Great Lives

Adrian Utley of Portishead on Miles Davis


Listen Later

Miles Davis - trumpeter, composer, bandleader - is championed by Adrian Utley of Portishead.

"He's always been really important in my life, right from early on when my dad used to play him. It was part of the atmosphere of our house."

From the early years with Charlie Parker via Kind of Blue to playing in front of 600,000 hippies on the Isle of Wight, Miles Davis was a musician who never stood still. "Always listen for what you can leave out," he used to say.

Portishead's seminal 1990s album Dummy seems to have taken advice from the man. As Adrian Utley explains to presenter Matthew Parris:

"The darkness and the sense of space is the thing that I have assimilated from Miles ... he's in my DNA."

With Richard Williams, author of The Blue Moment: Miles Davis's Kind of Blue and the Remaking of Modern Music.

Producer: Miles Warde

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2018.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Great LivesBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2

4.2

465 ratings


More shows like Great Lives

View all
Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,825 Listeners

From Our Own Correspondent by BBC Radio 4

From Our Own Correspondent

371 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,064 Listeners

In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,531 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,800 Listeners

Witness History by BBC World Service

Witness History

977 Listeners

In Our Time: Culture by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Culture

615 Listeners

Arts & Ideas by BBC Radio 4

Arts & Ideas

299 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,796 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,063 Listeners

Desert Island Discs by BBC Radio 4

Desert Island Discs

2,019 Listeners

Profile by BBC Radio 4

Profile

109 Listeners

Last Word by BBC Radio 4

Last Word

46 Listeners

Thinking Allowed by BBC Radio 4

Thinking Allowed

307 Listeners

Front Row by BBC Radio 4

Front Row

131 Listeners

Start the Week by BBC Radio 4

Start the Week

159 Listeners

Bookclub by BBC Radio 4

Bookclub

242 Listeners

Private Passions by BBC Radio 3

Private Passions

55 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,210 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

770 Listeners

The Bomb by BBC World Service

The Bomb

1,023 Listeners

This Cultural Life by BBC Radio 4

This Cultural Life

123 Listeners

A Good Read by BBC Radio 4

A Good Read

43 Listeners