Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
This jazzman was not born in the South but from an early age he had a love of jazz that can be summed up this way. When they study our America 2,000 years from now, there will be three things that we’ll be known for: (1) the Constitution, (2) baseball and (3) jazz. They are the three most beautiful things Americans have ever created.
Jazz music was born in New Orleans and grew up in Chicago, Kansas City and New York. That said Louis Armstrong is the most important person in American music. He is what Einstein is to physics, Freud is to medicine and the Wright Brothers are to travel. Armstrong liberated jazz – cutting it loose from nearly all constraints. He has been described by one and all as a “Gift from God.”
DAVIS MOVED FAST
Miles Dewey Davis III was the son of a prosperous dental surgeon. He was born on May 26, 1926 in Alton, Illinois and was introduced to the trumpet by his father when he was 13-years-old. He never looked back. At the age of 18, he was invited to play with Billy Eckstine’s swing band alongside Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie (who, for some reason always makes me smile when I see him play with his ballooning cheeks – sometimes called “Glassblower’s Disease.”)
Like many people, I’ve always been intrigued by Miles’ talent and lifestyle so I decided to watch a documentary on him that appeared on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at 9:00 pm on Channel 13 under “American Masters” in honor of Black History Month (Feb. 1 to Feb. 29) in the United States and Canada.
Miles making great music – Photos courtesy of Channel 13
Since I make a monthly contribution to thirteen I receive their program for the upcoming month. For Davis, it was titled, “Miles Ahead: Birth of the Cool” and offered an excellent write-up on what to expect. This summing up begins with, “MILES, THE HORN PLAYER AND BANDLEADER, was restless and determined to break boundaries and live life on his own terms.”
“He was an inspiring collaborator, a cultural icon and an innovator – in everything from bebop to cool jazz, modern quintets, orchestral music, jazz fusion, rock ‘n’ roll and even hip-hop. He enjoyed a six-decade career that began as a Juilliard student and moved into his stay in Paris – where he rubbed shoulders with Picasso and Sartre – to his Newport Jazz Festival debut in 1955.” (A brief note here: I attended this annual event one year with a good friend and once was enough for me. The audience erupted and the cops used tear gas to gain control. I don’t remember why this happened BUT I do recollect that tear gas makes one’s eyes burn and sting. All we wanted to do was run away from it as fast as possible.)
This Channel 13 write-up ends with, “The story of Miles Davis has often been told as the tale of a drug-addled genius. One rarely sees him portrayed as a man who worked hard at honing his craft and deeply studied all forms of music.” That’s absolutely right – I was glad that they didn’t focus on his addictions like the 2015 film titled “Miles Ahead” that featured a stellar performance by Don Cheadle but bombed at the box office – presumably because it focused so much on drugs instead of the music itself.
At the end of his life Miles Davis had won six Grammy Awards out of a total of eleven awards overall. That’s pretty impressive.
MILES DAVIS AND HIS “isms”’
“I took the handcuffs off the music”
“Create on stage and live in danger”
“Money? A week in a club; one night in a concert”
“Big check for a concert? I felt like a thief!”
“Most rockers don’t know music. I do.”
You can hear Miles Davis and other Jazz legends playing over the speakers throughout our beautiful hotel - setting the mood for a uniquely New Orleans experience.
Shaun Nelson-Henrick