Madonna is the Miles Davis of pop music


Miles Davis picture from You're under Arrest - Madonna from Polari Magazine

After attending Madonna's show in Zürich, Switzerland, I couldn't help but think about the traits she shares with jazz genius Miles Davis.

Both of them knew how to choose great collaborators. Steve Jobs used to say "A players hire A players". Miles and Madonna are definitely A players. When the former chooses to work with Gil Evans on Sketches of Spain, Madonna chooses to record Patrick Leonard's La Isla Bonita. When Teo Macero produces '58 Stella by Starlight, William Orbit produces Ray of Light, and when Miles gets inspired by younger Marcus Miller, Madonna finds inspiration in the moves of dancer Lil Bucks.

In his autobiography written with Quincy Troupe, Miles Davis says: "The very first thing I remember in my early childhood is a flame." A fascinating thing about Miles Davis is the incredible inner flame which pushed him to go beyond what he knew, to look for new ways of creating art and music throughout his career, even after he met fame and money. Madonna is also a risk-loving artist, and I mean not just when she gets into gyms, movies, and more. I especially enjoyed the inclusion of no less than 7 new songs with creative staging in her world tour MDNA. It's a sign that the inner flame which first pushed her to perform is still burning inside of her.

Of course, True Blue is no Kind of Blue; nevertheless, and I'm sure Sue Sylvester would agree, Madonna is the Miles Davis of pop music.

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