about Miles Davis??

What is so great about him is how he weaved different styles together and created something new and unique. He did this with Bitches Brew which fused jazz and rock and set the stage along with the psychedelic movement for the progressive music that later followed. He did this again with the Doo Bop album which fused jazz and hip-hop. Miles was always one step ahead of everyone else.

The trumpet solo on Footprints from the record Miles Smiles should explain why he's a genius.

If you listen to Kind Of Blue it becomes obvious the man was a true giant in his field.

He also increased the commercial potential of jazz in general. He's not monstously fast or anything, but his improv. ideas are always very organic and tasteful...well, his slow, melodic approach to soloing can be seen as a deliberate reaction to bebop. "The Cool School."

His success as a bandleader can't be understated, as this provided opportunities for great music to happen.

The metal-muted sound is one of his signature techniques.

I bet Satch is typing his manifesto right at this moment.

Too late for a manifesto, but here is a quick somethin' somethin'.


Miles' bands were a finishing school for a who's who of a great deal of the great/greatest musicians in Jazz history. A great deal of them no one had heard of before joining Miles' bands. The only other person that comes close in terms of that would be Art Blakey.



Miles was influenced by Ahmad Jamal's use of space. He believed in a less is more technique of playing. He is always well known for his use of space between phrases, often letting several measures go by without playing anything. His phrasing was very symmetrical and that would make a great deal of sense to the listener.

After his time with Charlie Parker (when he was only 18 and had problems with the fast Bop runs) he could play at times the fast runs like Dizzy or Fats Navarro, but that didn't interest him. He was more interested in the lyrical, introspective and melodic side of Jazz. His trademark, was using the Harmon mute to make the music more intimate and personal. Instead of using the flashy technique, he used his excellent sense of time. He was able to place the note exactly where in the beat he wanted, giving him the ability to create deep, complex statements.

Something that is always discussed about Miles is his tone. It was warm and inviting, while somehow also being deep, dark, and mysterious. That would also be an accurate description of Miles personality.


He was also someone that was never interested in standing pat in terms of the styles of jazz he played. He didn't invent any of the styles Jazz he played, but he was usually one of the first ones to involved around their birth.

Some Miles Davis quotes I posted in another thread.



Miles once complained about how long Coltrane (who was in Miles quintet at the time) played during Coltrane's solos. Coltrane's reply was something along the lines that he didn't know how to end the solo.

Miles response was ""Take the horn out of your mouth."




"You can't play nothing on modern trumpet that doesn't come from him (Louis Armstrong), not even modern shit. I can't even remember a time when he sounded bad playing the trumpet. Never. Not even one time."



"The greatest feeling I ever had - with my clothes on - was when I first heard Diz and Bird together in St. Louis, Missouri, back in 1944. I've come close to matching the feeling of that night in 1944 in music, when I first heard Diz and Bird, but I've never got there.... I'm always looking for it, listening and feeling for it, though, trying to always feel it in and through the music I play every day."



" I've always told the musicians in my band to play what they know and then play above that. Because then anything can happen, and that's where great art and music happens."



"There were some live recordings that I guess Columbia will release when they think they can make the most money - probably after I'm dead." ---I would say he was accurate on this one.



"The music we did together changed every fucking night; if you heard it yesterday, it was different tonight. Even we didn't know where it was all going to. But we did know it was going somewhere else and that it was probably going to be hip, and that was enough to keep everyone excited while it lasted"



I'm always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up every morning. Every day I find something creative to do with my life."



"Bebop was about change, about evolution. It wasn't about standing still and becoming safe. If anybody wants to keep creating they have to be about change."


"A legend is an old man with a cane known for what he used to do. I'm still doing it."


"I don't like to hear someone put down dixieland. Those people who say there's no music but bop are just stupid; it shows how much they don't know."


I've practiced on my tone for almost 50 years, and if I can't hear my tone, I can't play. If I can't play, then I won't get paid. If I don't get paid, then I lose the house, you know? It's like a chain reaction. If I lose my tone, I can't fuck, can't make love, can't do nothin'. I'll just walk into the ocean and die, if I lose my tone.


"Do not fear mistakes. There are none."


"I wanted to play high and fast like Dizzy just to prove to myself that I could do it. A lot of cats used to be putting me down back in the bebop days because their ears could only pick up what Dizzy was doing. That's what they thought playing the trumpet was all about. And when somebody like me came along, trying something different, he ran the risk of being put down."



Because the music and the sound has gone international and there ain't no sense in trying to go back into some womb where you once were. A man can't go back into his mother's womb."


"I also did a Honda commercial, and that one commercial got me more recognition than anything else I have ever done.


"I'll play it first and tell you what it is later."


"Don't play what's there, play what's not there".

Let's not forget the recordings themselves, Satch...we can analyze the specifics of the man's career, technique, and influences all day long if we like, but in the end, it's when you sit down and devote 100% of your attention to Kind of Blue, Birth of the Cool, Miles Smiles, Bags' Groove, Nefertiti, In A Silent Way, etc that you really understand why he's the legend he is.

If you listen to the majority of his catalogue and still can't understand what's so great about Miles Davis, quite simply, you must be deaf...

he couldn't blow his horn as good as diz, even when mile replaced diz in birds be bop band that was clear. so miles focused on his sthrenghs and slowed down the frentic pace of be bop and played more in da mid range of da horn, in a lyrical style where less is more. Many trumpet players had and have more chops (from brownie to marsalis) but miles made more of his than anyone else.

What made him great is that he changed jazz aboput 5 times, certainly more than anyone esle ever.

Nice job satch yeah i got a kick out of his scooter comercial and i'd like to add:

I can't play them old songs (funny valentine etc) anymore cause I love em too much. (this is paraphrased

"I have to change, its llike a curse"