Watch Mtume Recount The Many Genius Moments in Working with Miles Davis

“It was a new vocabulary, and they refused to open the dictionary, or be humble enough to ask ‘What are y’all doing?'”

Few people on this planet have had the opportunity to know, learn and grow with Miles Davis as intimately as James Mtume.

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The night-owl jazz giants would dial each other up at any hour (particularly those well after midnight) to exchange notes and updates on their respective post-collaborative careers and philosophies, ever-changing as the musicians continued to evolve well into the eighties. In the debut episode of Nelson George‘s new interview program, The Legacy Series, Mtume sits with the venerable music journalist to discuss his relationship with the late jazz pioneer, crediting him for his own transition from acoustic and traditional playing by embracing him the newly electrified and critically-torched phase of Davis’ career following In a Silent Way, influenced by Sly & The Family Stone, Jimi Hendrix and James Brown.

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Mtume explains how the revelations brought on by this period of collaboration with Davis fueled his own breakout moment on the iconic Juicy Fruit recordings.

Watch the full clip above.