Milestones (instrumental composition)

"Milestones"
Composition by Miles Davis from the album Milestones
Released September 2, 1958
Recorded February 4, 1958
Genre Jazz
Length 5:45
Label Columbia
Composer Miles Davis
Producer George Avakian
Milestones track listing
  1. "Dr. Jackle"
  2. "Sid's Ahead"
  3. "Two Bass Hit"
  4. "Milestones"
  5. "Billy Boy"
  6. "Straight, No Chaser"

"Milestones" is a jazz composition written by Miles Davis. It appears on the album of the same name in 1958. It has since become a jazz standard. "Milestones" is the first example of Miles composing in a modal style and experimentation in this piece led to the writing of "So What" from the 1959 album Kind of Blue. The song's modes consist of G Dorian for 16 bars, A Aeolian for 16, and then back to G Dorian for the last 8 measures, then the progression repeats.

It was originally called "Miles" on the album, and led off the B-side of the record. Since people began referring to the tune as "Milestones" rather than "Miles," in later editions of the album the name was changed.

The musicians on the original 1958 recording of "Milestones" are:

"Milestones" is also the name of another tune credited to Miles Davis that John Lewis had written for him while playing with Charlie Parker. Musically it is not related to the more famous tune.

"Milestones" has been performed by