Biography

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1926-1944: The Early Years

Miles Davis was born on May 26, 1926 to Cleota Mae Davis and Miles Dewey Davis Jr. He was born in Alton, Illinois, and had two siblings: an older sister named Dorothy and a younger brother named Vernon. Shortly after his birth, the Davis family moved to St. Louis, where Davis would spend the rest of his childhood. It was through his years in school where he would be exposed to and eventually learn to love jazz.

At age 13, in 1939, Davis received his first trumpet as a gift from his father. He already had a few years' worth of exposure to the instrument from one of his father's friends, but this was his first experience owning one. He quickly started to take advantage of this new opportunity, joining both local bands and the marching band at East St. Louis Lincoln High School. Davis' love for the trumpet helped him to forge professional relationships before he even left school; at 17, in 1944, he was invited to join a band with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker as a backup trumpet player.

1944-1975: Main Career

After high school, Davis had a short stint at the Julliard School of Music in New York. However, he wasn't the greatest student and often skipped classes, instead visiting clubs and trying to be more involved in the professional scene with Charlie Parker. In 1945, he dropped out of Julliard after less than a year to pursue full-time performance. This marks the year when he would begin to break the ice in the professional scene: he officially joined Charlie Parker's quintet, joined a big band that performed in California, and even experimented with his own music group with the Miles Davis Sextet in 1946. Throughout the rest of the 1940's, Davis would continue to join more ensembles and big bands.

In 1948, Davis formed the Miles Davis Nonet, which was noteworthy for including unusual instruments, including the French Horn and Tuba. The nonet would record from 1948 all the way up until 1950, producing singles that would later be compiled in one of his most popular albums, "Birth of the Cool."

However, throughout the early 1950's, Davis's life would take a turn for the worse. Falling behind in rent and losing his car, he would turn towards a heroin addiction which took up much of the money he made from contracts and record labels. However, in 1954, he was able to overcome his addiction, quickly going back to producing new music throughout the rest of the 1950's. During this time, he would produce albums such as "Miles Davis Volume 2" and "Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants."

The rest of Davis' main career would move smoothly. In 1956, he toured Europe and visited Paris numerous times. After returning to America, he started working with Gil Evans and later released his greatest album "Kind of Blue" in 1959. The 1960's would largely be comprised of tours, both for "Kind of Blue" and for other music, as well as the production of new albums such as "Miles Smiles" and "Miles in the Sky." The 1970's would see the popularization of jazz fusion and, subsequently, more experimentation from Davis, especially in instrumentation. "Bitches Brew," "Miles Davis at Filmore," and "On the Corner" are all examples of albums released during the early 1970's that utilized new electronic instruments, advanced editing technologies, or both.

In 1975, Davis would largely disappear from the jazz scene altogether and go on hiatus for a few years.

1980-1985: A Short-Lived Comeback

In 1980, Davis would return to music, making more frequent appearances in studio sessions and eventually returning to the stage. During this time, he would release a few more albums such as "Star People," "Aura," and "You're Under Arrest." However, this period of productivity for Davis was often bumpy and ultimately ended early as Davis transitioned back to a minimal presence in the jazz scene starting in 1985.

1986-1991: Later Years

Throughout the rest of the 1980's, Davis would continue to make minor appearances and collaborations with other artists. He kept performing and even attempted to tour Europe in 1988, but had to return to America early due to his declining health. His poor state of health eventually became public and led to rumors about Davis that were mostly untrue.

In September 1991, his health eventually declined so much that he was admitted to St. John's Hospital. He would later pass away on September 28, 1991, due to a multitude of health issues—but his musical legacy would forever live on, even leading to posthumous releases of certain unreleased songs, such as "Can I Play With U" in 2020, a collaboration with Prince.

This biography was largely adapted from Wikipedia. Here is the link to the full article.