Miles Davis' 100th Birthday: Here's how to celebrate, listen, read

Miles Davis would have been a cool 100 years old were he alive today.

Davis, who died in 1991, broke through with 1957's "The Birth of the Cool" and cool was something the trumpeter embodied.

Born on May 26, 1926 in Alton, Illinois, Davis would play with jazz giants such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Charles Mingus – before eclipsing them all to become the genre's biggest star.

Davis was a sharp dresser with a raspy voice – he got it raising his voice after a throat operation, thus his nickname, the "Prince of Darkness." He was no saint. His wives have said he was abusive and Davis would fight addiction throughout his life.

But on stage, he "was a real rock star," Trombone Shorty told the Los Angeles Times Santana told The Los Angeles Times in the outlet's story, "Miles Davis at 100: Musicians explain why he is the GOAT." "He was just the coolest; when they say cool, Miles Davis has to be next to that word."

Whether you're a Davis devotee or dabbler, now is a great time to revisit or investigate the legendary musician's career. New editions of his music and his autobiography have been released timed to this centennial event – with more on the way.

Several Davis birthday commemorative events are being held across the U.S., too. And there's a new film, *Miles & Juliette," in the works about Davis, who at age 22, embarked on an affair French singer Juliette Gréco. There's even a limited-edition THC-infused drink called Miles Davis Bitches Brew, inspired by the 1970 album, from the company Dad Grass.

"He’s a brand, and every day should be a celebration of Miles and his music and his legacy," Vince Wilburn, Jr., the nephew of Davis and the co-executor of the Miles Davis Estate, told HoustonPress recently. A drummer, Wilburn Jr. played and recorded with Davis in the 1980s and also keeps the music legacy alive with MEB (Miles Electric Band), which is on tour beginning June 19 in British Columbia.

"Pretty much every day since he passed, people reach out to the family about things," Wilburn, Jr. said. "And with his 100th birthday, the skies parted."

Miles Davis Centennial events across the U.S.

Here's some Davis centennial events and projects.

• Now-June 13: The photo exhibition "Miles Davis: A Century of Cool," can bee seen at Musichead gallery in Los Angeles.
• Now-June 14: "Birth of The Cool: 100 Years of Miles Davis" photo exhibitions at the Morrison Hotel Galleries in New York and Los Angeles.
• Tuesday, May 26: "The Voice of Miles: A Symphonic Celebration" pairs Davis’ original trumpet recordings with orchestral arrangements and a screening of the documentary "Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool," at National Sawdust in Brooklyn.
• Wednesday, May 27: A discussion about Davis and the new centennial edition of "Miles: The Autobiography," with music historian Ashley Kahn, Miles’ son Erin Davis, and Wilburn Jr. at the New York Public Library.
• Friday, May 29: Montreux Jazz Festival and Rough Trade have a "Miles & Quincy Live at Montreux" listening event and Q&A session at Rough Trade Below in Manhattan.  
• Friday, May 29: A screening of "Electric Miles: A Different Kind of Blue," and panel discussion including Wilburn, Jr., at the Apollo Theater in New York.
• Aug. 21: "The Voice of Miles Davis: A Symphonic Celebration," returns to New York City with a free performance as part of Summerstage at Marcus Garvey Park.

Miles Davis documented in music and words

• "Doo-Bop" and "Miles & Quincy: Live in Montreux": (out now): Rhino released these two vinyl LPs on April 10. "Doo-Bop," recorded in early 1991 with hip-hop producer Easy Mo Bee, was the first posthumous Davis release in 1992. "Live in Montreux," recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1991, just two months before Davis died, is getting its first official U.S. release.
• "Miles: The Autobiography" Centennial Edition (out now): Simon & Schuster on April 22 published an updated edition of Davis’ autobiography written with Quincy Troupe, featuring a new cover and foreword by Nas.
• "Birth of the Cool" (out now): Blue Note Records released this Tone Poet Vinyl Edition of the classic on May 22; it's mastered from the original analog phono reel master tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl.
• "Miles ’56: The Prestige Recordings" (June 19): Craft Recordings is following up its "Miles '55" with this new limited-edition collection available as a 4-LP box set, 3-CD set, and as a Hi-Res digital download. It includes music from albums such as "Cookin’," "Relaxin’," "Workin’," and "Steamin’," with musicians including John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins (who died on May 25), Red Garland, Art Taylor, Paul Chambers, Tommy Flanagan, and Philly Joe Jones. The label released "The Best Of Miles Davis," a limited-edition vinyl LP in March. The new compilation covers 1956 to 1961. Target has a special Aqua Blue vinyl version that includes a 5-by-7-inch artist photo of Davis.

What Miles Davis music should I listen to?

Music is a subjective thing, but there are some standout suggestions should you want to delve into the Miles Davis catalog.

• "Birth of the Cool": Although the album was released in 1957, the recordings were made in 1949 and 1950, soon after Davis left Charlie Parker's band. The goal was to move beyond bebop to something cooler. "They were the start of Davis becoming synonymous with jazz, its godhead," suggests music writer Grayson Haver Currin in Mojo magazine's Davis centennial cover story.
• "Kind of Blue": The 1959 release, which includes pianist Bill Evans and saxophonists John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley, is "the bestselling, and arguably most beloved jazz album of all time," writes James Kaplan in the book, "3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans and the Lost Empire of Cool," released in 2024. "The quiet and enigmatic majesty of the resulting record both epitomizes jazz and transcends the genre."
• "Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965": First getting a partial release in 1980, "The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel" arrived in 1995 and recently got new box set editions of 8 CDs and 10 vinyl LPs. Drummer Tony Williams and the other members of Mile's Second Great Quintet, which includes Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter, decided to try "anti-music" and not play what was comfortable. "The result, across more than seven hours of music, is revelatory: you can hear the players straining against their instincts, contesting all presumptions," writes Nate Chinen in Mojo.
• "Bitches Brew": In this 1970 release, Davis embraced mainstream funk and rock music in a work of fusion, created with a band including guitarist John McLaughlin, Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea. The "rock-oriented approach" of the album "lamented by many of Davis' older fans, would attract a younger audience to his music and earn the trumpeter the first gold record of his career," wrote Ted Gioia in The History of Jazz.
• "Milestones": This 1958 album is another document of the Davis' First Great Quintet, which included Coltrane and Adderley. "The two masterful studio albums from this period – "Milestones" and "Kind of Blue" are list-topping must-haves for any jazz enthusiast, any student of 20th century music, any music lover. Anyone with ears," wrote music historian Ashley Kahn on the U.K. site Jazzwise.

Guitarist Carlos Santana, who was a longtime friend of Miles Davis, has some advice for listeners, too. "I recommend that people who never heard of Miles Davis, I'll say start with 'Kind of Blue,' then move on to 'Bitches Brew'," Santana told The Los Angeles Times in the outlet's story, "Miles Davis at 100: Musicians explain why he is the GOAT."

Added Santana: "In one note, Miles can play absoluteness. One note for Miles ... that's enough to understand all the whys and all the reasons why it's sacred to be alive."

Mike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at  mikegsnider  &  @mikegsnider.bsky.social  &  @mikesnider & [email protected].