African American Jazz Innovation and Performance Culture, Miles Davis Photograph and Festival Program Archive, 1969–1991

Miles Davis

Archive

Davis, Miles. Archive of photographs and jazz festival programs documenting the public career and evolving artistic identity of one of the most influential musicians in twentieth-century American music. Spanning the late 1960s through the final months of Davis’s life in 1991, the material traces multiple phases of his career during a period in which he transformed modern jazz through modal experimentation, fusion, improvisational structure, and collaborations that reshaped both jazz and popular music. The archive reflects African American musical innovation within postwar American culture and documents Davis’s sustained prominence across changing musical eras, from the jazz festival circuit of the late 1960s and early 1970s to his later collaborations bridging jazz and hip-hop. Together, the materials provide primary-source evidence for the study of Black performance history, jazz festival culture, recording practices, and the visual presentation of African American musicians in modern media.
Archive consists of five items ranging from approximately 6 ½ x 5 inches to 11 x 8 ½ inches, including two illustrated jazz festival programs and three vintage photographs. [1] Monterey Jazz Festival Program. 1969. Staple-bound in illustrated wrappers, 32 pages, featuring a full-page image of Davis performing trumpet on stage alongside text describing him as “one of the most influential jazz voices since the early fifties.” The program situates Davis within the broader festival culture that helped institutionalize jazz performance during the late twentieth century. [2] All Atlantic-Vortex-Embryo Jazz Festival Program. 1970. Staple-bound in illustrated wrappers, 24 pages, containing a portrait of a young Davis seated with trumpet between his legs accompanied by promotional text presenting him as a leading figure in contemporary jazz. [3] Original silver gelatin press photograph, circa 1970s, depicting Davis conducting or directing a performance with concentrated expression and raised arm gesture, emphasizing his commanding stage presence during the fusion era. [4] Vintage silver gelatin photograph taken in 1991 showing Davis smiling beside producer and musician Eazy Mo Bee inside a recording studio during the final phase of Davis’s career; Eazy Mo Bee would become the last artist with whom Davis collaborated before his death later that year. [5] International Portrait Gallery print photograph, 1971, depicting Davis standing beside a piano in a composed studio-style portrait emphasizing his public identity as both performer and cultural figure.
Produced during decades in which Davis repeatedly reinvented jazz performance and recording practice, the archive captures the breadth of his influence across multiple generations of American music. His experimentation with modal jazz, electric instrumentation, and later collaborations with younger musicians helped shape the development of jazz fusion, funk, and hip-hop-influenced jazz. The inclusion of late-career material alongside festival ephemera from the late 1960s and early 1970s documents the longevity of his public and artistic presence across radically changing musical landscapes. Minor handling wear throughout. Overall very good condition. Cohesive visual and printed archive documenting the career of a foundational figure in African American music and twentieth-century jazz history.

Item #20958

Price: $450.00