CHICAGO — For more than 40 years, Miles Davis left his unmistakable mark on jazz – with small groups and large orchestras, popular standards and original works, acoustic and electric bands. Now his music and style are making their marks on a postage stamp.
The Chicago Post Office will hold a local dedication for the Miles Davis stamp Wednesday, August 15, at the DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 East 56th Place, at 5:30 p.m., as part of a concert in tribute to the late trumpeter. The event is part of DuSable’s “The Sounds of History” summer jazz concert series.
Performing Davis’ music will be the Robert Irving III Group, featuring Irving on keyboards, Philippe Vieux on alto sax/flute, Junius Paul on bass, and Charles Heath Jr. on drums. Irving enjoyed a nine-year working relationship with Davis as the trumpeter's longest collaborator (1979-88). During this time, Irving produced Davis' pivotal recording Decoy, which won a Downbeat Award for Best Jazz Group Album, You're Under Arrest (including the Grammy-nominated single, "Human Nature"), and the score for the film Street Smart.
"As evidence by this beautiful postage stamp, Miles remains a jazz and cultural icon, “ says Irving, ”so I'm grateful that he was a surrogate father, mentor, friend and teacher to me who gifted profound lessons on a daily basis... lessons such as 'silence is as much a part of the music as sound... so play only what you really mean.'"
Irving and his band will be joined by two of Chicago’s leading trumpeters: Orbert Davis, playing a set of Davis’ pre-1969 repertoire; and Corey Wilkes, playing a set of Davis’ post-1969 work.
Davis’ son Aaron, his grandson Paul Scott, and nephew and former musician in his band Vince Wilburn, Jr. will represent the Davis family at the event.
The Miles Davis stamp was issued in June, jointly with a stamp honoring legendary chanteuse Edith Piaf, in conjunction with La Poste, the French postal service. This was the first time the United States and France jointly issued a stamp since 1989, when both countries honored the bicentennial of the French Revolution.
The Miles Davis and Edith Piaf stamps also feature another historic first. For the first time, a QR code is printed on the back of the stamps. The code can be scanned with a smart phone. A landing page opens with an option to listen to music from Davis while viewing photographs and a timeline of the lives of both Davis and Piaf. There are several buttons on the landing site including a Buy Now button that enables purchasing the U.S. and French versions of the Davis and Piaf stamps as well as other related products. The landing site can be emailed, shared on Facebook and Twitter and videos may be added.
Miles Davis was at the forefront of jazz musicians for decades, setting trends and exploring musical styles from bebop through cool jazz, fusion and funk. His restless musical exploration made him a hero to jazz lovers throughout the world. Among his many influential recordings are Birth of the Cool, Kind of Blue, Sketches of Spain, and In a Silent Way. He was also a great bandleader, and many important musicians rose to prominence in his bands, including saxophonists John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter; drummers Tony Williams and Jack DeJohnette; and pianists Bill Evans, Chick Corea, and Herbie Hancock.
Davis’ music will long be remembered for its profound depth of feeling. By the time of his death in 1991, he had won many prizes and honors, including a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement. A congressional resolution was unanimously passed to honor the legacy of Kind of Blue on its 50th anniversary.
The DuSable concert is free and open to the public.
The U.S. Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
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