Marcus Miller presents: We want Miles!

We Want Miles! – a celebratory tribute to mark the centenary of Miles Davis’s birth – is set to be one of the biggest attractions of this year’s summer concert season in Europe. 35 years have passed since the trumpeter and composer Miles Davis, one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, made his only concert appearance in Slovenia: on 30 March 1991 at Cankarjev Dom. That concert belongs among the significant appearances by musical giants who have performed here: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, Sonny Rollins. Their music, of course, remains globally present. In Slovenia, Davis’s music in particular has retained a strong presence, since his key collaborators from his electric period (1969–1991) have also enjoyed notable solo careers and continue to appear regularly on our concert stages. Brane Rončel, author and presenter of the television programme Izza odra (RTV Slovenia, 1993–2008, 2011–2012) and co-organiser and promoter of Davis’s Ljubljana concert, regularly included them among the guests appearing in RTV Slovenia’s TV Studio 1. Among them were musicians who are part of the tour marking the centenary of Davis’s birth: Bill Evans, Mike Stern, Mino Cinelu, Marcus Miller. The programme also featured other key names who were linked to Miles in earlier periods: Joe Zawinul, Jean-Paul Bourelly, Dave Holland, Ahmad Jamal, John Scofield, Jack DeJohnette, Bob Berg, Darryl Jones and Dave Liebman. The We Want Miles! concert presents a selection of pieces from the iconic album, recorded live in Boston, New York and Tokyo in 1981, when the band included one of Davis’s favourite drummers, Al Foster, who died last year. The concert will also feature classics from the trumpeter’s repertoire from the 1950s and 1960s and timeless music from his final period, including pieces from Tutu (1986) and Amandla (1989).