Miles Davis: The Prestige Years

Not long after his late-'40s studies with Bird and Diz, Davis stepped onto stages as a bandleader. The trumpeter was ready, as early LPs like Cookin' With the Miles Davis Quintet show. On “My Funny Valentine,” his bluesy but tart sound with a muted horn inspired innumerable careers in jazz balladry, and his pyrotechnics on the Jackie McLean tune “Minor March” helped drive hard bop's engine.