Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991) was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered to be one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century, Davis was a pioneer in the devlopment of several offshoots of the jazz genre, including jazz fusion, bebop, modal jazz and post-bop.

In 1945, Miles Davis elected to drop out of Juilliard School of Music and focus on performing and recording music full-time. While still a member of the Charlie Parker Quintet, Davis began recording his own material in 1946 with the Miles Davis Sextet. Davis and Parker continued recording from 1945 to 1948. Meanwhile, Davis began developing his own trumpet style, marked by improvisation and a disregard for convention.