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-   -   Is Miles Davis the greatest ever? (https://www.musicbanter.com/jazz-blues/9141-miles-davis-greatest-ever.html)

Rockafella Skank 12-25-2003 01:23 AM

Is Miles Davis the greatest ever?
 
A lot of people think he is and others think he isn't. I happen to think he is is. The Kind of Blue album was just spectacular. He brought in the best people on that album and it shows as I think it's the best Jazz album ever made. What do you think of Miles Davis and Kind of Blue?

IamAlejo 12-26-2003 10:57 PM

"If peeing your pants is cool then I'm Miles Davis."
-Old Lady from Billy Madison

....sorry, just thought I'd bring back an old quote.

Rockafella Skank 12-28-2003 11:09 PM

I know back in the day anything Miles Davis did was copied by his millions of fans. My dad was telling me how whatever Miles Davis wore, he wore. He's a big jazz fan and I know Miles is his favorite.

Meghan 02-23-2004 03:23 PM

I love Miles Davis. Extremely talented.

All_Nite_Dinah 10-23-2004 11:31 PM

i really like Miles Davis but theres alot of other greats too. Coltrane, herbie Han****, Dizzy Gillespie, and Duke Ellignton to name a few. But My persoanl favorite jazz bandwould probobly have to be the Alpha boys.

soundgardenrox 11-26-2004 05:22 PM

i'll go a step further and say he was the greatest american musician there ever was!!!!
Without Miles there would be no Satriani, no Vai, or no good music for that matter!!!

Oi_To_The_World 12-02-2004 06:35 PM

overall i like coltrane a lil better than miles davis, but i would rather listen to miles davis, if that makes any sense...

WeIRd lIl MosHeR FrEak 12-03-2004 10:40 AM

hmm i'd say miles davis is definately one of the greats, but there is still the issue og coltrane

joewilljohn@hotmail.com 12-22-2004 06:40 AM

????
 
No he is not...

All_Nite_Dinah 12-22-2004 08:58 PM

No one ever understands anyone elses favorite band anyway.

doliphante 12-24-2004 12:23 PM

He is one of the greats but not neccessarily the greatist...That would be a hard one to call with so many candidates around to choose from...

Urban Hat€monger ? 12-24-2004 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soundgardenrox
Without Miles there would be no Satriani, no Vai

Thats the best reason i`ve seen to hate him.

Peter B 01-09-2005 12:46 AM

Miles was, in my opinion, the best leader. He hired formidable musicians (often totally unknown pre-Miles) and let them play however they liked, with minimal direction on his part.
I have talked with some guys who worked with Miles (John McLaughlin, John Schofield, Dave Liebman) and they all said that although Miles instructions were minimal, they were always very pertinent. (Apparently during the Bitches Brew session all he ever told Chick Corea was "That's too much Chick" or "That's not enough Chick")

But was Miles the greatest jazz player ever ? Once you get to that standard of playing you can name a top hundred players OK, but putting them in any order of excellence would be tough. Miles was a much better trumpet player than a lot of pedants might have given him credit for, but he always took risks so sometimes you hear a fluffed note or two. So what ?

The Miles Davis discography is huge, and so many styles are explored that most people find something they like. (However my friend's uncle threw out all his Miles vinyl records when Bitches Brew came out and never listened to him again - some people take stuff far too seriously !)

jazzlover28 02-13-2005 06:40 PM

I wouldn't go so far as to say Miles was the greatest, to quote an earlier post he was one of the greatest. He could probably be credited for bringing the smooth sound to jazz, comparing him to Coltrane and Bird, who were great themselves.

TheBig3 03-22-2005 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oi_To_The_World
overall i like coltrane a lil better than miles davis, but i would rather listen to miles davis, if that makes any sense...

I didn't but Ill also say that Coltrane got a little glossy and over produced on some tracks, which I have yet to hear from Miles Davis.

But Charlie Parker and Houston Peterson aren't bad either, lets give them some ranking.

Ma Cherie 03-24-2005 02:15 PM

B.B King personally, but the choice it up to everybody not just me

hookers with machineguns 03-24-2005 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazzlover28
I wouldn't go so far as to say Miles was the greatest, to quote an earlier post he was one of the greatest. He could probably be credited for bringing the smooth sound to jazz, comparing him to Coltrane and Bird, who were great themselves.

I like Miles Davis a bit better than Bird or Coltrane (not taking anything away from them). Gotta also mention Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong.

jazzlover28 03-26-2005 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hookers with machineguns
I like Miles Davis a bit better than Bird or Coltrane (not taking anything away from them). Gotta also mention Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong.

I'll go with on the Duke...one of the best. I just purchased Jazz Moods by Miles, have to admit it didn't make me want to hit the repeat button.

TheBig3 03-29-2005 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urban Hatemonger
Thats the best reason i`ve seen to hate him.

I actually laughed out loud at that. I agree though, I've never heard anything outstnading by either of them.

Betty's Blonde 04-20-2005 03:05 AM

I don't see how you can say one musician can be greater than another when the styles and instruments played are different. Miles was great trumpet player and jazz man he schooled and influenced lots of great jazz musicians. If it wasn't for him Weather Report, Return to Forever, et al would not sound the same as they do (and they all didn't play trumpet); but they would still be great jazz musicians because they have the passsion. I love Miles' music to bits, but his he the greateast? I don't know. Maybe I'm yet to hear the greatest until someone else beomes greater.

Betty's Blonde 04-20-2005 03:19 AM

It wasn't so much a blues album but a track off an album: Red House by Jimi Hendrix off of Are You Experienced. back in the late 60s early 70s.

hiu 05-18-2005 10:28 PM

Kind of Blue is an outstanding album, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb, Julian Adderley and Miles himself one of the best combinations of great musicians ever put together. I can't say he is THE greatest ever in terms of musicial ability but in terms of influence and enjoyment he is top.

