I've played trumpet for the past 20years. Miles is one of my favorites. What makes him stand out, to me, is his lyricism and tone. He is not as technically proficient as someone like Freddie Hubbard, but miles doesn't need to be like that with the way he plays. I've transcribed many trumpet players solos over the years to learn vocabulary and style, just like most jazz musicians do. When I learn miles stuff, I truely understand the "less is more approach" and genius of simplicity. Where Freddie Hubbard will play a long line of fast and technical notes, or Maynard ferguson would play a screaming high note, miles would play a simple melodic passage that simply just sounds good. His tone was also very unique. He played a Martin Committee horn with a very deep holton heim mouthpiece, this setup gave him a dark and smokey sound...miles actually has a natural dark sound, you can hear it on earlier recordings, but this setup made it very dark. I feel like the simplistic lyrical approach and enjoyable tone are very appealing to many listeners.

Because of these aspects, I feel like miles is a TRUE artist. This was recognized by the musicians and the fans. He became a leader in the artistry of jazz. He began setting trends and changing the way jazz was being played. His albums became staples in jazz, and many of the top musicians wanted to play in his bands. He was able to build the best bands with the best and most creative jazz musicians. I think because of all this, he had all the resources and the talent to make these incredible albums.