By Leslie Albrecht
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — Jazz legend Miles Davis would have turned 85 this week, and Smoke Jazz & Supper Club is honoring the groundbreaking trumpeter with a three-day celebration.
Trumpeter Eddie Henderson, whose early career was encouraged by Davis, will perform with George Coleman at concerts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Smoke, on Broadway and West 106th Street.
Coleman played with the Miles Davis Quintet when they recorded "My Funny Valentine," "Seven Steps to Heaven" and "Four and More."
"In retrospect people are looking at that quintet [which Henderson was a member of] as one of the stronger versions of the Mile Davis Quintet," said Smoke co-owner Paul Stache.
Coleman is known for a "big rich sound' and "amazing" long solos, said Stache. Now 76, Coleman hasn't stopped experimenting musically, said Stache.
"You will never go to a George Coleman concert and hear the same solo twice," he said. "He's not somebody who delivers a museum piece of jazz. The music is alive when he plays. He's a force."
Also on the bill is pianist Harold Mabern, who worked with Davis too.
Davis, whose actual birthday was May 26, lived not far from Smoke Jazz & Supper Club for many years.
He bought a brownstone at 312 W. 77th Street in the late 1950s. Earlier this year a neighbor started a campaign to name the corner of West 77th Street and West End Avenue after Davis.
Smoke Jazz & Supper Club is at 2751 Broadway, between West 105th and 106th streets. Sets on Friday and Saturday are 8 p.m., 10 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. Sunday sets are at 7 p.m., 9 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Cover charge is $35.
