Why Miles Davis is one of the greatest musicians ever | Rick Beato and Lex Fridman

What was the role of Bbop jazz in the history of music? It seems like it was influential in your life. Uh, another guy, you had an incredible interview with Flee. People should go listen to that. Was a great conversation. One of the things that surprised me is just how many musical genres influence Flee. And the guy showed up in a Miles Davis t-shirt >> and >> Miles Davis played with Charlie Parker. >> Mhm. [clears throat] when he was 18 years old and that's his Charlie Parker was really his mentor. >> Can you explain to me why with many of the folks you've interviewed uh and in general out there in the in the world of jazz all roads lead to Miles Davis why he's such an influential figure because he was the greatest innovator in the history of jazz. He was at the forefront of all these different styles of jazz. I mean, he started as a Bbop player and then he you had records like the birth of cool and modal jazz and um hardbop and records like [ __ ] brew where he started to I guess you would call fusion. You start to get these records. You had two main groups of Miles Davis. You had the Miles Davis 50s quintet and the Miles Davis 60s quintet. >> Now Miles made records with many people but the 50s quintet had John Col Train in it. had I mean had different piano players could Winton Kelly but Paul Chambers in the bass, Philly Joe Jones and the drums. Um and that particular group was uh made just incredibly important records. And then he had his 60s group which was uh Herby Hancock on the piano, Ron Carter on the bass, Tony Williams and the drums and Wayne Sharter on the saxophone. and they made all these incredibly important records. >> I forget who said it uh in interview with you, but they talked about like uh Miles Davis um his music feeling like I think I think toes hanging over the cliff or something like this. Meaning like there's always a risk, there's a danger that you're willing to make to [ __ ] it all up live. And that feeling is what creates the the aliveness of the music. Like, can you speak to that? Just the the creating in the music the feeling like you're on the edge, like you're challenging the possibilities of what can happen and it all can go to [ __ ] And because of that, it feels alive. Well, when I interviewed Ron Carter that played in in uh Miles's 60s quintet, I asked Ron because Ron did so records. He played bass on two 2200 recording famous records. And I said, "Did you guys ever rehearse with Miles?" "No, never." I said, "So you what what you do?" He goes, "We just show up at the studio and he'd have the charts, put them on the stand, and and we would we just roll." >> Mhm. And I said, "Would you listen to it after?" "No." And I said, "Well, what about your what about the the live records that you did at when you'd record at clubs and things like that?" He goes, "We never knew that we were recording." He goes, "Maybe I'd see a microphone, a different kind of microphone and my bass amp." He goes, "Then months later, the a record would come out and I'd see and I was on it and I would take it down to the union and say, "I played on this record so you get paid for it." But he said, "We didn't even know we were recording." >> Yeah. And so Miles was always about, you know, don't think about it, just just play. [sighs] >> That's crazy. That was on purpose. That was done on purpose. Not to not to do the rehearsals, not none of that. >> Yeah. He wanted people to just feel it, play it. Thought is the enemy of flow. As Vinnie Kuda told me, >> thought is the enemy of flow. [snorts] How do you make sense that Flee the basis for the Hajili Peppers is influenced by Bbop Jazz? So his stepfather was a jazz bass player. >> Mhm. >> And his uh when his parents got divorced, his he was born in Australia and then they moved to to New York. Then his parents got divorced and his mom married his stepfather who was a jazz jazz musicians and they then they used to have jam sessions at their place and flee loved it. It was kind of like my upbringing with my dad playing jazz all the time on once it gets inside you, it's just there. And uh and so he is heavily influenced by jazz musicians. >> Yeah. His impression was just hilarious. I mean, he's a character. His whole physical way of being is a character. And his impression of just upright bass is just it's fun to watch. His whole his intensity when he picked up his bass during the interview, it he's an intense guy and funny and, you know, really um emotional and um and he picks up his bass and there's a fierceness that you immediately feel. and he starts he talks about how he pre practices and then when he starts doing the slapping stuff he gets is so into it and I'm just sitting there going whoa wow >> yeah he talked about his practicing routine with you and one of the things he's like I have to practice this lap and Huh?

Lex Fridman Podcast full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SJiTwbSI58 Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/cv9679-sb See below for guest bio, links, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. *GUEST BIO:* Rick Beato is a music educator, interviewer, producer, songwriter, and a true multi-instrument musician, playing guitar, bass, cello & piano. His incredible YouTube channel celebrates great musicians & musical ideas, and helps millions of people fall in love with great music all over again. *CONTACT LEX:* *Feedback* - give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey *AMA* - submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama *Hiring* - join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring *Other* - other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact *EPISODE LINKS:* Rick's YouTube: https://youtube.com/RickBeato Rick's X: https://x.com/rickbeato Rick's Instagram: https://instagram.com/rickbeato1 Rick's Website: https://rickbeato.com Rick's Ear Training: https://beatoeartraining.com The Beato Book: https://beatobook.com *SPONSORS:* To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: *UPLIFT Desk:* Standing desks and office ergonomics. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/uplift_desk-cv9679-sb *BetterHelp:* Online therapy and counseling. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/betterhelp-cv9679-sb *LMNT:* Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/lmnt-cv9679-sb *Fin:* AI agent for customer service. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/fin-cv9679-sb *Shopify:* Sell stuff online. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/shopify-cv9679-sb *Perplexity:* AI-powered answer engine. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/perplexity-cv9679-sb *PODCAST LINKS:* - Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast - Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr - Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 - RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ - Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 - Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips *SOCIAL LINKS:* - X: https://x.com/lexfridman - Instagram: https://instagram.com/lexfridman - TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://facebook.com/lexfridman - Patreon: https://patreon.com/lexfridman - Telegram: https://t.me/lexfridman - Reddit: https://reddit.com/r/lexfridman