{"id":177519,"date":"2026-03-04T08:26:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T08:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/177519\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T08:26:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T08:26:10","slug":"miles-davis-at-100-montreux-jazz-festival-miami-honors-a-revolutionary-music-icon-lifestyles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/177519\/","title":{"rendered":"Miles Davis at 100: Montreux Jazz Festival Miami honors a revolutionary music icon | Lifestyles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, the Montreux Jazz Festival Miami celebrated the Miles Davis Centennial, a milestone tribute honoring one of the most dynamic figures in music history. In commemoration of what would have been Davis\u2019 100th year, a cadre of some of the world\u2019s best jazz musicians \u2013 some who played with him, some who were inspired by him \u2013 assembled at the Miami Beach Bandshell for a night of music, remembrance, and the continuation of a legacy.<\/p>\n

Davis\u2019 nephew, Grammy Award-winning drummer and composer Vince Wilburn Jr., oversees the Miles Davis Estate along with Davis\u2019 children, Erin and Cheryl Davis. In collaboration with Montreux Jazz Festival Miami, Wilburn brought together two essential eras of Miles Davis\u2019 artistic journey, the acoustic period and the electric period, to honor the full arc of Davis\u2019 music.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Miles Davis had a close relationship with the Montreux Jazz Festival, performing there ten times between 1973 and 1991. This legacy now extends to Miami, channeling the energy and exceptionality of his performance. Held on its opening night, the Miles Davis Centennial Celebration marked the very first Montreux Jazz Festival Day in the City of Miami Beach.<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Host Michael Valentine, programmer at WDNA Serious Jazz at 88.9 FM.<\/p>\n

(Elisabeth Campbell for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis event in years to come is going to become the Art Basel of music,\u201d said David Whitaker, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, one of the main partners of the festival.<\/p>\n

As one of the most revolutionary personalities in modern sound, Davis left an impression on everyone who knew him, most of all his family. Since childhood, Wilburn knew he wanted to be a musician like his uncle.<\/p>\n

\"Lalah<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Lalah Hathaway, the \u201cFirst Daughter of Soul\u201d and daughter of Donny Hathaway.<\/p>\n

(Elisabeth Campbell for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Uncle Miles would come to Chicago where I grew up, my parents would take me to his concerts,\u201d said Wilburn. \u201cBut I always wanted to stay in the wings. I didn’t want to sit in the audience with them. I was fascinated by the interactions of the band members on stage because I had a bird’s eye view from the sidelines. That was the impression in my mind, that I wanted to do what they do.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a kid, Wilburn would sneak downstairs in his family home and listen to his parents\u2019 record collection. He was mesmerized by the music, especially the records that featured Davis.<\/p>\n

\"Donald<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Donald Harrison, Jr. on alto saxophone.<\/p>\n

(Elisabeth Campbell for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cUncle Miles hated the word jazz,\u201d said Wilburn. \u201cHe called it social music.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davis wanted to highlight music\u2019s role in representing social issues, connecting jazz with the broader conversation around civil rights and equality. His commitment to using music as a sort of language inspired Wilburn to love all sounds, from reggae to classical.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I gradually started playing and getting more into it, I had bands,\u201d said Wilburn. \u201cUncle Miles would call my parents and have my mom put the phone down so he could critique us. We\u2019d play for two hours, and he’d still be on the phone. One day he called us, and we rehearsed, and he passed the phone around and asked us if we wanted to make a record.\u201d<\/p>\n

That record was The Man with the Horn, a 1981 comeback album, combining elements of funk, soul, and jazz-rock.<\/p>\n

\"Keyon<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Keyon Harrold on trumpet.<\/p>\n

(Elisabeth Campbell for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

Over his prolific career, Davis had many collaborators, including Lenny White, a legendary drummer hailed as one of the founding fathers of jazz fusion. White considers Davis to be one of his biggest musical influences.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"M.E.B.\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The M.E.B (formerly known as the Miles Electric Band).<\/p>\n

