Miles Davis: Singing Jazz After War Times

During the 20th century, Miles Davis, the best innovative and influential musician, was a composer, bandleader and trumpeter. He played some of the early bebop records and produced his first cool jazz hits.

After the World War II, he was responsible for the development of jazz fusion and modal jazz, a result from his labor with other artists in the late 60s and 70s. The appearance of, for instance, free jazz was only a post-war consequence, but not important or influential for Davis; even though some of the members of his band tried to pursue this style. It is a fact that his recordings as well as live performances of his main influential bands became significant to accept jazz as the lasting and valuable music. He became famous for his melodic, languid style and his laconic personality. In addition, his most outstanding feature was to be a well-dressed, rich symbol of jazz music.

Davis’ talent is so extraordinary that he was even compared to Duke Ellington as a musical innovator. The main similarity is that both were very skillful with their instruments; however, they were not technical experts. While Ellington’s skill was to be a leader and composer of a big band, Davis’ strength was to draw talented musicians in small groups and give them some room to develop. Certainly, most of the main figures after war in jazz played in one of Davis' bands. In 2006, Davis was introduced to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, St.Louis Walk of Fame, and the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.