Life As a Star
Miles Davis made his first recording as bandleader in 1946 sextet. From 1945 to 1948 Davis recorded continuously with Parker. During that time he started to develop his own style. In 1949 Davis formed a 9 piece band with uncommon additions like the trombone and tuba. He released a series of singles and they were later released as a new album called the Birth Of Cool. Davis became addicted to heroin in the early 1950s. This was the most difficult time of his musical career. Around the time that Davis performed Round Midnight at the Newport Jazz Festival he overcame his addiction and signed a contract with Columbia Records. He created a permanent band consisting John Coltrane, Paul Chambers, Red Garland and himself. They recorded several album like Porgy and Bess and Kind of Blues his final album of the decade. Kind of Blues was released in 1959 and was the largest selling jazz album of all time selling over 200 copies. Davis continued to be successful during the 1960s, but many changes were made to the band. Some of the members who left went on to become some of the most inspirational jazz musicians. The album Bitches Brew released shortly after 1969 became a best-selling album and was published on Rolling Stone magazine. He became the first jazz musician to be so recognized. In 1975 Davis again became addicted to alcohol and cocaine and took a 5 year break from his career. In 1979 actress Cicely Tyson helped him overcome his addiction and they married in 1981. In the 1980s Davis experimented with styles. Winton Marsalis fellow trumpeter, claimed that his music wasn't true jazz and they became rivals. In 1986 Davis won a grammy for the album Tutu and in 1989 he released yet another grammy winner for Aura. To honour his work he received a if time achievement grammy. In 1991 he played old hits with Quincy Jones at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Later that year David died at the age of 65 due to pneumonia and respiratory failure. He won his last grammy in 1993 for the performance at Montreux.