Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991) was an American musician who played the trumpet, led bands, and wrote music. He is one of the most important and respected people in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Over nearly 50 years, Davis helped shape many major changes in jazz, including bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, third stream, modal jazz, avant-garde jazz, and jazz fusion. His influence also reached other music styles like rock, funk, classical, and hip-hop.
Davis was born into a middle-class family in Alton, Illinois, and grew up in East St. Louis. He began playing the trumpet as a teenager. He moved to New York City to study at Juilliard but left before finishing and started his professional career as part of saxophonist Charlie Parker’s bebop group from 1944 to 1948. Soon after, he recorded the Birth of the Cool sessions for Capitol Records, which helped create the cool jazz style. In the early 1950s, while struggling with heroin addiction, Davis recorded some of the first hard bop music for Prestige Records. After a successful performance at the Newport Jazz Festival, he signed a long-term deal with Columbia Records and released the album Round About Midnight in 1955. This was his first work with saxophonist John Coltrane and bassist Paul Chambers, who were key members of the group he led until the early 1960s. During this time, he worked with arranger Gil Evans on orchestral projects like Sketches of Spain (1960), which used Spanish music influences, and recorded band albums like Milestones (1958) and Kind of Blue (1959). The latter album is one of the most popular jazz recordings ever, selling over five million copies in the United States.
In the early 1960s, Davis made changes to his group while recording Someday My Prince Will Come (1961), performing at the Blackhawk concerts in 1961, and releasing Seven Steps to Heaven (1963), a successful album that introduced bassist Ron Carter, pianist Herbie Hancock, and drummer Tony Williams. In 1964, he added saxophonist Wayne Shorter to his new quintet. Together, they created more experimental music, helping develop the post-bop genre with albums like E.S.P. (1965) and Miles Smiles (1967). This led to his electric period in the 1970s, when he explored rock, funk, African rhythms, and new electronic music technologies. His lineup included keyboardist Joe Zawinul, drummer Al Foster, bassist Michael Henderson, and guitarist John McLaughlin. This time, starting with the 1969 album In a Silent Way and ending with the 1975 concert recording Agharta, was the most controversial in his career, confusing many jazz fans. His 1970 album Bitches Brew, which sold over a million copies, helped revive jazz fusion’s popularity.
After retiring for five years due to health problems, Davis returned to music in the 1980s. He worked with younger musicians and used pop sounds in albums like The Man with the Horn (1981), You’re Under Arrest (1985), and Tutu (1986). Critics were not always supportive, but this period brought him greater commercial success. He performed sold-out concerts worldwide and worked in visual arts, film, and television. Davis died in 1991 from a stroke, pneumonia, and respiratory failure at age 65. In 2006, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which called him "one of the key figures in the history of jazz." Rolling Stone magazine described him as "the most revered jazz trumpeter of all time, not to mention one of the most important musicians of the 20th century."
Early life
Davis was born on May 26, 1926, to a wealthy African-American family in Alton, Illinois, 15 miles (24 kilometers) north of St. Louis. He had an older sister, Dorothy Mae (1925–1996), and a younger brother, Vernon (1929–1999). His mother, Cleota Mae Henry from Arkansas, was a music teacher and violinist. His father, Miles Dewey Davis Jr., also from Arkansas, was a dentist. The family owned a 200-acre estate near Pine Bluff, Arkansas, with a successful pig farm. In Pine Bluff, Davis and his siblings fished, hunted, and rode horses. Davis’s grandparents owned a farm in Arkansas where he spent many summers.
In 1927, the family moved to East St. Louis, Illinois. They lived on the second floor of a building behind a dental office in a neighborhood mostly populated by white people. Davis’s father became distant from his children as the Great Depression made him focus heavily on his work, often working six days a week. From 1932 to 1934, Davis attended John Robinson Elementary School, an all-black school, and then Crispus Attucks, where he excelled in math, music, and sports. He had previously attended Catholic school. At a young age, he enjoyed music, especially blues, big bands, and gospel.
In 1935, Davis received his first trumpet as a gift from John Eubanks, a friend of his father. He took weekly lessons from Elwood Buchanan, a teacher and musician who was a patient of his father. Buchanan was described as the biggest influence on Davis’s life. His mother wanted him to play the violin instead. Buchanan taught him to play without vibrato and encouraged a clear, mid-range tone. Davis said that if he used heavy vibrato, Buchanan would slap his knuckles. Later, Davis explained that he preferred a round sound with no attitude, like a clear voice with balanced tone. The family soon moved to 1701 Kansas Avenue in East St. Louis.
