Miles Jaye

Last updated
Miles Jaye
Birth nameMiles Jaye Davis
Born (1957-11-12) November 12, 1957 (age 66)
Yonkers, New York, United States
Origin Brooklyn, New York City, United States
GenresR&B, jazz
Occupation(s)Singer, violinist
Instrument(s)Violin, keyboards, bass
Years active1982present
Labels Island, Black Tree
Website milesjaye.net

Miles Jaye Davis (born November 12, 1957), known professionally as Miles Jaye, is an American R&B and jazz singer, jazz violinist, songwriter, and record producer. He had several hits on the US R&B chart in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the biggest of which was "Let's Start Love Over" in 1987. He was for a time the lead singer of Village People. [1]

Contents

Life and career

He was born in Yonkers, New York, [2] and studied music theory and classical violin for more than a decade at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, Saratoga School of Orchestral Studies, Indian Hill and Brooklyn College (now Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music). He also played flute, keyboards and bass while in the US Air Force, and launched his singing career while at Clarke Air Force Base in the Philippines. [1]

Jaye toured Europe with jazz guitarist Eric Gale and singers Phyllis Hyman and Jon Lucien before taking over as "Cop" in the Village People in 1982. [1] [3] He stayed with the band for two years before launching his solo career and signing to Teddy Pendergrass' production company Top Priority Records. He released his debut album, Miles, on Island Records, and the song "Let's Start Love Over", written by Micheal Claxton was released as a single and rose to No. 5 on the Billboard R&B chart in late 1987. [4] Its follow-up, "I've Been a Fool for You", a Jaye original, was also a top ten R&B hit. [4] Jaye also contributed, as musician, songwriter and co-producer, to Pendergrass' hit 1988 album, Joy . [1]

Jaye released two further albums on Island, Irresistible (1989) and Strong (1991), and continued to have hits on the R&B chart such as "Heaven" and "Objective" until 1991 before forming his own company, Black Tree Records, on which he released a string of increasingly jazz-influenced albums. He has also worked with leading jazz musicians including George Duke, Roy Ayers, Grover Washington, Jr. and Branford Marsalis.

Discography

Studio albums

YearAlbumPeak chart positions
US
[4]
US R&B
[4]
1987Miles12518
1989Irresistible16016
1991Strong54
1997The Odyssey
1999Romantic Storm
2002Humanity
2008Time to Get My Mind Right
2010God's Creation
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Singles

YearSingleChart positions
US R&B
[2]
UK
[5]
1987"Let's Start Love Over"
(with Roy Ayers)
577
"I've Been a Fool for You"8
"Lazy Love"
1988"Special Thing"
1989"Objective"10
"I'll Be There"30
"Heaven"1278
1990"Irresistible"42
1991"Sensuous"42
"Strong for You"67
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1969 in music</span> Overview of the events of 1969 in music

List of notable events in music that took place in the year 1969.

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edwin Starr</span> American singer and songwriter

Charles Edwin Hatcher , known by his stage name Edwin Starr, was an American singer and songwriter. He is best remembered for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the number-one hit "War".

New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley, Bernard Belle, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, new jack swing was most popular from the late 1980s to early 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teddy Pendergrass</span> American soul and R&B singer-songwriter (1950–2010)

Theodore DeReese Pendergrass was an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. He was born in Kingstree, South Carolina. Pendergrass lived most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initially rose to musical fame as the lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. After leaving the group in 1976, Pendergrass launched a successful solo career under the Philadelphia International label, releasing five consecutive platinum albums. Pendergrass's career was suspended after a March 1982 car crash left him paralyzed from the chest down. Pendergrass continued his successful solo career until announcing his retirement in 2007. He died from respiratory failure in January 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Parker Jr.</span> American musician (born 1954)

Ray Erskine Parker Jr. is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. As a solo performer, he wrote and performed the theme song for the 1984 film Ghostbusters and also sounds from the animated series The Real Ghostbusters. Previously, Parker achieved a US top-5 hit in 1982 with "The Other Woman". He also performed with his band, Raydio, and with Barry White in the Love Unlimited Orchestra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sérgio Mendes</span> Brazilian musician

Sérgio Santos Mendes is a Brazilian musician. His career took off with worldwide hits by his band Brasil '66. He has over 55 releases and is known for playing bossa nova, often crossed with funk. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2012 as co-writer of the song "Real in Rio" from the animated film Rio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maurice White</span> American musician (1941–2016)

Maurice White was an American musician, best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter and chief producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, also serving as the band's co-lead singer with Philip Bailey.

