Miles Davis, famous jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader, was born26 May 1926 in Alton, Illinois. He moved to New York in 1944 andstudied at Juilliard. He left school and entered the jazz society ofNew York, meeting such famous musicians asThelonious Monk,Charlie Parker andCharles Mingus. His record debut came in1946. Miles soon became a major figure of jazz. He changed thedirections of jazz several times, recording albums such as "Birth OfThe Cool" (1949) which started the cool-jazz era, "Milestones" (1953),"Kind Of Blue" (1959) which was the beginning of modal jazz, orchestraljazz masterpieces such as "Porgy And Bess" (1958) and "Sketches OfSpain" (1961), "In A Silent Way" (1968) and "Bitches Brew" (1969) - thefirst jazz/rock fusion albums. He collaborated with famous jazz playerssuch as:Bill Evans,John Coltrane,Chick Corea,Philly Joe Jones,Joe Zawinul,Paul Chambers,Herbie Hancock,Wayne Shorter,John McLaughlin,Keith Jarrett and others. He retired frommusic in 1975 due to hip problems as well as his problems with drugaddiction. He recovered and returned to music in 1980, collaboratingwith producerMarcus Miller andrecording new, intriguing albums such as electronic-driven Tutu orAmandla, as well as Spanish-flavored music forSiesta (1987). Miles Davis is now arguablyone of the greatest and most important jazz musicians of all time.