Listen to Miles and you'll notice, if you haven't already, how judicious he was with the trumpet. It's an approach he adopted near the beginning of his career while playing with Jazz legends Charlie "Bird" Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Miles couldn't keep up with Bird and Dizzy's fast-tempoed solos so he (re)invented his style. Instead of trying harder, he was sparse. His musical statements became pithy like his quotes, but he was more apt to let others talk then punctuate at the right moment.

It was the beginning of the iconic Miles Davis we know, and the style that made Kind of Blue possible.