I think theres one thing that motivates me to continue living in this world, and that's the fact that I am not Rusty Cooley.

HAHA, nice one

Uh, yeah, every style except Dixieland/Traditional (hey, Miles was all over the beginning of jazz, especially because he wasn't born yet), Swing/Big Band, Hard Bop, Bebop (to a certain extent, it's where his roots lie and where he started, but he didn't matter nearly as much as Bird, Diz, Monk, Powell, etc.), Avant-Garde, Free Jazz, Free Improvisation, and Latin Jazz! ;)

Seriously, Miles Davis does not even come close to being a leader in every form of jazz. Jazz made leaps and bounds before he began playing (and like I said, before he was even born). During his career, there were movements as great as any of those that he lead that happened. And believe it or not, while not as dramatically as it has in previous decades, jazz has continued moving forward since his death.

/\ Unless you ask Jazz buffs, in which case Jazz died in the 50's and a bunch of bastard children ran off with it since then.

I think Jazz has made great improvements, expecailly in regard to acid jazz but I can throw a dart at a jazz fest and hit 14 guys who think jazz would be better if we all copied Billie Holiday.

I don't get this. Miles is great but we would have survied without him. To be honest I don't hear much of Miles in Satriani or Vai and I love them both.

What miles was really great at was organizing and leadind bands. The greatest things on "Kind of Blue" are Bill Evans and John Coltrane.

You don't have to be of a certain age to start appreciating good jazz, all you need is functional ear drums.

Furthermore, adidasss, I would bet money that a lot of the musicians that you listen to have taken some amount of inspiration from the jazz greats, INCLUDING MILES DAVIS.

Of course I exaggerated when I said "every major jazz movement" but of course, before that. Of course jazz progressed a lot before he hit the scene but it progressed the most when he was around. How much has jazz changed since he died in, what was it, '91? It's essentially been the same for the last 15 years.

You'd be amazed how many rock musicians and the modern "greats" attribute their music to the influence of Miles. Even down the Radiohead's OK Computer. Thom Yorke specifically said that Davis' Bitches Brew was THE main influence on the album. They wanted to capture what made Brew special, and they made a stellar album themselves. I was reading through a whole list of musicians and bands who cited Davis as an influence and I was blown away at how many amazing names there were.

Armstrong and Ellington stand above everybody else in jazz history, including Miles Davis.

Absolutely as should Coltrane, Parker, and Monk.

Miles is one of the best Jazz players to hit this earth. He's like Ali or Walter Payton. You only get one in a life time!

The TourDogg!
Lock&Load Baby!

Miles Davis was probably the greatest lover I ever had.

Certainly the most considerate.

Great with his tongue.

you obvizly never been blown by dizzy gillezpie then son.

Kind of Blue is one of my favorite albums ever. It's flawless.

i think Charles Mingus should have a place up with the greats too...

Miles Davis is great, One of the few artists I can put on at a party and guarantee no complaints.

Nah, he's not the greatest IMO.

I prefer Thelonious Monk, Coltrane and Mingus.

There's no one better - although there are other who are up there with him. The way he leads his band is awe inspiring - his spontaniousness on the trumpet combined with his ability to take the rest of band with him on that ride is what made recordings like Bitches Brew possible and why so many of his recordings sound like timeless compositions rather than improvisations.

I'd agree that Thelonious Monk and others are up there with Davis - Coltrane is borderline for me - his best work was while he was in Davis's band. Mingus is just not in the same league for me. Mingus is similar in stature to artists like Chick Corea, Stan Getz and Herbie Han****. They have made many Jazz classics. But to think about it in different terms, if Mingus is U2, then Coltrane is the Rolling Stones. But Davis, he's Rock and Roll.

^ You should post an Introduction. :)

...in here > http://www.musicbanter.com/introductions/

No.

He may have been influential (understatement) but I find the work of others (Mingus, Coletrane, Coleman, Taylor) to be more exciting and rewarding.

It all depends on your mood. Sometimes I'll be driving late at night and some electric Miles will be perfect. Sometimes other artists work better. Currently though, Miles is number one.

Miles is one of the greatest. No doubt. Probably the greatest in the Cool Jazz genre

I wouldn't say Miles Davis is the greatest ever as new musicians are born everyday getting better and moving up the ranks. However as comparing with every great musician such as John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and Duke Ellington, Dave Matthews, I'd say Miles Davis is in the Elite high skilled musician category.

Kind of Blue + Bitches Brew = pwnt.

That might be the least intelligent thing I've ever written, but its no less true.

Miles is truly the greatest ever to blow life into the horn.

If you hear him do, Cindy Lupers, "Time after Time, live in Germany

That did it for me, I have so many black & white photos of Miles in my music room, because he's the Greatest ever.

Miles Davis is easily the greatest of all time. The whole discography doesn't know how to disappoint.

I listened to Sketches Of Spain twice today and I'm not done.

Is Miles Davis the best ever? Yes. The worst part of listening to Miles Davis is when his solo ends, and the Saxophone player starts playing. He is on a plane all his own, despite the best efforts of many great musicians.

Miles Davis is amazing, to be sure, but then so is Mingus, Coltrane, Ornette Coleman and of course Monk.

My personal preference is for the Shorter/Williams/Carter/Han**** period of the sixties. Masqualero still blows my mind...

What made Miles Davis really great was not just as a soloist, but as a band leader-- he was the special ingredient that helped foster the whole chemistry going between all the band members. Mingus & Coltrane excelled at this as well-- its that magical chemistry between all of them, like they can read each others' minds somehow!

~ josh

Definitely, Miles Davis was the most talented jazz artist around. When I first heard his Kind of Blue cd in my jazz class, I instantly went out and bought it. It's one cd I can't get sick of listening to.

I don't own any Miles Davis albums. It is a huge void in my music collection.

Miles is way, way up there. But I do need a change of pace every once in awhile. Usually though, I can leave Miles' stuff on for days and in the car for a long time.

I like him, but he is not the greatest ever i think :D

miles davis was amazing. he was extremely prolific (forgive my spelling) and very creative.
However when you listen to him his trumpet tone is....eh.....
he squeaks a lot when u know he shouldnt and he tends to miss notes sometimes when u know he wanted one there....but u must also consider that a lot of jazz is based off of his music.
so overall he's pretty good.

Oh, I've never seen this thread before
yeah he's amazing! I used to always play all of his songs (to the best of my ability) and even got a few of his albums. But the greatest....

I'm still a newbie when it comes to jazz, having mainly only listened to the "legends," but so far Miles Davis has proved to be my favorite. I finally got ahold of his cover of "Time After Time" today, and damn, it's good! But I like everything I've heard from him really.

i agree
 

he is the best!

Any reason why?

You want some?