Miles Davis would have turned 100 this year. To mark the occasion, author and jazz historian Ashley Kahn opens the evening with a talk on Davis’s early years, after which master trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire presents his new project starshine&clay.

Timetable

19:30 How Miles Became Miles

20:30 Ambrose Akinmusire

How Miles Became Miles: The Defining Sound of Miles Davis

‘It takes a long time to play like yourself’, Davis said in 1986 of his search for his own voice. In this multimedia talk, Kahn draws on musical examples, conversation and Davis’s own words to shed light on the years 1945 to 1960, when the trumpeter developed the sound that would become his calling card. Kahn is a Grammy-winning writer and the author of Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece, and has written and lectured on Davis for more than four decades. In addition to this talk, he will introduce a screening of Louis Malle’s Ascenseur pour l’échafaud (1958) at Eye Filmmuseum on 15 November, featuring Davis’s world-famous improvised score.

ambrose akinmusire/starshine&clay

American trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire is one of the most important jazz musicians of his generation, recognised for the emotional impact of his playing and the originality of his music. Following the acclaimed Owl Song with Bill Frisell and Herlin Riley, which received a Grammy nomination in 2025 for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, he returns to our stage with his new project: ambrose akinmusire/starshine&clay.

Akinmusire grew up in California and was discovered by saxophonist Steve Coleman. He studied with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Terence Blanchard, won the Thelonious Monk Competition in 2007, and has collaborated with Esperanza Spalding and Jason Moran. His Blue Note debut was chosen as the best jazz album of 2011 by Nate Chinen of the New York Times. His music draws inspiration from a broad spectrum: from classical to hip hop, from current social issues to personal narratives. That versatility was also evident on Kendrick Lamar’s acclaimed To Pimp a Butterfly, on which Akinmusire performed.

‘One of the prime and powerful fresh voices in 21st century jazz’ (Downbeat).

Ambrose Akinmusire trumpet, Sam Harris piano, Charles Altura guitar, Luca Alemanno bass, Tim Angulo drums