Miles Davis

Trumpeter

1926-05-26 – 1991-09-28

Miles Davis was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer whose work transformed multiple eras of modern jazz. He helped shape cool jazz, modal jazz, and jazz fusion through influential ensembles and landmark recordings. Albums such as Kind of Blue remain foundational in global music history.

Quotes by Miles Davis

It's not the note you play that's the wrong note – it's the note you play afterwards that makes it right or wrong.
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The very first thing I remember in my early childhood is a flame, a blue flame jumping off a gas stove somebody lit... I remember being shocked by the whoosh of the blue flame jumping off the burner, the suddenness of it... I saw that flame and felt that hotness of it close to my face. I felt fear, real fear, for the first time in my life. But I remember it also like some kind of adventure, some kind of weird joy, too. I guess that experience took me someplace in my head I hadn't been before... The fear I had was almost like an invitation, a challenge to go forward into something I knew nothing about. That's where I think my personal philosophy of life and my commitment to everything I believe in started... In my mind I have always believed and thought since then that my motion had to be forward, away from the heat of that flame.
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I'm always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up in the morning and see the light.
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I'm always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up in the morning and see the light.
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It's not the note you play that's the wrong note – it's the note you play afterwards that makes it right or wrong.
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The very first thing I remember in my early childhood is a flame, a blue flame jumping off a gas stove somebody lit... I remember being shocked by the whoosh of the blue flame jumping off the burner, the suddenness of it... I saw that flame and felt that hotness of it close to my face. I felt fear, real fear, for the first time in my life. But I remember it also like some kind of adventure, some kind of weird joy, too. I guess that experience took me someplace in my head I hadn't been before... The fear I had was almost like an invitation, a challenge to go forward into something I knew nothing about. That's where I think my personal philosophy of life and my commitment to everything I believe in started... In my mind I have always believed and thought since then that my motion had to be forward, away from the heat of that flame.
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Prince got some Marvin Gaye and Jimi Hendrix and Sly in him, also, even Little Richard. He's a mixture of all those guys and Duke Ellington.
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The music I was really listening to in 1968 was James Brown, the great guitar player Jimi Hendrix, and a new group... Sly and the Family Stone, led by Sly Stewart from San Francisco.
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Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.
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If you understood everything I say, you'd be me!
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When I'm playing, I'm never through. It's unfinished. I like to find a place to leave for someone else to finish it. That's where the high comes in.
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I'm always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up every morning... Every day I find something creative to do with my life.
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I'll play it first and tell you what it is later.
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