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Portrait of Miles Davis

Miles Davis

(1926–1991) Composer United States

204 quotes in 632 categories

Miles Davis was a composer from the United States, best known for Dark magus.

Quick Facts About Miles Davis

Born: May 26, 1926
Died: September 28, 1991
Nationality: United States
Profession: Composer
Notable works: Dark magus
Spouse: Betty Davis

About Miles Davis

Miles Dewey Davis III was an American trumpeter, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. In a career spanning nearly five decades, Davis was at the forefront of several major stylistic developments in jazz, including bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, third stream, modal jazz, avant-garde jazz, and jazz fusion. His legacy extends into rock, funk, classical, and hip-hop.

Biography source: Wikipedia

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

Quotes by Miles Davis · Page 6

When I heard Coleman Hawkins, I learned to play ballads

Ballads

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“I know what I’ve done for music, but don’t call me “a legend”.(…) A legend is an old man with a cane…

Music

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If you're not nervous then you're not paying attention.

Anxiety

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They [police] do me like that all the time! "What you work for?".

Police

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Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.

Long

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I really liked Wynton when I first met him. He's still a nice young man, only confused.

Confused

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Jimi Hendrix came from the blues, like me. We understood each other right away because of that. He was a great blues…

Blues

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I can hear what I want [people] to play. If you don't hear what you want someone to play, then you can't…

Ems

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Some day I'm gonna call me up on the phone, so when I answer, I can tell myself to shut up.

Answers

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Coltrane, you cant play everything at once!

Cant

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I know what I've done for music, but don't call me a legend. Just call me Miles Davis.

Done

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We don't play to be seen. I'm addicted to music, not audiences.

Addicted to music

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People will go for anything they don't understand if it's got enough hype.

Enough

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“you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.”

Long time

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I always listen to what I can leave out.

Communication

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The thing to judge in any jazz artist is, does the man project and does he have ideas.

Art

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If you're going to drop behind, you have to keep it there.

Behind you

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Some musicians play with their heart, you know what I mean? I don't know what to tell a person that can't -…

Heart

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It's like, how did Columbus discover America when the Indians were already here? What kind of s-- is that, but white people's…

America

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It was Jimi Hendrix that I first got into when Betty Mabry turned me on to him.

Betty

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Some of [drummers] drop time because they want to hear what you're doin'.

Drummer

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[Jazz musicians] feel comfortable with their clichés, you know.

Comfortable

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Jazz is like blues with a shot of heroin!

Heroin

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I ain't no entertainer, and ain't trying to be one. I am one thing, a musician.

Entertainers

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That's the way you judge a car, man, [good or bad], when you start it up. It's just the same thing. I…

Car

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Miles Davis by topic

Music (61) Play (48) Jazz (43) Ifs (30) Knows (27) Inspirational (22) Time (20) Sound (16) Love (15) People (14) Men (14) Mean (14) Way (13) I can (13) Want (12)