#gillespie

Then I came across this:

Which helped me to find this:

( text source: Raffles and The British Invasion or Java )

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A/N: Someone requested me to write a story about a curvy girl who meets her inspiration (Charlie Gillespie) in the Gym.. Summary: Emilia is just a normal curvy girl. She's insecure, anxious and honestly feels a little lost in life. This is until she decides to take matters into her own hands and unexpectedly bumps in to the one man who had been her inspiration for a few years now.. What happens when the unreachable is suddenly within reach? Warnings: Mature content (smut) Wordcount: 8467

Hi, my name is Emilia and I’m just your average kind of girl. Curvy, brown curly hair.. what else? Oh right. I love books even though I have barely any time to read them,  I like music and going to concerts or the theater every now and then.. I love to be out in nature, especially in the woods or on the water. And honestly? I think that’s all you need to know about me. Exciting isn’t it? You don’t think so? Well I agree. Honestly right now I’m not exactly loving life. I mean I have a job that I like and sure I have a roof above my head and I’ve got some lovely friends so I guess it could be worse. But I can’t help but feel like I’m..stuck? My friends are getting their own places, getting into relationships, some are even getting married or starting families.. and then there’s me. Single. No experience whatsoever and no possible partner insight.. I want to get my own place but simply can’t afford that yet and..

(Credits: Far Out / Tom Palumbo)

Dale Maplethorpe (Far Out Magazine):

Miles Davis will go down as arguably one of the most honest musicians who ever became famous, perfectly personified by his attendance at an awards ceremony at the White House. When asked by someone he described as a “politician’s wife” why America is so keen on neglecting jazz, he answered, “Jazz is ignored here because the white man likes to win everything.”

The woman asked in retaliation, “What have you done that’s so important in your life?”, to which he responded, “Well, I’ve changed music five or six times.” 

He’s not wrong, either. The release of specific Miles Davis albums, from Birth of the Cool to Kind of Blue to Bitches Brew, are viewed less as good moments in musical history and instead as defining moments in American culture. He is the most influential trumpeter and one of the most influential musicians to ever take to the stage, with a sound and style that would shape how America – and subsequently the world – viewed the production of sound. 

His honest attitude towards himself and his music contributed to his success. He could critique himself to the extent that he could bring out the best in his music. He could also look at the music surrounding him to see what was missing and pick out what was wrong with the current musical landscape. That often led to him getting in trouble with some artists, but it also meant when we see the names of those he refers to as geniuses, we can take it at face value.

Davis had previously rubbed American composer Leonard Bernstein the wrong way when he refused to play anything from West Side Story, saying he thought it was “corny shit”. However, when he wrote to Bernstein on his 70th birthday, with decades to reflect on the music and see its impact on the world, he was willing to admit that Berstein was a genius. In doing so, he listed the five people who shaped American music, changing it for the better forever. 

Davis dismissed his previous comments in his letter, confessing West Side Story “turned out to be a classic.” He also noted that Bernstein is one of the great geniuses of American Music. “You are one of America’s true geniuses, along with Monk, Gillespie, Mingus and Parker,” he said.

There is no doubt, looking back, that Davis’s comments on Bernstein are correct. He was one of the first composers whose music expanded outside of America, leading to him cementing himself as one of the greats with a plethora of accolades attached to his name. The same can be said about Thelonious Monk, who worked with Davis previously and had a unique improvisational style that broke barriers and showed musicians how limitless their sounds could be.

The other musicians Davis refers to are Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus and Charlie Parker. All of them were musicians who had worked well with Davis in the past and helped contribute towards the musical landscape that eventually enveloped American culture. There is no doubt that Miles Davis changed music about five or six times, as he professed during that White House dinner, and Bernstein, Monk, Gillespie, Mingus and Parker are four or five musicians who helped him change it.

Icons Charlie Gillespie 💝