Producer and composer Erin Davis speaks about his early life as the son of acclaimed jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. Erin reveals Miles’ musical motto of doing away with nostalgia, moving on, and always ‘doing something new.’ In his role as co-manager of Miles Davis’ estate, handled by Downtown Music, Erin says, “We’re in good hands.”
The following recaps an interview with Erin Davis as part of Downtown Music’s series, The Music Industry Lives Here. Downtown Music is a company DMN is proud to be partnering with.
Erin Davis didn’t really ‘start hanging out’ with his father Miles Davis until he was ten years old. So Erin’s early interest in music developed because his mother played ‘everything from Miles’ music to Sister Sledge and Pointer Sisters.’ “There was a lot of stuff from the 80s and the late 70s that permeated our house.”
“When I was young, my dad briefly retired from music. He was trying to heal himself and was going through a lot of stuff. When he came out of that, he sent me a bunch of his new stuff — The Man with the Horn and We Want Miles had come out.”
“Then he [Miles] was with Columbia. So I would [ask for] all these Columbia artists like Men at Work, Cheap Trick — and he would send me those records. It was great.”
After moving to Malibu to live with Miles, Erin began to learn how his father created music. “He [Miles] didn’t listen to any kind of swing jazz, cool jazz, hard bop, Bebop — nothing. He didn’t listen to any of his old records. He didn’t have any of them in our house.”
In fact, if Erin found a tape of his father’s band, Miles would take it away.
As Erin joined Miles on the road, he saw what kind of star Miles was — ‘especially away from America.’
“In Europe, they treat Jazz like Rock. It’s just as big as anything else. So when you have the North Sea Jazz Festival, The old JVC festivals, or Umbria Jazz Festival, they are big productions.”
“We were always headlining acts. He was always last to go on and it was really special. Europe, Japan, The Hague in the Netherlands — that was always fun.”
In 1991, Miles passed away — that’s when Erin truly learned the depth of his father’s talent, and uncovered the unique periods of his musical career.
“After he passed away, I was able to get into the back catalog. That was a whole new awakening of who he was.”
“All I knew was the stuff we were doing in the 80s with Columbia, and these great records with Marcus Miller at Warner Bros. I knew that inside out before it was even mixed and mastered.”
“When he passed away, everything was starting to come out on CD — Kind of Blue, Sketches, Birth of the Cool, Milestones, everything. And then they started doing these box sets. So I had to learn about these periods. And that helped me go through the eras, if you will — the periods of his musical career.”
Erin also talks about Miles’ reputation as ‘this prince of darkness kind of person.’ “He [Miles] only needed a break from the creative process sometimes.”
“When he [Miles] needed a break, he would paint. That was his other outlet. We had to go get art supplies. Sketching. A lot of painting. A lot of drawing. He would ride his horses, and also go swimming at Pepperdine.”
“His mystique is [based on] how people perceive him. He knew about that, but there has to be some substance behind it,” says Erin.
Erin says people’s perception did not faze Miles at all. “You get this persona and you get this image: ‘he turns back to the audience’ kind of thing.”
But Miles knew that if he went to somebody’s show, it could affect them a little bit. “I don’t think he did it to be mean. I think he knew that if he was standing on the side of the stage for somebody’s show, that might bother them.”
“It was not disdain. A conductor always faces the orchestra. They don’t face the audience. These perceptions create the mystique. They help. He understood that.”
Speaking about the inspiration behind Miles’ musical genius, Erin says, “It was just the things and sounds around him.”
“He would say, I want that street sound — the sound of the streets. And I would wonder, what does that mean to him? But he’d want that street sound underneath his horn. And that’s what changed over the years — all the things underneath the horn.”
“For him, a lot of it was about bringing some tunes in the studio, and just see what happens. Very loose, collaborative creation.”
“In our documentary, somebody said he [Miles] used to go out into the woods and play with the sounds of the birds and whatever was going on in the woods. And when he moved to New York, that sound changed again.”
“He changed his music by changing what he wanted to hear — what he was feeling. He would hear something and find the right people to help him exercise it.”
“That’s why he worked so hard on his music — making sure that everybody around him is on that same level. You’re always working to have the best people for that particular sound, or that project.”
Erin is carrying Miles’ very prolific and unique legacy. “For me, his legacy is to follow your inner voice and not compromise. Do not look back if you can. It’s hard to do, but that was his thing: keep moving it forward and do not look back.”
“His legacy to me is what I’m doing. I’m not doing [the same] stuff anymore. I see other bands and people want them to play the stuff they played 50 years ago. It sounds great. It’s beautiful and it’s nostalgic.”
“He [Miles] just wasn’t into that. He was like, that’s done.”
And that is why Miles’ career arc is unique. “The styles that he went through; he changed courses in music. He moved things. The legacy of his band itself is legendary — let alone his prolific recording and touring and performing career.”
The Miles Davis Estate is managed by Downtown Music, and Erin says it has been a ‘very comfortable working arrangement.’
“I feel like Downtown is very comfortable with the Miles Davis catalog. They know what they’re doing, and they have a strong sense of what works.”
“I feel like we’re being looked out for, which is always a good feeling. I feel like we’re in good hands.”
About The Music Industry Lives Here: Downtown Music’s interview series allows powerful conversations with the voices shaping the music industry. To gain weekly access to exclusive interviews with music executives, artists, record label owners, and influential figures who drive the rhythm of the industry, join hereci>
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