Miles Davis Tribute Competition 2026: Maximum Jazz honours Miles Davis @100

“It was a Tribute that began during the Covid pandemic era, held on May, 26, 2020, ( Miles Davis’ birthday) as a Live Studio Concert during Maximum Jazz Radio Programme Broadcast inside the premises of a Radio Station, i.e Radio Univers 105.7 FM Accra, Ghana.

Due to the prohibition of gigs, live entertainment, social gatherings and compulsory stay home/lockdown, it meant that Musicians no longer had any real source of income, many of whom were facing financial difficulties; while numerous Jazz Lovers could not go out to attend a typical Jazz concert, even if there were any  taking place. So when the idea of having a Concert inside the Radio station’s studio came to me, I quickly put it together, invited several Musicians to perform Miles Davis’ repertoire and compete for prize moneys. Thus MILES DAVIS TRIBUTE COMPETITION GHANA was born.

Jazz Lovers were sitting by their radio sets in Ghana, whilst the rest of the international Jazz Community listened to the concert via the internet. Though the whole world came to a stand still due to lock down, sitting indoors and social distancing, the Jazz world was nonetheless  connected by one thing- Love and Loyalty to Miles Davis and his music.

Every year since 2020, Maximum Jazz has organised a Tribute on Miles Davis’ birthday dedicated to his Life, Music and achievements. This year Maximum Jazz joins the rest of the International Jazz Community in commemorating Miles Davis’ 100th birthday anniversary”.

This was the brief account of how The Miles Davis Tribute Competition Ghana began, as narrated by Yomi Sower, Founder / Host of Maximum Jazz Radio Programmes & Events.

Unlike previous Tributes, Yomi added, this year 2026 edition is going to be a 2 weeks long celebration running May 26 – June 7, 2026; It comprises Radio & TV Media Campaigns, Social media clips/ teasers, Newspaper Articles & Historic accounts, Miles Davis Music Listening sessions and a massive Tribute Concert.

Yomi continued by saying that because 100 is a significant number in human years, regardless of whether Miles Davis is alive or not, his music, artistry, stylistic development of the Jazz genre is very much alive and worthy of recognition.

Miles Davis

Born Miles Dewey Davis III on May 26, 1926, he  was an American trumpeter, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. In a career spanning nearly five decades, Davis was at the forefront of several major stylistic developments in jazz, including bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, third stream, modal jazz, avant-garde jazz, and jazz fusion. His legacy extends into electric, rock, funk, classical, and hip-hop.

Born into an upper class family in Alton, Illinois, and raised in East St. Louis, Davis started on the trumpet in his early teens. He left to study at Juilliard in New York City, before dropping out and making his professional debut as a member of saxophonist Charlie Parker’s bebop quintet from 1944 to 1948. Shortly afterwards, he recorded the Birth of the Cool sessions for Capitol Records, which were instrumental to the development of cool jazz. In the early 1950s, while addicted to heroin, Davis recorded some of the earliest hard bop music under Prestige Records. After a widely acclaimed comeback performance at the Newport Jazz Festival, he signed a long-term contract with Columbia Records, and recorded the album ‘Round About Midnight’ in 1955. It was his first work with saxophonist John Coltrane and bassist Paul Chambers, key members of the sextet he led into the early 1960s.

During this period, he alternated between orchestral jazz collaborations with arranger Gil Evans, such as the Spanish music–influenced Sketches of Spain (1960), and band recordings, such as Milestones (1958) and Kind of Blue (1959). The latter recording remains one of the most popular jazz albums of all time, having sold more than five million copies in the U.S.

Miles Davis touched almost every genre known to man with Jazz-influenced articulation. From Bebop, hardbop, modal Jazz, Classical music, Electric/ Funk, Pop, Hip-hop/ Rap, Miles’ music evolved with each generation’s taste and commercial appeal; something he was highly criticised for.

In the early 1970s, he became heavily dependent on painkillers and cocaine to reduce the pain from a motor accident, also relying on alcohol, codeine and morphine to  help him get through his performance/ engagements. The latter resulted in him suffering ulcers and hernia and being hospitalised leading to a major hiatus away from music during 1975 – 1980

For his comeback in 1980, after a five year retirement, Miles Davis went for younger Musicians to join his band. In the 80s he gave us albums like The Man with the Horn (1980), We want Miles (1981), Tutu ( 1982),  Amandla (1986)

His personal life was equally tumultuous, while his marriages were characterised by physical violence and domestic abuse of his spouses. He married 3 times and had several Lovers. One of his wives, Actress Cicely Tyson, whom he was married to from 1981-1989, was instrumental to helping Miles Davis’ rehabilitation and overcoming his substance abuse.

Miles Davis is noted for performances, features and affiliations with several notable Jazz greats that influenced the depth and quality of his music significantly – These include John Coltrane , Gil Evans, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Duke Ellington, Marcus Miller, Quincy Jones amongst others. The latter, Quincy Jones held a concert for him with an Orchestra Quincy Jones put together and conducted at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1991. Miles Davis still recovering from illness and substance abuse, showed signs of struggling to play his trumpet, but still managed to carry himself gracefully. Three months after this concert he passed away on September 28, 1991 at the age of 65 due to combined effects of a stroke, pneumonia and respiratory failure.

Awards & Achievements

Since 1960, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) honored him with eight Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and three Grammy Hall of Fame Awards; He also received 32 Grammy nominations.. Miles’ last albums Doo- Bop (1992) and Rubberband (2019) were released post- humously. The former was received unfavorably by most critics, although it won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance the following year, while the latter received mixed to positive reviews.

Miles Davis @100 (May 26 – June 7, 2026)

This 2 weeks long celebration of the legendary Miles Davis at 100 years, will be an exposé of  the public and private persona of Miles Davis, revealing interesting details beyond his musical genius.  Jazz Lovers in Accra, Ghana and beyond are encouraged to follow these social media handles on Facebook: Maximum Jazz Community  and Yomi Sower  on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and X ,so as not to miss out.

Also read the next 2 episodes of the weekly article Me & My Jazz by Yomi Sower published in The Business & Financial Times Newspaper ( Print and online), dedicated to Miles Davis at 100.

The highpoint of the 2 weeks long Tribute would be a massive concert in which the main performance would feature a 5 piece band replicating Miles Davis 2nd Great Quintet of  his 1963-1968 era, plus additional  musicians featured in an attempt to illustrate ALL of Miles Davis’ Jazz evolutions and stylistic expressions over his five decades music tenure.

 

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