In 1989, trumpeter Miles Davis expresses his (other) talent on the menu of a prestigious French restaurant.
Pencil drawing of Miles Davis, inside a menu at La Pyramide restaurant, during the Vienne Jazz Festival, in France.
On the last page of the menu is another graphic dedication created by artist Mikel Elam who accompanied Miles Davis during his tours.
6 pages.
In French.
21 cm x 29.5 cm.
Vienne (France), June 30, 1989.
Excellent condition of conservation.
Unique piece.
Miles Davis (1926 - 1991) began playing the trumpet at the age of thirteen and never stopped. Responsible for many developments in jazz and the discovery of many new talents, his musical genius marked the history of jazz and 20th century music. He was also one of the first black musicians to be known and accepted by the American middle class.
The Vienne Jazz Festival, founded in 1981, quickly became a meeting place for the world's best musicians: Ray Charles, Herbie Hancock, Eric Clapton, etc. La Pyramide, one of the most prestigious French restaurants, was the place where the festival's musicians would dine and stay. After being sold to a real estate group, La Pyramide was reopened in 1989 with a special dinner in honor of the illustrious Miles Davis. It was during this special evening that he designed the menu.
Festival creator Jean-Paul Boutellier explains why Miles Davis was important to the event:
Miles Davis really made an impact on the festival. Firstly because he had an incredible effect on the audience. But also because he liked the place. He liked the festival, he enjoyed the friendliness of the organizers and the spectators, the La Pyramide hotel... He gave legendary shows, like when he played the entire show in the rain to interact with the audience, it was fabulous!
Mikel Elam, now a renowned painter represented by gallery owner Charles Saatchi, signed the last part of the document that same night:
One day something magical happened. I became the assistant to the legendary jazz musician Miles Davis. I traveled the world with him as his personal assistant for five years. In the midst of all this, I stopped making art. I was consumed by this new life. It took over. The beauty of my new job was helping Miles achieve his goals of becoming a painter. He would literally draw and paint every day, on the road and at home. I would help him buy his supplies and get him ready to paint after his performances. Sometimes he would start working at 2:00 AM after a performance. It was Miles who got me back into art. He insisted that I make art again. I resisted at first because I thought I wouldn’t be able to create anything worthwhile due to the constant change. What I discovered was that with practice and focus, I could create on the road. The world became my studio. These are the influences that you see in my work. It’s the influence of the rhythm of the world. It’s a hybrid juxtaposition of influences from all over the globe. Miles eventually became a collector of my work.
Just two years before the death of the legendary trumpeter, this unpublished document reveals in a very original way another talent of the artist, drawing, developed with his friend Mikel Elam and generally unknown to the public.