(Elisabeth Campbell for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn’t want to play with Miles Davis,\u201d said White, \u201cwe wanted to be Miles Davis. He was the epitome of cool, and in playing this music that we played, he was the pinnacle. The true artist really wants to advance in whatever it is that he or she does, and Miles Davis changed music four or five times. I was just fortunate to be a part of that major change from the acoustic to the electric. That was the first record that I recorded.\u201d<\/p>\n

That album, Bitches Brew (1970), is lauded as being the transitional moment between Davis\u2019 acoustic innovation and electric experimentation. For White, playing drums on that record was a lesson in artistry.<\/p>\n

\"Harold<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Keyon Harrold during a trumpet solo.<\/p>\n

(Elisabeth Campbell for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe drums are the heartbeat of the music,\u201d said White. \u201cWhatever kind of music, whether it be jazz, classical, rock or hip hop, the drums are the heartbeat of what happens and how the music really translates. Any artist really wants to take whatever it is that they feel \u2013 whether it’s a painter, whether it’s an author, an actor, whatever it is that they feel within them \u2013 and translate it to whoever’s listening, whoever’s watching, whoever’s reading.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Davis\u2019 legacy lives on, Wilburn Jr. and jazz musicians around the world continue to push the boundaries of traditional sounds, inspired by and motivated through one of jazz\u2019s most influential figures and the records he left behind.<\/p>\n

\u201cNone of us can recreate Herbie and Chick and Jack and Ron and, you know, all these great musicians,\u201d said Wilburn. \u201cWhat we’re trying to do is interpret the teachings of what Uncle Miles taught us. We like to evolve, to not play it safe; we like to keep the pots stirring.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n
\n Close <\/p>\n

\"Miles
\n \"\"<\/p>\n

The Miles Davis Centennial Celebration drew a diverse audience to the Miami Beach Bandshell.<\/p>\n

\"Horns\"
\n \"\"<\/p>\n

(L-R) Javon Jackson on tenor saxophone, Dr. Eddie Henderson on trumpet, and Donald Harrison, Jr. on alto saxophone.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Miles<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The Miles Davis Centennial Celebration drew a diverse audience to the Miami Beach Bandshell.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Horns\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

(L-R) Javon Jackson on tenor saxophone, Dr. Eddie Henderson on trumpet, and Donald Harrison, Jr. on alto saxophone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last week, the Montreux Jazz Festival Miami celebrated the Miles Davis Centennial, a milestone tribute honoring one of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":177520,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[83937,83956,83941,83961,83955,83949,83947,83954,83952,83939,83957,83960,83950,83940,123,83953,83936,83943,83959,125,83948,124,83932,83934,83951,83938,83945,83944,83933,83958,83946,83942,83935],"class_list":["post-177519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-acoustic-and-electric-jazz-eras","tag-acoustic-period-miles-davis","tag-bitches-brew-album-history","tag-contemporary-jazz-interpretation","tag-electric-period-miles-davis","tag-grammy-winning-jazz-artists","tag-jazz-and-civil-rights-history","tag-jazz-drumming-influence","tag-jazz-fusion-evolution","tag-jazz-fusion-pioneers","tag-jazz-legends-celebration","tag-jazz-mentorship-stories","tag-jazz-tribute-performances","tag-lenny-white-drummer","tag-miami","tag-miami-arts-and-culture-scene","tag-miami-beach-bandshell-concert","tag-miami-beach-cultural-events","tag-miami-beach-live-performances","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-live-music-festivals","tag-miami-news","tag-miles-davis","tag-miles-davis-centennial","tag-miles-davis-estate","tag-miles-davis-legacy","tag-modern-jazz-innovators","tag-montreux-jazz-festival-day","tag-montreux-jazz-festival-miami","tag-music-history-centennial-events","tag-social-music-philosophy","tag-the-man-with-the-horn-album","tag-vince-wilburn-jr"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177519\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/177520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}