In his autobiography, Davis wrote, “By the age of 12, music had become the most important thing in my life.” On his 13th birthday, his father bought him a new trumpet, and Davis began playing in local bands. He took additional lessons from Joseph Gustat, the principal trumpeter of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Davis also played the trumpet in talent shows with his siblings.
In 1941, the 15-year-old attended East St. Louis Lincoln High School, where he joined the marching band directed by Buchanan and entered music competitions. Later, Davis said he faced discrimination in these competitions because of his race, but he believed these experiences helped him improve as a musician. When a drummer asked him to play a specific musical passage and he struggled, he studied music theory by reading every book he could find. At Lincoln, Davis met his first girlfriend, Irene Birth (later Cawthon). He led a band that performed at the Elks Club, and part of his earnings helped pay for his sister’s education at Fisk University. He became friends with trumpeter Clark Terry, who encouraged him to play without vibrato and performed with him for years.
With support from his teacher and girlfriend, Davis joined the Rhumboogie Orchestra, also known as the Blue Devils, led by Eddie Randle. He became the band’s musical director, which included hiring musicians and organizing rehearsals. Years later, Davis called this job one of the most important in his career. Sonny Stitt tried to convince him to join the Tiny Bradshaw band, but his mother insisted he finish high school before touring. Davis later said he avoided talking to her for two weeks and did not join the band. In January 1944, Davis finished high school and graduated in absentia in June. The next month, his girlfriend gave birth to a daughter, Cheryl.
In July 1944, Billy Eckstine visited St. Louis with a band that included Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, and Charlie Parker. Trumpeter Buddy Anderson was too sick to perform, so Davis was invited to join. He played with the band for two weeks at Club Riviera. After performing with these musicians, Davis decided to move to New York City, “where the action was.” His mother wanted him to attend Fisk University, like his sister, and study piano or violin. Davis, however, had other interests.
Career
In September 1944, Davis agreed to study at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City, following his father’s suggestion. After passing an audition, he took classes in music theory, piano, and dictation. However, Davis often missed his classes.
Much of Davis’s time was spent in clubs searching for his idol, Charlie Parker. Coleman Hawkins told Davis, “Finish your studies at Juilliard and forget Bird [Parker].” After finding Parker, Davis joined a group of regulars at Minton’s and Monroe’s in Harlem who held jam sessions every night. Other regulars included J. J. Johnson, Kenny Clarke, Thelonious Monk, Fats Navarro, and Freddie Webster. Davis reunited with Irene and their daughter Cheryl when they moved to New York City. Parker became Davis’s roommate. Around this time, Davis received an allowance of $40 (equivalent to $730 in 2025).
In mid-1945, Davis failed to register for the autumn term at Juilliard and left the school after three semesters because he wanted to perform full-time.
Davis began performing at clubs on 52nd Street with Coleman Hawkins and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis. He recorded for the first time on April 24, 1945, as a sideman for Herbie Fields’s band. The next year, he recorded as a leader for the first time with the Miles Davis Sextet, plus Earl Coleman and Ann Baker, one of the few times he accompanied a singer.
In 1945, Davis replaced Dizzy Gillespie in Charlie Parker’s quintet. On November 26, he participated in several recording sessions as part of Parker’s group, the Reboppers, which also included Gillespie and Max Roach. On Parker’s tune “Now’s the Time,” Davis played a solo that showed early signs of the style he would become known for. He later joined a big band led by Benny Carter, performing in St. Louis and staying with the band in California. He again played with Parker and Gillespie. In Los Angeles, Parker had a nervous breakdown and was hospitalized for several months. In March 1946, Davis played in studio sessions with Parker and began a collaboration with Mingus that summer. Cawthon gave birth to Davis’s second child, Gregory, in East St. Louis before reuniting with Davis in New York City the following year. Davis noted that by this time, “I was still so much into the music that I was even ignoring Irene.” He had also turned to alcohol and cocaine.
