Miles Davis and Juliette Greco
By 1948 , the trumpeter had gained a reputation for being incredibly talented and innovative . Though Ellington had never met Miles Davis , he sent him a message saying he liked his style and wanted Davis to join his band in the fall . Flattered and excited , Davis arranged to meet this iconic bandleader . Upon his arrival , he found Ellington dressed casually in shorts with an attractive woman sitting on his lap . Davis explained that he couldn ’ t accept Ellington ’ s generous o er because he was already committed as the trumpeter in the band led by Gil Evans . While his excuse was legitimate , he also knew he would grow tired of playing the same music night after night should he accept the new opportunity . The two men never reconnected again . Then it was Paris . Juliette Gréco was 22 , the muse of Saint-Germain-des- Prés , when she set eyes on the trumpetist , the up-andcoming “ Picasso of jazz .” In May 1949 , the International Jazz Festival was reborn in Paris and the biggest
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Flashmag ! Issue 143 August 2023
American names in bebop had made a special e ort to attend . This was the first time Miles Davis had left the United States , and played the Salle Pleyel concert hall with pianist Tadd Dameron ’ s quintet . “ I saw him from the side ; he was an Egyptian god ,” said Gréco , who was watching him from backstage . “ I had never seen such a beautiful man , and I haven ’ t seen one since .” The lovers lived together at the La Louisiane hotel in the 6th arrondissement . Accompanied by Gréco , Davis met Jean-Paul Sartre , Boris Vian , and Picasso . The pair would stroll along the Seine , hand in hand , stopping for a kiss . An unthinkable idyll in the United States , where interracial relationships were forbidden . Davis enjoyed a new freedom in France . “ I had never felt that way in my life ,” he wrote in his autobiography . “ It was the freedom of being in France and being treated like a human being .”