And I quote...Miles Davis

"You want to know how I started playing trumpet? My father bought me one, and I studied the trumpet. And everybody I heard that I liked, I picked up things from."

~Miles Davis, circa 1969

Miles Davis was one of the greatest visionaries and most important figures in jazz history. He was born in a well-to-do family in East St. Louis. He became a local phenom and toured locally with Billy Eckstine's band while he was in high school. He moved to New York under the guise of attending the Julliard School of Music. However, his real intentions were to hook up with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. He quickly climbed up the ranks while learning from Bird and Diz and became the trumpet player for Charlie Parker's group for nearly 3 years. His first attempt at leading a group came in 1949 and was the first of many occurrences in which he would take jazz in a new direction...

...more on Miles FOUND HERE.

Neat Things: American Idol Season 8

Ah, yes...American Idol's back and the auditions "start" on Fox tomorrow night.



I am really not a big TV-watcher, and "reality" shows can be some of the worst of the offerings on the airwaves. That being said, I shall now contradict myself and publicly admit (at least to the 83 people who read my blog) that I am a fan of American Idol. It took awhile to grow on me, and yes, I get weary of the bickering, the judges, Seacrest, and the rest...BUT...as a singing competition it is always such FUN!

Leave me a comment and let me know who your favorites were from any of the past seasons and if you'll be tuning in for Season 8!

Chris and I watch together. Here are some of our favorite performances from seasons 1-7.

(Just click the pause button on my AI playlist in the right column to enjoy the music on the video clips!)













Top to bottom, Contestant/AI Season: Melinda Doolittle (4), Kristy Lee Cook (7), Elliot Yamin (5), Brooke White (7), David Cook (7), Kelly Clarkson (1), Fantasia Barrino (3), Bo Bice (4), Michael Johns (7), Blake Lewis (6), Clay Aiken (2)