Davis was a member of Billy Eckstine’s big band in 1946 and Gillespie’s in 1947. He joined a quintet led by Parker that also included Max Roach. Together, they performed live with Duke Jordan and Tommy Potter for much of the year, including several studio sessions. In one session that May, Davis wrote the tune “Cheryl” for his daughter. Davis’s first session as a leader followed in August 1947, playing as the Miles Davis All Stars, which included Parker, pianist John Lewis, and bassist Nelson Boyd. They recorded “Milestones,” “Half Nelson,” and “Sippin’ at Bells.” After touring Chicago and Detroit with Parker’s quintet, Davis returned to New York City in March 1948 and joined the Jazz at the Philharmonic tour, which included a stop in St. Louis on April 30.
In August 1948, Davis declined an offer to join Duke Ellington’s orchestra because he had entered rehearsals with a nine-piece band featuring baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan and arrangements by Gil Evans. He took an active role in this project, which soon became his own. Evans’ Manhattan apartment became a meeting place for several young musicians and composers, including Davis, Roach, Lewis, and Mulligan, who were unhappy with the increasingly complex techniques in bebop. These gatherings led to the formation of the Miles Davis Nonet, which included unusual modern jazz instruments such as French horn and tuba, creating a thick, almost orchestral sound. The group aimed to imitate the human voice through carefully arranged compositions and a relaxed, melodic approach to improvisation. In September, the band completed their only engagement as the opening band for Count Basie at the Royal Roost for two weeks. Davis had to persuade the venue’s manager to write the sign “Miles Davis Nonet. Arrangements by Gil Evans, John Lewis, and Gerry Mulligan.” Davis returned to Parker’s quintet, but relationships within the group became tense due to Parker’s unpredictable behavior from drug use. Early in his time with Parker, Davis avoided drugs, chose a vegetarian diet, and spoke about the benefits of water and juice.
In December 1948, Davis quit, saying he was not being paid. His departure began a period when he worked mainly as a freelancer and sideman. His nonet remained active until the end of 1949. After signing a contract with Capitol Records, they recorded sessions in January and April 1949, which sold little but influenced the “Cool” or “West Coast” style of jazz. The lineup changed throughout the year and included tuba player Bill Barber, alto saxophonist Lee Konitz, pianist Al Haig, trombone players Mike Zwerin with Kai Winding, French horn players Junior Collins with Sandy Siegelstein and Gunther Schuller, and bassists Al McKibbon and Joe Shulman. One track featured singer Kenny Hagood. The presence of white musicians in the group angered some black players, many of whom were unemployed at the time, yet Davis rejected their criticisms. Recording sessions with the nonet for Capitol continued until April 1950. The Nonet recorded a dozen tracks, which were released as singles and later compiled on the 1957 album Birth of the Cool.
In May 1949, Davis performed with the Tadd Dameron Quintet with Kenny Clarke and James Moody at the Paris International Jazz Festival. On his first trip abroad, Davis developed a strong liking for Paris and its cultural environment, where he felt black jazz musicians and people of color were better respected than in the U.S. He said the trip “changed the way I looked at things forever.” He began an affair with singer and actress Juliette Gréco.
After returning from Paris in mid-1949, Davis became depressed and found little work except a short engagement with Bud Powell in October and guest spots in New York City, Chicago, and Detroit until January 1950. He was falling behind on hotel rent, and attempts were made to repossess his car. His heroin use became an expensive addiction, and Davis, not yet 24 years old, said he “lost my sense of discipline, lost my sense of control over my life, and started to drift.” In August 1950, Cawthon gave birth to Davis’s second son, Miles IV. Davis befriended boxer Johnny Bratton, which began his interest in the sport. Davis left
Personal life
In 1957, Davis started a relationship with Frances Taylor, a dancer he met in 1953 at Ciro's in Los Angeles. They married in December 1959 in Toledo, Ohio. Their relationship became difficult because of Miles Davis's physical abuse of Frances Taylor. He later said, "Every time I hit her, I felt bad because a lot of it really wasn't her fault but had to do with me being easily upset and jealous." One idea about his behavior was that in 1963, he used more alcohol and cocaine to help with joint pain caused by sickle cell anemia. He saw things that weren't there and once carried a kitchen knife while searching for an imaginary person. Soon after the photo for the album E.S.P. (1965) was taken, Taylor left him for the last time. She asked for a divorce in 1966; the divorce was finalized in February 1968.
