Miles Davis by Ian Carr

Author:Ian Carr [Carr, Ian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 1998-01-30T05:00:00+00:00

EIGHTEEN

The Silent Years, 1976–1980

‘Sex and drugs took the place that music had

occupied in my life until then and I did both of them

round the clock.’1

Miles Davis

It is clear that, in 1976, Miles Davis had not yet realized the extent of his physical infirmities or his spiritual malaise, and had no idea that it would be some years before he would be able to function normally again. In June, his record contract with Columbia came up for renewal, but the company did not want to pay Miles the advance he was asking as part of the re-signing deal. His lawyer then began negotiations with United Artists and, just as Miles was about to sign with them, Columbia matched United Artists’ offer. So early in December 1976, Miles Davis renewed his contract with CBS. At this point, his account was ‘in the black’ with Columbia, his record sales having paid off the large advances he’d had. After the re-signing, Columbia seemed to regard him as a permanent affiliate and they eventually created the ‘Miles Davis Fund’, which paid him on a regular basis. Only one other Columbia artist had this status: the concert pianist, Vladimir Horowitz. Miles, however, was still in his early fifties (Horowitz was in his seventies), and Columbia felt, not unreasonably, that they could expect some fresh recordings. The following year, it was rumoured that Miles was thinking of forming a group with Gil Evans on keyboards, but again nothing transpired – 1977 remained empty and silent on the musical front.

Miles’s pride was such that he hated to be thought of as a victim, and his account of this period in his autobiography (published in 1989), has an air of bravado. The hordes of women he had, the ‘rich white ladies’ who gave him money, his massive consumption of cocaine, plus the wonderful state of his investments and his good financial arrangements with Columbia, all seemed like acts of will and power that put a gloss on his admissions of squalor and dereliction. But, this time, Miles seemed to be driven by forces beyond his control and his descent into darkness and disintegration plumbed the spiritual depths. It was almost as if he needed to rub himself out, erase himself and become a non-entity in order (perhaps) to start afresh. He stayed inside his house for much of the time, with the curtains drawn, the place in darkness lit only by a flickering TV screen. His companion and helper during much of this time was a young black fellow called Eric Engles. The drugs, alcohol and cigarettes continued being consumed, and the house became a shambles, neglected and filthy. Drummer Al Foster and Gil Evans visited him and other musicians also came to see him, but eventually, most people stopped coming, because they saw his disintegration and thought he was going to die. John McLaughlin, one of Miles’s most trusted friends, said:

It was very disquieting. I was very worried about him – whether he would live or die – and a lot of people were also.

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