Died On This Date (September 28, 1991) Miles Davis / Jazz Icon

Miles Davis
May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991

milesMiles Davis was trumpeter who was one of jazz’s must influential musicians of all times.  Over the course of his career, he helped launch the careers of some of biggest names in jazz by hiring them for his bands.  That list includes John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter.  In 19444, Davis moved to New York City right after graduating from high school.  He became an integral part of the be-bop scene there.  He also helped pave the way for other forms of jazz as well, including hard bop, fusion, cool jazz, and free jazz.    In 1959, Davis released A Kind Of Blue, which would go on to be his biggest selling album and a key release of all jazz.  Over the course of his career, Davis was awarded nine Grammys for now classic albums like Bitches Brew, Aura and Sketches of Spain.  Davis suffered from cocaine addiction for many years, and was finally able to kick it in the early ’80s.  That decade proved to be a nice renaissance period for him thanks in part to his associating with more contemporary pop artists like Public Image Ltd., Scritti Politti, and Artists United Against Apartheid.  Miles Davis passed away on September 28, 1991 at the age of 65.  Causes of death was pneumonia, stroke and respiratory failure.

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Kind of Blue - Miles Davis

Died On This Date (September 11, 2007) Joe Zawinul / Weather Report

Joe Zawinul
July 7, 1932 – September 11, 2007

Joe Zawinul was a jazz keyboardist who co-founded Weather Report, a popular jazz fusion band, in the early ’70s.  During the early part of his career, Zawinul played with Maynard Ferguson, afterwhich he toured and recorded with Dinah Washington. In 1961, Zaminul went to work with Cannonball Adderley and by the end of the decade he was playing with Miles Davis with whom he helped create what would be called jazz fusion.  He played on Davis’ In A Silent Way and the monumental Bitches Brew.  In 1970, he helped form Weather Report with Wayne Shorter, going on to record such modern jazz records as the Zaminul penned “Birdland,” a Grammy-winning song that has been covered by the likes of Quincy Jones, Jefferson Starship and String Cheese Incident.  Joe Zawinul died of a rare skin cancer on September 11, 2007, approximately two months after a successful tour. He was 75 years old.

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Heavy Weather - Weather Report