PhishFood 08-03-2005 08:58 PM

Miles Davis
 
If theres already a thread here, then he deserves another. Davis is one of the greatest. Birth of cool is one of the best Jazz album I have listened to.

SATCHMO 08-03-2005 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhishFood
. Birth of cool is one of the best Jazz album I have listened to.

Yes its an amazing album that, unfortunately, often gets overshadowed by Kinda' Blue, which many consider to be the best jazz album ever, but Birth of the Cool is just as good and just as monumental, alas its just a horse of another color as they say.

teen_pop_star 08-03-2005 10:26 PM

I always thought Bitches Brew was supposed to be considered his best album.

SATCHMO 08-03-2005 10:31 PM

Bitches Brew was the first Jazz fusion album ever. It was revolutionary because no one had blended rock and jazz before and what we know as electric jazz didn't exist up to that point. Its an absolutely phenomenal album, but Kinda' Blue is the standard by which all other jazz albums are judged.

adidasss 08-12-2005 12:50 PM

i see this was an EXTREMELY popular thread...not many miles davis fans out there ey?( i have to admit, jazz is one of the very rare genres of music that i don't listen to, maybe you have to be of a certain age to start appreciating it, i dunno...)

Crishizzal13 08-25-2005 08:19 PM

Maybe
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Rockafella Skank
A lot of people think he is and others think he isn't. I happen to think he is is. The Kind of Blue album was just spectacular. He brought in the best people on that album and it shows as I think it's the best Jazz album ever made. What do you think of Miles Davis and Kind of Blue?

Kind of Blue is a bad ass cd, but i don't know if hes the greatest ever. I mean, he's definitely top 5, maybe even top 3, and he is for sure the most bad ass. I think that Wes Montgomery and Chick Corea are up there fairly high as well, but who is the best is always an open debate. Music is so many different things to so many different people that you'll never get an undisputed best. But I think that you're way more right than most people.

whathappened2hiphop 08-25-2005 08:58 PM

The cd kind of blue is excellent. I really like the song "blue in green" with bill evans and john coltrane. But overall I think Miles Davis is definitely one of the best and most influential jazz musicians....not sure if I would say #1, but damn near.

boris jawaka 08-26-2005 05:20 AM

Miles is great, i love Miles Davis volume 1 on blue note and the birth of the cool.

bitches brew is great too

a true genius, but to me not the greatest ever, that was Coltrane for me

traveller 08-26-2005 10:39 PM

I love'em both but Mr Davis is the best!!!

boo boo 09-01-2005 02:51 AM

hell yes.

boo boo 09-01-2005 02:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urban Hatemonger
Thats the best reason i`ve seen to hate him.

How much vai have you heard?, im not attacking your judgement, it's just a simple question sparked by my own curiosity. He isnt one of those mindless shreders as you would call it, so let's leave it at that, he is a brillant guitar player, His music isnt completely acessible, even if you dont like it you can still appreciate it. Vai's music really as more jazz and progressive rock influence rather than neo classical influence like almost all shreders do, the word Shred itself is a lame limitation of Vai's musical talent, listen to Passion and Warfare, there's barely any actual shreding on it at all.

swim 07-06-2006 09:22 AM

bump.

Miles Davis is feckin awesome. Kind of Blue is one the best albums ever.

boo boo 07-06-2006 04:39 PM

Strangely enough, Davis thought Kind Of Blue was a disapointment.

Davis had very high standards when it came to his work.

jazzfromhell 07-11-2006 06:05 PM

Depends on what you mean by the best...he's my favorite jazz musician to listen to, I think he generally brings out the best in the people who play with him (not always), and makes the best albums. He's far from the most technically skilled trumpet player ever to live, though, and isn't as innovative as many give him credit for.

Anyway, besides all that, like I said, he's my favorite for jazz, and I have many a CD (somewhere around thirty discs, I think) by him. My favorite is Bitches Brew.

smallz 08-18-2006 11:01 AM

Yeah, Coltrane was amazing, Adderly was amazing, Armstrong, Baker, Maclaughlin, but I believe Davis to be the greatest jazz musician ever, and one of the greatest musicians in musical history in fact. How many jazz musicians can be listed as a rock influence on so many greats? How many had a career spanning over 50 years? How many had so many monumental albums? How many have such a recognizable name? Yeah, my thoughts exactly.

Here's the next thing: I think I can arguably say that when Miles died, jazz stopped progressing. To analyze Miles is the analyze the history of jazz. He was at the forefront of every major style of jazz and he had the most monumental albums of any jazz musician I know. Birth of the Cool, Kind of Blue, Bitches Brew, etc. Many of the greats were in his band or on his records at one point. He is an amazing influence on almost all of american music.

andy 08-18-2006 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boo boo
How much vai have you heard?, im not attacking your judgement, it's just a simple question sparked by my own curiosity. He isnt one of those mindless shreders as you would call it, so let's leave it at that, he is a brillant guitar player, His music isnt completely acessible, even if you dont like it you can still appreciate it. Vai's music really as more jazz and progressive rock influence rather than neo classical influence like almost all shreders do, the word Shred itself is a lame limitation of Vai's musical talent, listen to Passion and Warfare, there's barely any actual shreding on it at all.

Yeah, Vai IN my opinion is the Most tasteful "Shredder" (If you'd like to call him that or even classify him into this particular area").

boo boo 08-18-2006 02:41 PM

And you of all folks know I'm not the biggest Vai fan.

andy 08-18-2006 03:36 PM

Haha, that's true

At least he's not Cooley


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