Miles Davis: The '70s Electric Period

Having already changed the course of jazz several times, the music of Miles Davis underwent its most remarkable transformation in the late '60s and early '70s. Noting that African-American audiences had shifted their interests from jazz to soul and rock, Davis merged the psychedelic-influenced funk of Sly & The Family Stone with his own improvisational gifts. The result was a wholly new style that polarized listeners but earned respect for its adventurous and often breathtaking scope. Davis' electric jazz would later influence such diverse genres as fusion, electronica, and even metal.