Posted by PFunkJAzz on 7/10/2006, 1:02 am
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Jazz trumpeter's estate making most of 80th-birthday year
Tuesday, July 4, 2006; Posted: 9:54 a.m. EDT (13:54 GMT)


Miles Davis in 1987. The trumpeter, who died in 1991, still sells tens of thousands of albums a year.

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (AP) -- To say 2006 is a busy year for Miles Davis and the estate of the late jazz virtuoso would be like saying Davis was a decent trumpet player.

CDs, a DVD, a book, a movie, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and even a USC marching-band halftime performance are a few pieces that make up something of a comeback for the King of Cool in his 80th-birthday year.

"One of the things that has been most surprising to me is just how iconic the name Miles Davis is," said Darryl Porter, the General Manager of Miles Davis Properties. "Part of our goal is to get a whole new generation of Miles fans."

As music changed, Davis morphed his cool jazz into fusion and experimental sounds that later gave way to jazz funk and hip-hop grooves. This year, his estate is finding ways to reinvent Davis and let the music he composed continue to evolve.

Remixed Davis recordings called "Evolution of the Groove," featuring Santana and the rapper Nas, will be released in the fall.

Miles Davis Properties hired high-powered entertainment publicists Rogers & Cowan this year to promote Davis' legacy and the many events taking place this year.

Porter came on board to run the estate in the past year. He knew the jazz legend and the Davis family since childhood. A lawyer and manager for others in the music industry, Porter now coordinates business and marketing for the estate. Requests to use Davis' music and image come from around the world and are granted by Miles Davis Properties daily, he said.

In May, a collectors' box of the Miles Davis Quintet was released 50 years after the recording sessions. But the momentum that Davis created during a career that spanned decades hardly needs a push from a four-disc box set or the force his estate has put behind him this year.


"There's not an easier musician to market than Miles Davis. There are so many different version of Miles Davis. People can plug into the Miles they like," said jazz critic Gerald Early, who has edited a book on Davis. "As far as an artistic commodity, he's very valuable."

"Kind of Blue," Davis' 1959 masterpiece, still sells thousands of CDs a week, according to Sony BMG. Davis records that also are jazz-collection essentials, including the trippy "Bitches Brew," "Sketches of Spain" and "Birth of the Cool," have maintained similar stamina.

Sony Legacy plans to release more Davis recordings this year and his estate is excited that Don Cheadle has agreed to play Davis in an upcoming biopic.

"It's a great year for Miles, there's definitely been a renewed interest," said Chuck Haddix, a jazz historian and director of the Marr Sound Archives in Kansas City, Missouri.

'Taking care of business'

Davis' "Kind of Blue" is considered one of the greatest albums of all time.In comparing Davis' estate with another jazz legend, Charlie Parker, there's a marked difference, Haddix said. Parker's survivors had been in turmoil for years with litigation over his estate.

"Even before Parker was in the ground his family was embroiled in controversy over money," Haddix said. "I think Miles was a little bit better at taking care of business."

Porter said looking at the strength of Davis' estate today, it was obvious he knew what he wanted for his survivors and understood the value of publishing.

But Davis' survivors have not been without any public feuding.

His son Gregory Davis has written a book that tells how he and Miles Davis Jr. were not named as beneficiaries in their dad's will when he passed on at the age of 65 in 1991. Gregory still owns a portion of his father's publishing rights, however.

Miles Davis' legacy and the eternal proceeds from his name and music are now entrusted to four relatives who make up the Davis estate -- his youngest son, Erin, daughter Cheryl, and nephew Vince Wilburn Jr. and his father (Davis' brother in law).

Gregory's book, "Dark Magus," is expected to be released this year. It paints his father's personality as "Jekyll and Hyde," something other Davis children disagree with.

That's not a side of Davis that's being honored this year from St. Louis, where he spent his early years, to Hollywood.

A jazz concert was held last month in his honor here, where he was honored the year before his death with a gold-plated star embedded in the St. Louis Walk of Fame. Besides the Rock Hall of Fame, Davis this year was also immortalized by Hollywood's RockWalk (having already been etched a few years back into the Hollywood Walk of Fame).

In addition, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington had an exhibit on Davis and Thelonious Monk in April, and a performance DVD of Davis will be released on the 15th anniversary of his passing in September.

"He was always about improving the craft and moving forward," Erin Davis said. "We feel like we are honoring him by continuing that tradition."

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed




http://www.cnn.com/2006/S...index.html

PFunkjazz said:

There's no new insider information at this stage about the Evolution of the Groove album, so whether it will indeed see the light of day later this year is anyone's guess. There's a lot of turmoil within SonyBMG, and sadly the On The Corner boxed appears as far away as ever. The only solid plan appears to be the release of a compilation CD by the end of the summer, with at least one remix. The CD is to be called Cool & Collected, and features jazz tracks like 'So What,' 'Bye Bye Blackbird,' and 'Seven Steps to Heaven.' The electric era is rather neglected, with nothing from recordings released in the 1970s. All that's included are two 1980s pop tunes, 'Time After Time' and 'Human Nature,' plus a 3:40 remix of 'It's About That Time,' from In A Silent Way (1969). The remix is produced by Vince Wilburn, Jr., Pat Thrall and Charley Drayton, and additional musicians include Wilburn (drums and programming), Pat Thrall (guitar and programming), and Carlos Santana.

http://www.miles-beyond.com/news.htm
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I'm wondering if there would be any benefit to this at all.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

I really don't like the idea of Miles remixes.

GangstaFam said:

There are a select few I'd trust with that task. Madlib & Jazzanova come to mind.

I've always said that he's the most capable actor for the role!!!

namepeace said:

If it must be done then,I agree with you.I would really prefer they just leave his music alone save for remasters. However,I do like laswell's Panthalassa. Oh and why are teh japanese so good at remastering cd's??The davis remasters from Sony Japan are incredible! I've gotten like 4 so far and Return to Forever one. They are costly,but worth it,in my opinion.I want EVERYTHING on Japanases dsd remastering.I want all Miles,Jimi,and Prince should definitely have this done!!!

OdysseyMiles said:

Hmmmmm.....
Miles Davis purist that I am, I cannot imagine anyone being able to capture the essence of Miles.....I will hope for a pleasant surprise from Don Cheadle, who is a tremendous actor, by the way.

P.S. Miles Davis re-mixes are a travesty.

ok, let's try this again:

i too, am not crazy about these re-mix deals. i would much, much prefer that his estate release remastered concerts. when someone remixes and overdubs vocals it totally changes the artistic vision of the original creation. sometimes these things work, but more often than not, it doesn't.
as for live concerts, they do capture the essensce of miles. virtually all of the miles coltrane spring 1960 tour was recorded for radio broadcast. i would love to see his estate bring out stuff like that instead of trying to morph it with santana and nas to make it "more current".
the one thing that could come of it would be that if it brings more people to miles's music. that is always a good thing.

in terms of the movie, i think don cheadle is a good choice. i think doing a mile movie is very challenging. he was a very complicated fellow with such a long and storied life. if they try to cover the breadth of his career it will be too superficial. so they will have to focus of a discreet period. this will leave a lot of folks disappointed.
also, he had a lot of "personality issues" which will be challenging to portray honestly. when doing a biographical movie on a guy like miles, there are two traps. one is to overly glorify his life and blow off the negatives, the other is to overly focus on the negatives, thereby becoming a scandal piece. i hope whoever is in charge can get it right.

GangstaFam said:

Nor do I.

Just reporting the news.

rockwilder said:

rockwilder, I agree that Miles' work shouldn't be touched.

wow, i hope Don doesn't look funny with that wig on....