Howard Hewett Jr. is an American singer–songwriter. Hewett rose to fame as the lead vocalist of the group Shalamar. In 1985, he left the group to pursue his solo career, but he later returned to the group in 2001. He signed with Elektra Records. In 1986, he released his Platinum debut solo album I Commit to Love. Hewett and his group Shalamar contributed material to the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack. The soundtrack won a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media in 1986.

Dexter Gilman Wansel is an American R&B/jazz fusion singer, arranger, musician, composer, conductor, synthesist and A&R director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malaco Records</span> American record label founded 1962

Malaco Records is an American independent record label based in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, that has been the home of various major blues and gospel acts, such as Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland, Mel Waiters, Z. Z. Hill, Denise LaSalle, Latimore, Dorothy Moore, Little Milton, Shirley Brown, Tyrone Davis, Marvin Sease, and the Mississippi Mass Choir. It has received an historic marker issued by the Mississippi Blues Commission to commemorate its important place on the Mississippi Blues Trail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gene McDaniels</span> American R&B and soul singer-songwriter (1935–2011)

Eugene Booker McDaniels was an American singer, producer and songwriter. He had his greatest recording success in the early 1960s, reaching number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with "A Hundred Pounds of Clay" and number five with "Tower Of Strength," both hits in 1961. He had continued success as a songwriter with titles including "Compared to What" and Roberta Flack's "Feel Like Makin' Love".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teddy Randazzo</span> American pop singer-songwriter (1935–2003)

Alessandro Carmelo "Teddy" Randazzo was an American pop songwriter, singer, arranger and producer, who composed hit songs such as "Goin' Out of My Head", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle", "Pretty Blue Eyes", and "Hurt So Bad" in the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Lington</span> Musical artist

Michael Lington is a Danish-American contemporary saxophonist, songwriter, producer, recording artist and a purveyor of soul and contemporary jazz.

<i>Joy</i> (Teddy Pendergrass album) 1988 studio album by Teddy Pendergrass

Joy is a studio album by the American singer Teddy Pendergrass, released in 1988 on Elektra Records. It was nominated for a Grammy Award, in the "Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male" category.

<i>So Good</i> (Mica Paris album) 1988 studio album by Mica Paris

So Good is the debut album by British recording artist Mica Paris. It was released on 1 August 1988 by 4th & B'way Records.

Robert Brookins was an American singer, songwriter, producer and musician. A member of the band Earth, Wind & Fire he also worked with artists such as George Duke, Stephanie Mills, Stanley Clarke and The Whispers.

James Nelson Williams, known by the stage name D Train, is an American singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, producer and actor. He rose to fame in the early 1980s with the release of his first album "You're the One for Me", which spawned his first US Billboard Dance chart number-one hit, "You're the One for Me". His debut album would also chart with the hits "Keep On" and the much covered Burt Bacharach hit "Walk on By". He would go on to work with Eaves producing hits on the follow-up albums Music and Something's on Your Mind before being signed to Columbia Records, producing the albums Miracles of the Heart and In Your Eyes. The two parted ways in 1988 and D Train went on to perform on his own label, releasing the album 701 Franklin Ave.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Balogh</span> American music producer

Andrew Balogh is an American music producer, songwriter, film composer and saxophonist. Balogh contributed to the rapper Gunplay's favorably acclaimed album Living Legend, ranking #171 in the 2015 US Billboard Top 200, #17 in the 2015 US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and #11 in the 2015 US Billboard Top Rap Albums. Balogh tours with the band Sublime With Rome as their saxophonist and keyboardist. Most recently, Balogh collaborated with actor Robert De Niro for the 2016 motion picture Dirty Grandpa, performing on the song "It Was a Good Day."

Reggie Calloway is a Grammy nominated American singer, songwriter, record producer, musician and record executive. His career spans 45 years in the entertainment industry. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as the founder and leader of the music group, Midnight Star whose album No Parking on the Dance Floor reached #2 on Billboard's R&B Album charts and was certified Platinum X2.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Wynn, Ron. "Miles Jaye – Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  2. 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–1995. Record Research. p. 225.
  3. "Miles Jaye Page". Soulwalking.co.uk. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Miles Jaye – Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  5. "MILES JAYE | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts . Retrieved May 16, 2020.