Column: Miles Driven For Perfection

A couple of weekends ago I watched Saturday Night Live. Public Enemy was the musical guest. Before they began the song, Flavor Flav, Chuck D's lyrical partner, asked for a moment of silence for Miles Davis. I was shocked to hear that the one person who's style I patterned my own after, the one person who could get more than $30.00 for his concert from me, had died of a stroke, respiratory failure, and pneumonia earlier that day. Sunday morning some friends came by my room and I asked them how they felt about Miles' death. Not one person had a clear idea of who this man was. One girl asked, "Was he a singer?" My roommate said that Miles was a crazy man who played crazy music. These type of comments were really depressing and discouraging. In an era where the greatest concepts begin here but are perfected and therefore claimed by those outside this country, we really need to express interest in and appreciate those, like Miles Davis, who have made lifetime contributions to world culture. For those of you who don't know, let me school you a little bit. Miles Davis was living history. Once, during the '80s, at a dinner with the president an ignorant woman asked him what it was he did that merited his presence. He told her that he changed the course of music about six times. Starting at the creation of be-bop (early jazz form) with Charlie "Bird" Parker and Dizzy Gillespie in 1944, Miles went on to develop cool jazz, hard-bop, modal jazz, jazz-rock, jazz-funk, and modern jazz. Every time critics thought they knew what he was doing, he'd change it. Miles not only gave us new kinds of music to appreciate, he also inspired and nurtured many of the other musicians and groups that we listen to; just to name a few: Herbie Hancock, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Chick Corea, Tony Williams, Weather Report, and Wynton Marsalis. Lack of insight and awareness is the reason why many people feel that Miles was crazy. This is the image that the media relayed to the general public because his actions and his music were non-conformist and could not be predicted. Remember, Malcolm X was labeled as an irresponsible leader for the same reasons. People like to believe that his usage of narcotics was the cause of his voice being lost. In actuality, he lost his voice while arguing with someone immediately after an operation on his throat. (By the way, his use of drugs ended more than a decade ago.) Another gripe that was often used to downplay Miles is that he sometimes played with his back to the audience and walked off stage when not soloing. Because Miles never thought of himself as an entertainer, but rather as an artist who enjoys striving for perfection, he felt it more important to face his band while giving directions. Finally, no one can deny that Mozart was considered as insane in his day. But do we think about his actions in his personal life? No, we adore him for his music. Because Miles is dead, it's too late to show him the appreciation and respect that he deserved. However, his life given for jazz music will not be in vain if we embrace it, become educated about it, and never ever let those who have had nothing to do with it claim it as theirs. Much more can be said about Miles Davis, but the best way to learn is to read his autobiography and listen to some of his records: Birth of the Cool, Amandla, Tutu, Kind of Blue, Milestones, Sketches of Spain, and Bitches Brew.

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