Smitty: You know what I mean? I mean, how? I mean, you could be from another planet and totally get it and just be on the edge of your seat, you know?
VW: Yeah, yeah.
Smitty: And evidence of that is now. I mean, we can’t sit here collectively and count how many tributes there have been to his music or to one song or to one album or the whole collection. I mean, it’s beyond our imagination, things that we probably haven’t heard yet, you know?
VW: Yeah, yeah. Dig this: Erin and I are working on a hip hop album, right?
Smitty: Uh-huh.
VW: Not one hip hop artist that we’ve contacted said no.
Smitty: (Laughs)
VW: I mean, nobody said “Well, hey man, have your lawyer call my lawyer” or none of that. Everybody was like “Man, Miles? I’m down.” Right, Erin?
ED: That’s right, that’s right.
VW: And, I mean, I’m talking about the hip hop community.
Smitty: Yeah.
VW: Young guys so, I mean, what does that tell you?
Smitty: That’s respect.
VW: You know what I mean?
Smitty: Yes indeed.
VW: And he’s been gone since ’91, September of ’91.
Smitty: Yeah.
VW: But still is his legacy long after we’re gone, man.
Smitty: Oh, no doubt, no doubt, my friend. Well, I must say, man, going back to the music, it’s funny you mention music, because the memories and just the whole feeling of him being in the room when you’re listening to these tracks is amazing, you know?
VW: Yeah, yeah.
Smitty: It really conjures up all of that, and I want to just congratulate all of the musicians that you mentioned previously that are on this project. All of them did a standout, stellar job with their interpretations.
VW: They’re great players.
Smitty: Yeah, man, unbelievable.
ED: It was great to see the turnout of guys who wanted to play on it.
Smitty: Yes, unbelievable. Man, I mean, that list is just…
VW: It’s from the Miles Davis Academy. (All laugh.) Miles Davis College.
Smitty: Yeah, that’s very well put.
VW: Right? Right? All the students.
Smitty: Would you liken him to a professor?
VW: Man…
ED: Well, Vince likens being on stage with him as the master class, for sure.
VW: Yeah, I mean, it’s like what are you gonna do after Miles?
ED: (Laughs)
VW: You can have your own group or your own band. I mean, he stayed on Erin to be a better musician, stayed on me to be a better musician, but we got it now. I mean, we got it then, but we really get it now.
Smitty: And that’s the way it goes, I think, sometimes as young adults or even younger were taught so much and we were taking it in, but sometimes we don’t really break it down until months later, and the appreciation, I think, is much greater then too.
ED: Absolutely.
VW: I mean, not to say we didn’t appreciate it then, but I agree with you, but now, there’s not a day that goes by that I’m like thinking about something that he said to Erin or I heard him say to Erin or he said to me and I’m like, wow, I dig that.
Smitty: Yeah.
VW: And he’s still coming at us, he’s still talking to us.
Smitty: Let me ask you both, if you both can answer separately, if there’s one thing or more that he taught you that you would want to share with every musician in the world, what would it be?
ED: Well, it would really just be about knowing your instrument and being comfortable with it and really being an individual and not trying to be someone else or sound like someone else. He had guys coming in the band and they would think that he wanted them to sound like Trane or like Bird or something or Tony Williams or Herbie, and really he was just after something individual and he would have a sense about somebody, so he would have them come down, play with the band, go on the road, then after a few shows he would say “Man, you gotta just—I just wanna hear what you can tell me. I just wanna hear what you can play. I don’t wanna hear what others have played. I already heard that.” He didn’t look back on that kind of stuff.
Smitty: So the individuality of bringing out who you are…
ED: It’s actually very hard to be an individual in music. You always kind of harken back to your influences.
Smitty: Right.
ED: But that’s the one thing I would tell any musician. Just be yourself and the rest will come. It might take 10, 20 years, but it’s gonna come eventually.
Smitty: Yeah, and play from your heart, yeah.
VW: I think create your own voice and when you sit at your instrument, be it in the studio or at home or on stage, just make it count. Make every note mean something.
ED: Even if you’re just playing chords or just laying a groove down. Make sure you’re doing it right.
Smitty: (Laughs)
VW: Make it count because, man, when we went on stage, it was business. When that curtain went up, when the stage turned around or whatever, it was all business, bro.
Smitty: Yeah, I totally dig it.
VW: There was no joking, no shucking and jiving. I mean, even in rehearsals, it was business. That man was serious about his craft, he listened to tapes every night, concert tapes, he would critique each musician every night.
Smitty: Wow.
VW: And that’s what he was about.
Smitty: And look at what we have today, you know?
VW: Hey, the proof’s in the pudding.
ED: (Laughs)
Smitty: Yes. So now, tell me, you mentioned something about a hip hop project. What else are you cats exploring right now musically? Just anything from live performances to just spinning records. What are you cats working on other than the hip hop thing?
ED: Well, there are some Miles From India shows coming up, right Vince?
VW: Yes, three of them so far: San Francisco, L.A. and New York. Erin and I talk—we don’t want to let it all out of the bag, but Erin and I have a surprise. We’ve got a bunch of tapes to go through. (All laugh.) We’ve got some big surprises, but we’re gonna come back to you and talk to you about that at a later date.
Smitty: Oh that’ll be cool.
VW: We’ve got a movie coming out. Don Cheadle’s gonna play Miles.
Smitty: Really?
VW: Yeah, he’s gonna direct and star in it, and that’s in the works. Don signed on, so…
Smitty: Wow.
VW: So we’ve got the “Kind of Blue” 19, Fiftieth Anniversary. So it’s the 50th anniversary of “Kind of Blue.” We’re gonna release a trumpet case with all the box sets that you can insert inside the trumpet case for the fans.
Smitty: Oh wow. Nice!
VW: There’s a lot going on. There’s a lot of music left.
Smitty: Yes indeed.
VW: Erin and I are just trying to figure it out.
ED: Yeah.
