The Montreux Jazz Festival Miami kicked off its third edition Wednesday night. For 2026, the festival added two nights at the historic Miami Beach Bandshell in North Beach. Wednesday’s performance celebrated the life and legacy of perhaps jazz’s most famous performer, Miles Davis. Davis, who passed away in 1991, would have turned 100 in May of this year.
The evening began with the Kind of Blue Acoustic Band. Their set began with a haunting version of “My Funny Valentine”, featuring Grammy award winning singer Lalah Hathaway on vocals. The band then proceeded to play through Kind of Blue, drowning out the sounds of nearby car horns and sirens with the familiar hypnotic tunes of jazz’s most famous album. Tenor saxophonist Javon Jackson, alto saxophonist Donald Harrisson, and trumpeter Eddie Henderson all took turns improvising solos that left the audience in awe. This all-star collection of musicians was backed by drummer Lenny White, who performed on Davis’s seminal 1969 album, Bitches Brew.
After a brief intermission, the stage, like Davis’s career, morphed into something entirely new. During his later years, Davis was anything but nostalgic when it came to his music and once compared performing old hits to eating leftover turkey. The Miles Electric Band, which more than doubled the Acoustic Band’s sextet, performed songs from Davis’s later career that still sound futuristic today. Featuring electric guitar, multiple percussionists, synthesizers, and even a DJ, the Electric Band even used a sampler to incorporate Davis’s iconic whisper of a voice into several of the songs on the setlist.
Led by Davis’ nephew Vince Wilburn, Jr, the collective had the audience singing along to “Time After Time” and “Human Nature”, two covers off Davis’s 1985 album You’re Under Arrest.
Miles was given an important life lesson by his father when he was young boy. Listening to a nearby mockingbird emulate the sound of other birds, his father lectured him on the importance of finding his own sound. Reflecting on the memory, Miles told reporters “Man, sometimes it takes a long time to sound like yourself”. With their own unique touch, the Miles Electric Band managed to pay tribute while carving their own path for a new generation of jazz aficionados.
The Montreux Jazz Festival continues Thursday evening with a performance by Makaya McCraven at the Miami Beach Bandshell. Friday, the event shifts to the Hangar in Coconut Grove, an intimate 1,500-person venue built in 1918 with a weekend of performances headlined by Jon Batiste, Trombone Shorty, Nile Rogers, Toto, and Bomba Estereo.