In September 1968, Davis married 23-year-old model and songwriter Betty Mabry. In his autobiography, Davis described her as a "high-class groupie, who was very talented but who didn't believe in her own talent." Mabry, who was known in the New York City counterculture, introduced Davis to popular rock, soul, and funk musicians. Jazz critic Leonard Feather visited Davis's apartment and was surprised to find him listening to albums by the Byrds, Aretha Franklin, and Dionne Warwick. He also liked music by James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, and Jimi Hendrix, whose group Band of Gypsys especially impressed Davis. Davis asked for a divorce from Mabry in 1969 after accusing her of having an affair with Hendrix.
On October 10, 1969, Davis was shot five times while in his Ferrari with Marguerite Eskridge, one of his lovers. One bullet grazed his hip; Eskridge was not hurt. Davis later said the incident happened because of a disagreement among nightclub promoters.
In 1970, Marguerite gave birth to their son, Erin. By 1979, Davis reconnected with actress Cicely Tyson, who helped him stop using cocaine and regain his interest in music. The two married in November 1981, but their difficult marriage ended when Tyson asked for a divorce in 1988, which was finalized in 1989.
In 1984, Davis met 34-year-old sculptor Jo Gelbard. She taught Davis how to paint; the two often worked together and soon became romantically involved. They left their previous partners and lived together.
By 1985, Davis had diabetes and needed daily insulin injections. In his final year, he became more aggressive, partly because of the medication he was taking. This aggression led to violent behavior toward Gelbard.
Death
In early September 1991, Davis entered St. John's Hospital near his home in Santa Monica, California, for regular medical tests. Doctors recommended he have a tube implanted to help him breathe after repeated cases of bronchial pneumonia. Davis reacted strongly to this suggestion, which caused a brain hemorrhage and led to a coma. Jo Gelbard reported that on September 26, Davis created his final painting. This painting, which showed dark, ghostly figures dripping blood, was described as reflecting his approaching death. After several days on life support, the machine was turned off, and Davis passed away on September 28, 1991, in Gelbard’s arms. He was 65 years old.
Davis’s death was linked to the combined effects of a stroke, pneumonia, and respiratory failure. Troupe noted that Davis was receiving azidothymidine (AZT), a type of medicine used to treat HIV and AIDS, during his hospital stay.
A funeral was held on October 5, 1991, at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church on Lexington Avenue in New York City. Around 500 people, including friends, family, and musicians, attended the service, with many fans waiting outside in the rain. Davis was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York City, next to one of his trumpets and near the resting place of Duke Ellington.
At the time of his death, Davis’s estate was worth more than $1 million (equivalent to about $2.4 million in 2025). In his will, Davis left 20 percent of his estate to his daughter, Cheryl Davis; 40 percent to his son, Erin Davis; 10 percent to his nephew, Vincent Wilburn Jr.; and 15 percent each to his brother, Vernon Davis, and his sister, Dorothy Wilburn. He did not leave anything to his two sons, Gregory and Miles IV.
Views on his earlier work
In his later years, Miles Davis often explained why he did not want to perform his earlier works, such as Birth of the Cool or Kind of Blue. He believed that staying the same in style was not the best choice. He said, "Songs like 'So What' or Kind of Blue were created at the right time, and that moment is gone. What I used to play with Bill Evans, with all those different musical styles and chord changes, had energy then, and we enjoyed it. But now, I no longer feel connected to that music. It feels like old, reheated food." When Shirley Horn asked him in 1990 to play ballads and modal tunes from the Kind of Blue era, he replied, "No, it hurts my lip." Bill Evans, who played piano on Kind of Blue, said, "I would like to hear more of Miles' skill in creating beautiful melodies. However, I believe that the influence of big business and his record company affected his music. The rock and pop styles attract more people." Throughout his later career, Davis refused to bring back his 1960s group.
Many books and documentaries focus on his work before 1975. According to an article in The Independent, starting in 1975, critics began to give less praise to Davis's music, with some calling this period "worthless": "Many people believe that, in terms of musical quality, Davis might as well have died in 1975." In a 1982 interview with DownBeat, Wynton Marsalis said, "People call Miles's music jazz, but that is not real jazz. Just because someone played jazz before does not mean they still do." Although Marsalis criticized Davis's later work, his own music includes references to Davis's 1960s style. Davis did not disagree with Marsalis's criticism, but he criticized Marsalis for being too traditional. He said, "Jazz is dead. It is over. There is no point in copying the old ways." Writer Stanley Crouch criticized Davis's music starting with the album In a Silent Way.
