Miles Davis was one of the most influential jazz legends of all time. But he was just a man. The Miles Files are all about Davis, the man. It’s a series created for CBC Radio 2’s Tonic, and CBC Music’s jazz department.
It will paint Davis in a new light by putting you into the shoes of what it might have felt like to be the legend. Just like you, Davis was a kid, then a teenager, a student, a youngster, a dreamer, a wannabe and an achiever. His life had light and dark. It also had shadows. The Miles Files imagines you right there with Davis, and even as Davis while he embarks on an incredible, day-by-day journey as just a regular guy finding his way.
Miles Davis, the kid
Imagine what it would be like to be Miles Davis growing up. His life was probably just like any other upper middle class kid growing up in the city. He had pals that he hung out with. He played some sports. He goofed around, blowing spitballs in class. He had battles with his parents. Disagreements. He also had loves.
Davis’s love was music from the time he was nine years old. His parents knew that he loved music, too. He wanted a trumpet so badly but his mom wanted him to play violin. So for his 13th birthday, Davis’s dad bought him a brand new trumpet. Mom sure was pissed off about it. They had a really good fight about it, too, but she got over it. Then Davis’s dad set him up for lessons with Mr. Elwood Buchanan, and his life changed.
Miles Davis, the music student
Buchanan was that teacher who made a difference in Davis’s life. He taught Davis privately, and eventually in his high school band at Lincoln High. Buchanan didn’t like the sound of vibrato or what he called “shaking all those notes.” He insisted that Davis play his trumpet straight, with no vibrato.
Pure, straight notes. It would become Davis’s signature sound.
And at home, Davis would listen to the two records his mom eventually let him buy: one by Duke Ellington, and the other by Art Tatum. And here’s what was on that record player that got Davis so jazzed – Tatum with “The Tiger Rag.”
Next on the Miles Files
Soon, bebop would come to town and Davis’s life would change again.
Related links
Miles Davis, Ahmad Jamal show less is more
Q&A: Tonic host Tim Tamashiro’s jazz advice
Stories and Standards - "All the Things You Are"