Is Miles Davis the greatest ever? (jazz, rock, albums, rolling stones)

boo boo · 08-18-2006, 08:27 PM

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.

andy · 08-19-2006, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boo boo

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

jazzfromhell · 08-19-2006, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smallz

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.

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.

TheBig3 · 08-24-2006, 07:58 PM

/\ 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.

ddp · 08-25-2006, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soundgardenrox

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!!!

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.

HoochieCoochieMan · 08-27-2006, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adidasss

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...)

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.

smallz · 08-28-2006, 12:29 AM

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.

Music Man · 08-31-2006, 01:01 AM

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

ddp · 08-31-2006, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Music Man

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

Absolutely as should Coltrane, Parker, and Monk.

tourdogg · 09-21-2006, 05:02 AM

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!

08-24-2006, 07:58 PM	#44 (permalink)
TheBig3 killedmyraindog Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 11,172	/\ 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've moved to a new address

08-28-2006, 12:29 AM	#47 (permalink)
smallz Groupie Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: UT Posts: 27	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. __________________ "Quotation is a serviceable substitute for wit." - Somerset Maughan

08-31-2006, 01:01 AM	#48 (permalink)
Music Man Music Addict Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: USA Posts: 202	Armstrong and Ellington stand above everybody else in jazz history, including Miles Davis. __________________ "Paranoid is just like an anchor. It really secures everything about the metal movement in one record. It's all there: the riffs, the vocal performance of Ozzy, the song titles, what the lyrics are about. It's just a classic defining moment." --Rob Halford of Judas Priest

09-21-2006, 05:02 AM	#50 (permalink)
tourdogg Groupie Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: On Planet earth Posts: 4	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!