in 1956 Miles Davis, originally from east St. Louis, was becoming a household name. It was the Golden Age of Jazz, and clubs all of the country were tuning in. Returning from New York, Miles arrived in St. Louis by train. As he exited Union Station he would make the short walk down Market to a club known as Peacock Alley.
Miles along with John Coltrane, Philly Joe Jones, Paul Chamber and Red Garland, known as the “First Great Quintet”, would hook up with St. Louis radio personality Spider Burks (the first African-American DJ in St. Louis) to put together a show at Peacock Alley. Spider would record the show for his radio station and then bootleg it’s production. Because of this, the recorded concert is known as one of the most idolized in the “Jazz World”.
