The trumpet is a brass instrument. The oldest trumpet dates back to at least 2000 BC when they were used to signal events. They began being used for music later on and are now often used in classical and jazz. Players vibrate their lips on the mouthpiece (called buzzing), and use the three valves and their air speed to change pitches. Trumpets can also have mutes, which are placed over the bell to change the volume or the sound.
Miles Davis was an American trumpeter and composer born in 1926 in Illinois. He started playing trumpet in his teens and went to Julliard in New York City after high school. He dropped out of college to perform full-time. He performed at clubs and on records. He recorded as a leader for the first time in 1946 with the Miles Davis Sextet. Throughout his life, Miles played in many influential groups both as a collaborator and leader. He toured worldwide and recorded with many people and on several labels. Miles was at the forefront of many subgenres of jazz including hard bop, cool, modal, free, third stream, and fusion. In 1991 he became ill and passed away soon after.
Many of his accolades and reviews acknowledge that he is at the start of every major movement in jazz history and that he never stopped evolving his style and the genre. He has an honorary doctorate from the New England Conservatory, 8 Grammy Awards and 32 nominations, and several years being voted Best Trumpeter by DownBeat. He is on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the St. Louis Walk of Fame, and in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, among many other awards.
Listen to some of his work here:
