Miles Davis was born on May 26th 1926 in the small town of Alton Illinois, but was raised in east St. Louis. His mother Cleota Mae Henry was a music teacher, and his father Miles Davis Jr was a dentist. He lived with his mother and father, along with his two siblings. Davis Originally left his family home to study at Julliard, but then dropped out to make his professional debut in Charlie Parkers Be-Bop quintet in 1944.
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Miles Davis's Career started of in an almost Disney movie way. Dizzy and Charlie Parker where performing with their big band in in east St. Louis. A young Miles and a couple of his friends brought their instilments to the venue that the show was to be preformed in hopes to maybe get their big break. Just so happened that on of Dizzy's trumpet payers had called in sick, and Dizzy personally asked Miles to fill his spot. Dizzy noticed Miles's talent and ability to pick up new music quickly and swiftly took him under his wing. Dizzy acted as a mentor and friend to Miles, and helped him make and form his person sound and stage presence . Miles would go on to record Kind of blue and birth of cool, some of the most influential jazz albums of all time. He played with countless legends from John Coltrane to Herbie Handcock, But it wasn't a smooth ride. later in Miles's career he struggled get gigs and sell records. He also struggled with a terrible heroin addiction and marriage problems. Miles Davis was the father of 4 children and died in 1991 of a stroke. Miles Davis had probably the largest impact on jazz culture and also was one of the best trumpet players to ever live. He still has a huge impact on young musicians to this day and continues to inspire people.
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Mile's Davis Memorial Statue in Alton Illinois