Trumpeter,
bandleader and jazz innovator Miles Davis would have turned 90 today (May 26),
had he not passed away nearly 25 years ago. That quarter-century absence from
the jazz scene arrives on September 28, 2016.
His
music continues to resonate for lovers of his various styles of performance:
bop, cool bop, modal jazz, hard bop, electronic fusion, and instrumental pop
music. He was one of the pivotal
figures in modern jazz. Miles was a charming, frustrating enigma – blessed
with one of the sweetest tones ever heard on trumpet and dogged by a
"Prince of Darkness" persona that was as much a buffer guarding his
private space as it was a mystique.
On
this Milestone day, here’s an opportunity to check out or revisit the
4,000-word profile I prepared just before his 60th birthday. The
four-hour interview experience was quite illuminating about the man and his music. I’m also sharing a few
images from that April 7, 1986 afternoon in Manhattan.
Happy
90th, Miles. wherever your spirit resides today. It certainly
resides in countless musical hearts, given the relentless interest in the
music.
Photos © Ken Franckling 1986, all rights reserved.
