The world renowned trumpeter Miles Davis has today been voted the greatest jazz artist of all time in a BBC poll.
The Illinoisan musician passed away in 1991 at the age of 65, but his legacy has continued and his musical has been rendered timeless. In being voted the number one jazz artist of all time, Davis beat the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong among others.
His 1959 album ‘Kind of Blue’ has continued to be highly critically acclaimed to this day; not just being regarded as Miles Davis’ best piece of work but perhaps the best piece of jazz music released. But not only that, it has also been heavily regarded as simply one of the best albums of all time; bridging numerous different genres, having been ranked the 12th best album of all time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2003.
Listen to it below:
The full top 10 ranked in the BBC poll are as follows:
- Miles Davis
- Louis Armstrong
- Duke Ellington
- John Coltrane
- Ella Fitzgerald
- Charlie Parker
- Billie Holiday
- Thelonious Monk
- Bill Evans
- Oscar Peterson
BBC presenter Helen Mayhew had this to say on the matter:
“a very worthy musician to have been voted in” at the top of the 50 chart. “The epitome of cool and an iconic character, Miles was at the forefront of key developments in the sound of jazz through each decade of his long career,” she added.
There is also set to be a Miles Davis biopic, with Oscar winner Don Cheadle playing the main role of Miles and directing. The film ‘Miles Ahead’ is currently in post-production but has been seen at the New York Film Festival, find a review here.
