The Nephew of Miles Davis Talks Recording, Albums, and Documentary

Hey MD! Vince Wilburn Jr. from Miles Electric Band here. This has been a huge year for recording, album releases, and the new Miles documentary Birth Of The Cool, directed by Stanley Nelson.

I’m really excited about our recent debut EP with Chi Town Social Club. I’m originally from Chicago and got together with some of my hometown family to create this labor of love including my sister Shawn Christopher (My Life With The Thrill Kill Cult), Chi-town staple Nicholas Tremulis (NTO), and brother Darryl Jones aka the Munchman (Rolling Stones). Curtis Mayfield, Earth, Wind & Fire, Rufus, and Chicago soul influence us.

The year has been great, with lots of travel to film festivals to promote Birth Of The Cool, and doing Q&A’s. We kicked off the year at Sundance, hit South Africa, and traveled to NYC for opening week. We’re also headed to Atlanta, New Orleans, and St. Louis. Please check out the film if you live in any of these cities. Advertisement

We also dropped The Complete Birth Of The Cool around the birthday of Miles and nailed a Pitchfork ten out of ten. It also trended top five on Amazon (vinyl) and top ten on CD. I think my uncle would dig this.

In the ’80s, I lived in Malibu with my uncle Miles and cousin Erin, where MTV was always on. When Miles saw a group that he liked, he would turn the sound up, call the label and ask them to send over the record. Some of the ones I remember are Scritti Politti, Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Cameo, and Toto.

Miles called my childhood friend from Chicago, Randy Hall, who played on Man With The Horn, and asked him to write a pop hit. We went to Ray Parker Jr.’s studio in North Hollywood and with the producer Zane Giles started the Rubberband sessions, known as the “lost Miles tapes.” I played on the original sessions and had a lot of fun bringing this back from the ’80s with Lalah Hathaway, Ledisi, and Isaiah Sharkey (John Mayer). Rubberband is being released in September on Rhino/Warner Bros. Advertisement

A few months ago, drummer Lenny White and I produced new music for Miles Electric Band. It will release next fall (2020) on Sony Legacy with Ron Carter, Pedro Martinez, Vernon Reid, John Scofield, Wallace Roney, and Bernard Wright. One of the songs from the session, “Hail To The Real Chief,” will be included on the soundtrack of the documentary Birth Of The Cool, also on Sony Legacy.

Miles Electric Band is gearing up to tour in the fall of 2020. We hope to see you on the road. Follow me on Twitter @nefofmiles. Thanks for checking in!

Watch a Miles Electric Band promo with Vince Wilburn Jr. here: