About Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American trumpeter, bandleader and composer. He helped shape many styles of jazz over a career that lasted almost five decades. He played a leading role in bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, third stream, modal jazz, avant‑garde jazz and jazz fusion. His influence also reaches rock, funk, classical music and hip‑hop.
Awards & Honors
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
American Book Awards
Léonie Sonning Music Prize
MOJO Awards
NEA Jazz Masters
Paul Acket Award
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Show 1 more awards
honorary doctorate of Paris Nanterre University
![“Sometimes [playing free] doesn't happen, because maybe a guy's wife'll come in, you know, and his ego will catch him. If everybody's completely just straight-without any old ladies over here, a fourth of whisky over there; if it's balanced right, it'll come off. It has to be. But when you get egos…” quote by Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/91f/miles-davis-1842_balanced_sometimes-playing-free-doesn-t-happen-be_657307.jpg)
![“I can't write anything for myself. I can write when I hear like [John] Coltrane play something; I used to write chords and stuff for him to play in one bar. I can write for other people, but I don't never write for myself.” quote by Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/2ea/miles-davis-1842_bars_i-can-t-write-anything-for-myself-i-can_3007181.jpg)
![“I don't hold it against Dizzy [Gillespie], you know, but if a guy wants to play a certain way, you work towards that. If he stops - he's full of crap, you know. I mean, I wouldn't do it, for no money, or for no place in the white man's world. Not just to make money, because then you don't have…” quote by Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/aed/miles-davis-1842_apes_i-don-t-hold-it-against-dizzy-gillespie_1460081.jpg)
![“If you make a suggestion and [musicians] don't know what you mean, you have to be able to do it yourself. I often sit down on drums and show 'em just exactly what I want. And I do it and then say, "How do you do that?" It's because I know how it looks, I know what I want to hear, and I don't drop…” quote by Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/637/miles-davis-1842_able_if-you-make-a-suggestion-and-musicians-d_502009.jpg)
