Miles Davis Centennial

Quite the Centennial Year this year, Allen, Neal Cassady, Robert Creeley, and, today,
Miles Davis.  –  (John Coltrane’s, later in the year, we’ll be celebrating him too)

but today, Miles

WRTI will celebrate Miles’ Centennial with 24 hours of music – see here

KSDS Jazz 88 through the Summer of 2026

Check out the Miles Davis website – here 

The Miles Davis Estate, in collaboration with Park Avenue Artists, will be presenting tonight at Brooklyn’s National Sawdust (8 pm EST) –The Voice of Miles – A Symphonic Celebration

“The Voice of Miles transforms the acclaimed documentary Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool into an immersive, live orchestral event. Featuring Miles’ original, isolated live trumpet performances alongside new orchestrations, the program invites audiences to experience the sound and story of a singular genius who reshaped jazz—and modern music—through fearless reinvention. Film excerpts and live performance interlock in real time, creating a cinematic concert experience that places Miles himself – heard and seen in performance -at the center of a newly expanded symphonic landscape, as his unmistakable trumpet voice is surrounded by the power and sweep of a full orchestral sound.”

“This premiere serves as one of the pillars of Miles Davis 100, an ambitious global celebration spearheaded by the Davis Estate and global independent music company Reservoir to honor the visionary artist’s ever-expanding impact on music, fashion, and global culture. Reflecting the imagination, excellence, and fearless reinvention that defined Davis’ life, the centennial encompasses a vast array of multidisciplinary projects”

among them – “landmark reissues, such as the first physical release of The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965  in three decades”

and a new Centennial edition (with re-introductions by Nas and Hank Abdurraquib) of Miles and Quincy Troupe‘s classic Miles: The Autobiography:

also a feature film (currently in pre-production), Miles & Juliette (starring Damson Idris in the role of Miles). The film chronicles Davis’ first trip to Paris and his romance with both the city of Paris and the French singer/actress, Juliette Greco. Check out documentary evidence of this particular liaison (testaments from both Juliette and Miles) – here:

an introductory album,  The Best of Miles Davis was released a couple of months back by Craft Recordings.

A  4 LP (3 CD)  box-set Miles ’56 The Prestige Recordings will be released by the same label later next month

Tonight in St Louis, 7.30 (CDT)  –  Jazz St Louis –
In honor of Miles Davis’s 100th birthday, trumpeter Terell Stafford and saxophonist Tim Warfield lead a special concert series that celebrates Miles’s groundbreaking legacy” –  “We’re gonna put together a smorsgasbord of Miles, so to speak”

“On this important day we pay homage to a hometown hero whose fearless innovation continues to inspire the world.”

KMOV  celebrate Miles  in the House of Miles East St Louis

Opening last Tuesday and up through June 13 at the Musichead Gallery in Los Angeles, “Miles Davis:  A Century of Cool”, “a landmark photography retrospective honoring the life, style, and singular creative evolution of one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.”    More on that exhibit here

Here’s Miles Davis’ interview (with Les Tomkins) from 1969 for the National Jazz Archive 

Here’s the disjunctive mis-matched 1989 60 Minutes interview

Here’s an invaluable Miles video interviews collection

More notes – recent notes (and observations):

Syd Schwartz – Miles at 100 – Beginning Again Constantly  (Jazz and Coffee)
Howard Mandel (with Melvin Gibbs, Bob Gluck and Martin Johnson – Miles at 100 in our media, ears and minds
Steve Baltin – Miles at 100 – Musicians explain why he is the GOAT (Los Angeles Times)
Rafi Mercer – Miles Davis at 100 – The Sound You Carry Forward
Ryan Mathews – Miles at 100 – Now It’s Jazz ( Rock and The Beat Generation)

Happy Hundredth Miles!