Miles Davis

I associated with Miles Davis quite a bit in I would later tour with Miles. My college
the fifties. Miles was a student at Julliard, but was the streets. I was learning improvisa-
he said he learned more from Charlie Parker tion on the bandstand. One time on the
than he did at Julliard. One time, I asked him band stand they were playing a tune that I
to show me some changes and he replied, didn’t know. I was trying to learn the tune
“Don’t worry about it; you’re from Bird’s while Miles was taking his solo, I was fin-
home town.” gering the keys. Evidently, I was making
I first met him in 1950 when I was still in high too much noise, so Miles turned around
school and he came to town, barnstorming and told me to stop it. But I knew that my
as a single. They were advertising that Miles solo was coming next so I kept on trying to
Davis was coming to play at the Boulevard learn the tune. This time Miles turned
th
Room at 12 & Paseo. Back at that time around, he didn’t say any thing, just
these guys would travel around and barn- punched me in the jaw. Later in 1968, after
storm, travel to different cities and play as Coltrane died, I was told that Miles was
singles with whoever the local rhythm sec- looking for me, but I wasn’t interested be-
tion was in that particular town. He played a cause I was a member of the Nation of
week or two at the Boulevard Room and Islam.
around Kansas City and Leavenworth. A
high school friend and I found out that he
was staying at the Streets Hotel at 18 th &
Paseo so we skipped school and went up to
his hotel room to visit him. I had my horn, my
friend had his trumpet. We went to the desk
and asked what room Miles was in. This was
8:00 in the morning. We went up and
knocked on the door…knocked and
knocked, and finally Miles came to the door,
naked. He said, “What do you little (famous
Miles expletive) want?” We said, “We come
to see you, man.” He looked at us and said,
“Come on in.” We went in and sat down,
and he went back to bed. We were still sit-
ting there, watching him sleep when, around
noon he woke up and said, “Are you m-f-ers
still here? Are you hungry?” He gave us
some money and told us to go across the
street and get some salami and crackers
and a pickle. We did that. But we made the
mistake of getting a hot pickle. He bit down
into this pickle and started cussing, “What Richard Davis leaned back in a trumpet solo, While
are you trying to do? (yang, yang, yang)”. Alaadeen, aka Richard White, saxophone listened.
They are part of the K.C. Chicago Trio Plus Two.
You know, he cussed us out bad. Kansas City Star, 1965.
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