Miles Davis was never one to shy away from an honest opinion, was he?!
In 1986, he appeared on the American talk show Time Out with Bill Boggs. He was there to discuss his new album Tutu… but one short exchange with a 13-year-old trumpeter ended up stealing the show.
The student, introduced as “Little Miles” from the Philadelphia public-school system, was invited to play a tune for his hero.
He did, with the band behind him and a polite round of applause when he finished.
Then host Bill Boggs turned to Miles for his verdict.
“He needs to practise. He knows how he sounds.”
No lecture, no small talk. Just Miles being Miles, as you’ll see from the video below…
A Rare Glimpse of Miles in Conversation
The Bill Boggs appearance caught Miles in a relaxed but typically direct mood. At 60 years old, promoting Tutu on Warner Bros., he sat coolly behind his sunglasses and answered questions in his unmistakable gravel voice.
Boggs asked why he sometimes performed with his back to the audience.
Miles’s reply was pure logic, not attitude:
“It’s the sound. Every room has a different space. I walk around and find where the trumpet sounds best.”
He went on to explain that studio albums were only “advertisements” for what really mattered—the live show.
“The records are one version,” he said. “In person it’s different.”
Dizzy, Duke and the Discipline of Sound
The interview wandered far beyond Tutu.
Miles described how Dizzy Gillespie jolted him back into playing after a period of illness:
“Dizzy came over and said, ‘What the f** are you doing here?’* That got me back to playing.”
He recalled practising long tones over the lake on his father’s farm so he could hear the echo of his sound, and he credited Duke Ellington for shaping the tonal approach that later flowed through his work with Gil Evans.
Even in casual conversation, his theme never changed: sound, effort, and truth mattered more than talk.
The ‘Little Miles’ Exchange Everyone Remembers
When the young trumpeter finished, Miles’s blunt response—followed by a technical note:
“He played in D natural. The tune’s in E-flat,” landed with both humour and precision.
The audience laughed; the boy nodded, albeit in a slightly confused way.
It was harsh on the surface but completely consistent with Miles’s view that musicianship starts with honesty, not flattery.
A Window Into How He Thought
Seen today, the moment isn’t about Miles mocking a kid.
It’s a small example of how he approached everyone—from Herbie Hancock to a nervous teenager—with the same expectation: know your sound, put in the work.
The rest of the episode reinforces that idea.
He praises Prince as “one of America’s greatest poets,” defends Louis Armstrong from lazy criticism, and jokes through a discussion of his painting habit—each answer clipped, funny and unfiltered.
Taken together, it’s a rare portrait of Miles Davis speaking plainly about what drove him.
Here’s the clip from the Bill Boggs interview, showcasing the “Little Miles” performance, and Miles’s reaction.
It’s a small, funny exchange — but it sums up Miles perfectly. Direct, unsentimental, and always chasing the truth in sound.
That honesty, for better or worse, was part of what made him great.
What do you think ?
Can’t imagine as a young musician, playing a Miles Davis tune 🎶 with the artist critiquing your performance 🥺