学进去

Miles was born in Alton, a city on the Mississippi River in Illinois on May 26,1926. Miles’s father was a dentist, while his mother was a music teacher. Miles had a good childhood, catching fish and riding horses with his older sister and younger brother. He was known as a naughty boy in school.

He recalls his story, “By the age of 12, music had become the most important thing in my life.” His mother, a violinist herself, dearly wanted her son to play the violin. But brass(铜管乐器) was Miles’s calling, and he remembers arguments between their parents as his dad overruled his mom to fight his son’s corner. He received his first trumpet(喇叭) in 1935 and began weekly music lessons with his father’s friend Mr Elwood, his lifelong teacher.

Talking about his schooldays, Miles said that Mr Buchanan was the biggest influence on his life. He was the person who took Miles all the way into music at that time. He wanted to be a musician that he had dreamed.

When he was 16, Miles met his girlfriend,Irene Birth.Although she was a beautiful young woman in many ways,it was her easy-going character that attracted Miles. At the weekends,Miles and Irene would take the bus over the Mississippi River to St Louis to watch movies and go dancing. Although Miles was too shy to really enjoy dancing, he always felt confident when he danced with Irene.

When he turned 17, she persuaded him to ask for a job in his band. It worked. Joining the band was a breakthrough for Miles, and marked the time when he first began to write and arrange music.