2026.05.25 Michael Veal on Miles Davis - 2 of 3

Miles Davis at his peak in 1969 wasn't just experimenting with electric jazz—he was redefining the boundaries of improvisation, rhythm, and identity. In this deep dive, music scholar Michael Veal reveals how Davis’s relationship with actress Betty Davis transformed his life and artistry: she helped him quit drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes, leading to a technical and expressive peak in his trumpet playing during the so-called 'Lost Quintet' era. This band—featuring Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Dave Holland, and Jack DeJohnette—wasn’t just a jazz group but a revolutionary unit that mastered the art of moving from structured time to free improvisation with fluid precision, like a school of fish. Veal unpacks the radical concept of 'time no changes,' where chord progressions were abandoned but rhythm remained propulsive, and later evolved into 'no time' altogether—free from any fixed pulse. The episode also uncovers the cultural cross-pollination of the era: Miles’ band toured Europe alongside Cecil Taylor’s free jazz ensemble, and the two groups influenced each other in real time. The infamous Bitches Brew album, recorded just weeks after these Antibes performances, was born from this live experimentation. Davis’s final flourish—ending a set with a cheeky, almost mocking rendition of 'Round About Midnight'—reveals a deeply ironic, self-aware humor that challenges jazz tradition. This wasn’t just a musical evolution; it was a full-body transformation of sound, style, and self.