Miles on a Second Major

Abstract Miles Davis’ 30-year recording career at Columbia Records—the then dominant major record company—had positioned the trumpeter at the forefront of American popular music. However, in 1985 he signed with Warner Bros., a shift that marked the change to the decisively different series of album releases that characterised his later career. This chapter seeks to offer a new way of understanding Davis’ decision, outlining a speculative understanding of what Warner meant to Davis in 1985 and what Columbia had meant to him earlier in his career. Warner’s approach attracted Davis for what it represented in contrast to Columbia in terms of their history and in the moment of 1985. Building on but revealing the limitations of existing biographies, the analysis explores the operation of record companies like Columbia and Warner and the role they played in forming the history of jazz and the individual contributions of musicians like Davis.