Miles Davis: the greatest prog artist of all-time?

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   I voted for both Maybe.* and *His music certainly pushed boundaries that led to prog. Both true in a sense. But Miles can't be reduced to a label like prog. As both a once in a generation* kind of genius and a unsympathetic douche, he is supposed to have said while as a guest at the white house:  

"Few of the guests appeared to know who he was. During dinner, Nancy Reagan turned to him and asked what he'd done with his life to merit an invitation. Well, I've changed the course of music five or six times. What have you done except f**k the president?"

*except that in his generation of artists there were many

Poll Question: Is Miles Davis the greatest prog artist of all-time?
Poll Choice	Votes	Poll Statistics
Yes, of course.	1	[2.63%]
Maybe.*	2	[5.26%]
Not as great as Mikael Åkerfeldt.	0	[0.00%]
No. There are other prog artists better.	1	[2.63%]
Not as great as Tim Smith.	0	[0.00%]
No. He's not even prog.	19	[50.00%]
Not as great as Mark Hollis.	1	[2.63%]
*His music certainly pushed boundaries that led to prog.	4	[10.53%]
Go away, Drew. Let it die.	1	[2.63%]
Not as great as Allan Holdsworth.	1	[2.63%]
Boring! Don't care! Stop bothering me!	1	[2.63%]
No. Miles was a tool, a conduit, and a thief.	0	[0.00%]
Not as great as Steven Wilson.	0	[0.00%]
Dylan was never prog!	1	[2.63%]
Only on Saturday nights, with his back to the audience.	1	[2.63%]
Not as great as Neal Peart.	1	[2.63%]
Only in New York City and France.	1	[2.63%]
Not as great as Jimi.	0	[0.00%]
Only on Kind of Blue.	0	[0.00%]
Not as great as _______________.	3	[7.89%]
You can not vote in this poll

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Saperlipopette! Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: December 20 2010 Location: Tomorrowland Status: Online Points: 11618	Post Options Post Reply Quote Saperlipopette! Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Yesterday at 01:18
	I voted for both Maybe.* and His music certainly pushed boundaries that led to prog. Both true in a sense. But Miles can't be reduced to a label like prog. As both a once in a generation kind of genius and a unsympathetic douche, he is supposed to have said while as a guest at the white house: "Few of the guests appeared to know who he was. During dinner, Nancy Reagan turned to him and asked what he'd done with his life to merit an invitation. Well, I've changed the course of music five or six times. What have you done except fk the president?" *except that in his generation of artists there were many

richardh Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: February 18 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 27993	Post Options Post Reply Quote richardh Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 15 hours 22 minutes ago at 21:22
	Not a prog artist and not as great as Keith Emerson!

chopper Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 13 2005 Location: Essex, UK Status: Offline Points: 20030	Post Options Post Reply Quote chopper Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 8 hours 42 minutes ago at 04:02
	A legend of music but clearly a jazz musician. Certainly progressive in his field but not prog - there's a difference.

Disconnect Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: March 02 2007 Location: Syracuse, NY Status: Offline Points: 280	Post Options Post Reply Quote Disconnect Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 6 hours 30 minutes ago at 06:14
	Influential? Check. Ability to consistently surround himself with the finest players? Check. Great songwriter/arranger? Highly debatable. It's well-documented he would take compositions by his band members and literally change one or two chord movements....then claim it was entirely his work. Greatest artist of all time? Um....how could someone who was never among the best trumpet/cornet players (his own instrument) be in the running for greatest artist of all time? I could name at least a dozen trumpet/cornet players who were/are far superior to him in terms of technique. He had his own style, for sure. He was more known for NOT playing notes than playing notes when compared to contemporaries. Overrated? No. Despite my above comments, I do love Miles' work. But I'm able to regard him objectively because I happen to carry around a huge amount of useless knowledge relating to the history and evolution of jazz in my head.

Grumpyprogfan Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: July 09 2019 Location: Kansas City Status: Offline Points: 11579	Post Options Post Reply Quote Grumpyprogfan Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 5 hours 38 minutes ago at 07:06
	^Most excellent post.

mellotronwave Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: January 30 2021 Location: Belgium Status: Offline Points: 10019	Post Options Post Reply Quote mellotronwave Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 4 hours 25 minutes ago at 08:19
	Definitely not indeed ! Nevertheless being a prog fan does not prevent you (me, us) from appreciating all or part of the his huge work (because that’s what it comes back to) by Miles Davis!

Floydoid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: April 02 2007 Location: Planet Prog Status: Offline Points: 1516	Post Options Post Reply Quote Floydoid Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 3 hours 6 minutes ago at 09:38
	Nope, not prog rock by any stretch of the imagination.
	'We're going to need a bigger swear jar.'

Logan Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum & Site Admin Group Site Admin Joined: April 05 2006 Location: Vancouver, BC Status: Offline Points: 35767	Post Options Post Reply Quote Logan Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 2 hours 31 minutes ago at 10:13
	Really love various Miles Davis albums, a personal fave, and while I support his "electric Miles" period albums in Prog Archives JR/F category, I do not consider him to be "Prog". Recognising this is for fun, I don't know which poll options would come closest. Lots of albums I love, but I don't think he's the genius some do (and he could be very full of himself) and it was those he collaborated that did bring so much as mentioned. I was in youth orchestra as a trumpeter, and while I do not seem as some kind of virtuoso, his style works for the music. Since Keith Emerson was mentioned as greater, who I think does get overrated by some too, to me he would be better compared to Davis collaborator Gil Evans I think, and I do think that Gil Evans is greater than Emerson in music generally.
	Duos for fave acts