Jazz Break at Noon Archive - May 25 - 29, 2026

Archived Broadcast: May 25 - 29, 2026

100 years ago Miles Dewey Davis III was born in Alton, Illinois on the Mississippi River. He was the second of three children born to Miles Davis II and Cleota H. Henry.

His father, Dr. Davis, was a dentist with a successful practice that allowed the Davises to live an upper middle class lifestyle in East St. Louis. They even had a maid and a cook.

“From age nine on, Miles wanted to play the trumpet because he liked the way men looked playing it,” writes John Szwed in his biography titled So What: THe Life of Miles Davis.

His father bought Miles his first trumpet at age 13 and eventually Miles moved to New York City to study at Juilliard. By day he was learning theory and by night he lived on 52nd street where Miles was cutting his teeth on the bandstand and rubbing elbows with his heroes Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.

Throughout his career, Miles continued to reinvent himself: his music, his bandmates and his personal style, and also his wives. He played a mean trumpet and often gave others a mean mug. His cold, and austere persona made him alluring and unapproachable at the same time. And yet, he had a way of attracting exactly who he wanted in his orbit.

This week on the Jazz Break at Noon, hosts Bria Woods and Aaron Prado sink their teeth into the insurmountable discography of the legendary trumpeter, Miles Davis. Special guests bassist George Prado and trumpeter Dr. Adrian Ruiz will join as special guests on Tuesday and Thursday respectively.

The playlist will follow a (mostly) chronological journey, starting with early works and venturing into his modal sound, and eventually making a hard left into his fusion and electric era. And the week will be punctuated with music written and performed in tribute to “Dewey.”

100 years of a timeless legacy. The Miles Davis Centennial on KRTU 91.7 FM.
 

Listen to the full broadcast playback below!
 

Monday - Birth of a Genius (1945 -1954)

Tuesday - Modal Miles (1956 - 1963)

Wednesday - Ever-evolving Miles (1965 - 1967)

Thursday - Electric Fusion (1969 - 1971)

Friday - Miles Davis Legacy