Miles Ahead

album by Davis

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July 23, 2026

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The album Miles Ahead is a significant work by American jazz musician Miles Davis. Released in 1957, it features Davis collaborating with arranger and conductor Gil Evans. The album is noted for its complex arrangements and the near-equal emphasis placed on the orchestra and Davis's trumpet playing. It is considered a masterful example of Davis's soulful and emotionally powerful performances, showcasing his transition into a more lyrical style. Miles Ahead is one of three collaborations with Gil Evans, alongside Porgy and Bess and Sketches of Spain, that are considered monuments of the genre.12

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Gil Evans
…Davis released the densely textured Miles Ahead (1957), Porgy and Bess (1958), and Sketches of Spain (1960), all arranged by Evans. The albums “rank with the finest orchestral music of the 20th century,” according to jazz scholar Ian Carr, and Evans’s arrangements were praised as having
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…Davis released the densely textured Miles Ahead (1957), Porgy and Bess (1958), and Sketches of Spain (1960), all arranged by Evans. The albums “rank with the finest orchestral music of the 20th century,” according to jazz scholar Ian Carr, and Evans’s arrangements were praised as having
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Miles Davis
Cool jazz and modal jazz
…and conducted by Gil Evans—Miles Ahead (1957), Porgy and Bess (1959), and Sketches of Spain (1960)—were also monuments of the genre. The Davis-Evans collaborations were marked by complex arrangements, a near-equal emphasis on orchestra and soloist, and some of Davis’s most soulful and emotionally powerful playing. Davis and Evans…
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…and conducted by Gil Evans—Miles Ahead (1957), Porgy and Bess (1959), and Sketches of Spain (1960)—were also monuments of the genre. The Davis-Evans collaborations were marked by complex arrangements, a near-equal emphasis on orchestra and soloist, and some of Davis’s most soulful and emotionally powerful playing. Davis and Evans…
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