Legacy and influence
Miles Davis is one of the most important and respected people in music history. The Guardian called him "a pioneer of 20th-century music, leading many of the key developments in jazz." He was known as "one of the great innovators in jazz" and was given titles like "Prince of Darkness" and "the Picasso of Jazz." The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll said, "Miles Davis played a crucial and controversial role in every major development in jazz since the mid-1940s. No other jazz musician has had such a strong effect on rock. He was the most well-known jazz musician of his time, an outspoken social critic, and a leader in style and fashion, as well as music."
William Ruhlmann of AllMusic wrote, "To study his career is to study the history of jazz from the mid-1940s to the early 1990s, because he was part of almost every major change in the music during that time. Some people believe that jazz stopped changing when Davis was not around to lead the way." Francis Davis of The Atlantic noted that Davis's career can be seen as "an ongoing critique of bebop: the origins of 'cool' jazz, hard bop, 'funky' jazz, modal improvisation, and jazz-rock fusion can all be traced back to his efforts to break bebop down to its basics."
His approach was influenced by the African-American performance tradition, which focused on individual expression, strong interaction, and creative responses to changing situations. This had a major impact on many jazz musicians. In 2016, The Pudding found that 2,452 Wikipedia pages mention Davis, with over 286 citing him as an influence.
On November 5, 2009, U.S. Representative John Conyers of Michigan introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to honor the 50th anniversary of Kind of Blue. The bill also declared jazz a national treasure and encouraged the government to preserve and promote jazz music. The bill passed with a vote of 409–0 on December 15, 2009. The trumpet Davis used to record Kind of Blue is displayed at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. It was donated by Arthur "Buddy" Gist, a close friend of Davis since 1949. This donation led to the university's jazz program being named the Miles Davis Jazz Studies Program.
In 1986, the New England Conservatory gave Davis an honorary doctorate for his contributions to music. Since 1960, he has received eight Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and three Grammy Hall of Fame Awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS).
In 2001, The Miles Davis Story, a two-hour documentary by Mike Dibb, won an International Emmy Award for arts documentary of the year. Since 2005, the Miles Davis Jazz Committee has held an annual Miles Davis Jazz Festival. Also in 2005, the biography The Last Miles was published, and a London exhibition of Davis's paintings, The Last Miles: The Music of Miles Davis, 1980–1991, was released. It detailed his final years and reissued eight of his albums from the 1960s and 1970s to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his signing with Columbia Records. In 2006, Davis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2012, the U.S. Postal Service issued commemorative stamps featuring Davis.
Miles Ahead is a 2015 film about Davis's life and music, directed by Don Cheadle. It premiered at the New York Film Festival in 2015 and stars Cheadle, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Ewan McGregor, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Lakeith Stanfield. In 2015, a statue of Davis was placed in his hometown, Alton, Illinois. That same year, BBC Radio and Jazz FM listeners voted Davis the greatest jazz musician. Publications like The Guardian have also ranked Davis among the best jazz musicians of all time.
In 2018, rapper Q-Tip played Davis in a theater production titled My Funny Valentine. Q-Tip had previously played Davis in 2010. In 2019, the documentary Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, directed by Stanley Nelson, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and later aired on PBS's American Masters series. Davis is also the subject of the upcoming film Davis & Juliette, which tells the story of his meeting with Juliette Gréco in Paris in 1949. English musician and co-producer Mick Jagger said Davis was "inarguably one of the most influential and important musicians of the 20th Century."
Davis has faced criticism. In 1990, writer Stanley Crouch, a critic of jazz fusion, called Davis "the most brilliant sellout in the history of jazz." A 1993 essay by Robert Walser in The Musical Quarterly claimed that "Davis has long been infamous for missing more notes than any other major trumpet player." The essay also includes a quote from music critic James Lincoln Collier, who said, "if his influence was profound, the ultimate value of his work is another matter," and described Davis as an "adequate instrumentalist" but "not a great one." In 2013, The A.V. Club published an article titled "Miles Davis beat his wives and made beautiful music." The article praised Davis as a musician but criticized his treatment of his wives. Others, like Francis Davis, have also criticized his behavior toward women, calling it "contemptible."
In 2025, Reservoir Media acquired the rights to Davis's publishing catalog.
Discography
This list shows Davis's important works, especially studio albums. A detailed discography is available in the main article.