Miles Davis Discography
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:''This is an incomplete list, which will never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness as it excludes
bootleg Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...
s,
mix tape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...
s and other minor records by independent labels and unofficial sources.''
Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) 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. Davis adopted a variety of music ...
was an American
trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
er,
bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or ...
and
musical composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...
. His discography consists of at least 60 studio albums and 39 live albums, as well as 46
compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
s, 27
box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...
s, 4
soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...
s, 57
single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
s and 3 remix albums. Davis' initial appearances on record were mainly as a member of bebop saxophonist
Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...
's quintet from 1944 through 1947 and released on the
Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...
label. Davis made his debut as a leader in the 1946 sessions featuring Parker, pianist John Lewis, bassist
Nelson Boyd Nelson Boyd (February 6, 1928, Camden, New Jersey – October 1985Social security register of deaths.) was an American bebop jazz bassist. Biography He was born in Camden, New Jersey, and played in local orchestras in Philadelphia around 1945, an ...
and drummer Max Roach.
Prestige Records Prestige Records is a jazz record company and label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock in New York City which issued recordings in the mainstream, bop, and cool jazz idioms. The company recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz music ...
released Davis' debut album, ''
The New Sounds ''The New Sounds'' is the debut solo studio album by Miles Davis, released in late 1951 as a 10-inch LP. It is his first album as a leader and his first full album for Prestige Records. Davis had previously contributed three tracks to the Pres ...
'', in 1951. He recorded many studio albums under the Prestige label from 1951 through 1956, as well as ''
Blue Moods ''Blue Moods'' is the second studio album by Miles Davis, released on Charles Mingus' Debut Records label in late 1955. It brings Miles Davis on trumpet together with Charles Mingus on bass, trombonist Britt Woodman, vibraphonist Teddy Charles, ...
'', issued by Debut Records in 1955, and three sessions for
Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Or ...
. The earliest Davis music released was recorded from April 4, 1945 through August 14, 1947, and reissued in CD format by
Savoy Records Savoy Records is an American record company and label established by Herman Lubinsky in 1942 in Newark, New Jersey. Savoy specialized in jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel music. In September 2017, Savoy was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music. ...
under the title ''
First Miles ''First Miles'' is a compilation album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released on July 12, 1990 by Savoy Records. The album includes tracks from Davis's first recording session, backing singer Rubberlegs Williams on April 24, 1945, and th ...
''. From 1949 through 1950, Davis recorded twelve tunes with a nonet consisting of other noted jazz musicians including arranger Gil Evans,
Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...
,
Lee Konitz Leon Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American composer and alto saxophonist. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's association with the cool jazz ...
, John Lewis, Max Roach and Kenny Clarke. The arrangements for that group were scored for instruments rarely used in jazz such as
French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...
and tuba. These recordings, which were labeled cool jazz and eventually appeared on the album '' Birth of the Cool'' in 1957 by
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
, marked an important influence on the future of jazz. He later signed to Columbia and released ''
'Round About Midnight ''Round About Midnight'' is an album by jazz trumpeter Miles Davis that was originally released by Columbia Records in March 1957. It was Davis' first album with Columbia. Background At the Newport Jazz Festival in 1955, Davis performed the song ...
'' on March 18, 1957. His acclaimed 1959 album ''
Kind of Blue ''Kind of Blue'' is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Miles Davis. It was recorded on March 2 and April 22, 1959, at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City, and released on August 17 of that year by Co ...
'' is generally stated to be the best-selling jazz album of all time, although the data are not conclusive. The follow-up album in 1960, ''
Sketches of Spain ''Sketches of Spain'' is an album by Miles Davis, recorded between November 1959 and March 1960 at the Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City. An extended version of the second movement of Joaquín Rodrigo's ''Concierto de Aranjuez'' (1939) ...
'', went
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
. He formed his
Second Great Quintet The Miles Davis Quintet was an American jazz band from 1955 to early 1969 led by Miles Davis. The quintet underwent frequent personnel changes toward its metamorphosis into a different ensemble in 1969. Most references pertain to two distinct and ...
in 1964. With the release of ''
Miles in the Sky ''Miles in the Sky'' is a studio album by American trumpeter and composer Miles Davis, released on July 22, 1968, by Columbia Records. It was the last full album recorded by Davis' "Second Great Quintet" and marked the beginning of his foray int ...
'', Davis permanently abandoned hard bop, instead adopting
jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...
and avant-garde jazz. In this era he released the studio album ''
Bitches Brew ''Bitches Brew'' is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Miles Davis. It was recorded from August 19 to 21, 1969, at Columbia's Studio B in New York City and released on March 30, 1970 by Columbia Records. It marke ...
'', which was certified
platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...
, culminating in the long electric jams from the mid-1970s released as '' Pangaea'', ''
Agharta Agartha (sometimes Agartta, Agharti, Agarath, Agarta, Agharta, or Agarttha) is a legendary kingdom that is said to be located in the Earth's core. It is related to the belief in a hollow Earth and is a popular subject in esotericism. History The ...
'', and ''
Dark Magus ''Dark Magus'' is a live double album by American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Miles Davis. It was recorded on March 30, 1974, at Carnegie Hall in New York City, during the electric period in the musician's career. Davis' group at ...
''. After a six-year retirement, Davis released albums under the Columbia and
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...
labels during the period between 1981 and 1991. These recordings combined jazz with
popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
genres as he turned more toward the mainstream. He finished his music career with ''
Doo-Bop ''Doo-Bop'' is the last studio album by American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. It was recorded with hip hop producer Easy Mo Bee and released posthumously on June 30, 1992, by Warner Bros. Records. The album was received unfavorably by most critics, ...
'', in which he experimentally combined jazz with hip-hop, his discography ultimately being extensively sampled in hip-hop, such as with beats from his 1972 album '' On the Corner''.


Studio albums


Prestige/Blue Note/Debut, 1951–1961


Columbia, 1955–1976

*A the September 30, 2008 re-release '' Kind of Blue – 50th Anniversary Collection'' reached number 92 in the Belgian albums chart in 2009. *B 1987 reissue


Columbia/Warner Bros., 1981–1991


Live albums


Compilations and remixes


Soundtracks


Box sets


Compilation box sets


''The Miles Davis Series''


Limited edition box set


Live box sets


The Bootleg Series box sets


Singles


Albums recorded as sideman


Videography


Video albums


References


External links

* *
Japanese chart history
at
Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

Miles Davis collector site

"Miles Davis Collector's Guides & Discographies"78rpm vinyl records collection
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Miles Jazz discographies Discography Discographies of American artists