They had never performed together––but thanks to a collaboration by the U.S. Postal Service and France’s La Poste, legendary jazz and blues artists Miles Davis and Edith Piaf are united on a stamp forever.
The historic stamp set, released jointly at dedication ceremonies in the U.S. and France, attracted an overflow crowd of musicians, composers, actors and philatelists at the New York City event––where Miles Davis lived for much of his career.
Davis, who personified “cool”, was at the forefront of jazz musicians for decades, setting trends and exploring musical styles such as bebop, fusion and funk. He was also a great bandleader, and many musicians including John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, and Ron Carter (who was a guest speaker at the event) rose to prominence in his bands.
By the time of his death in 1991, Davis had won many honors, including a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement, Denmark’s prestigious Leonie Sonning Music Prize, and the Grande Medaille de Vermeil from the City of Paris. "Through his music," said Davis' former wife, actress Cicely Tyson at the dedication ceremony held at the Rubin Museum of Art, "You knew his physical, mental, emotional and spiritual state. That's how he spoke to everyone."
“Miles Davis was one of the great innovators in American jazz,” said Deputy Postmaster General Ronald Stroman. “But he was also extremely popular in France, where he performed frequently. Likewise Edith Piaf, one of France’s best loved singers, became an icon in the U.S.”
Best known to American audiences for her songs “La Vie en Rose” and “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien”, Piaf toured the U.S. ten times and sang at Carnegie Hall twice.
Abandoned by her mother at an early age––her father worked in a travelling circus–– Piaf would sing throughout the streets of Paris to support herself.
“For people everywhere in the world her voice was the voice of Paris,” said Grammy Award winner Mike Stoller.
At the ceremony, Italian singer and actress Maria Elena Infantino (accompanied by Bulgarian born concert pianist Tania Stavreva) performed a scene from her one-woman show titled Edith Piaf, and a sextet of young musicians from the Julliard School performed some classic Miles Davis compositions.
“I’m a huge Miles Davis fan,” said Sales & Service Associate David Worthy, who attended the event on his day off from work. “My uncle knew him from our Harlem neighborhood. Miles met some of my musician friends and said he wanted to jam with them. He was the “birth of cool.”
The Miles Davis/Edith Piaf forever stamp set is also the first stamp featuring a QR (Quick Response) code printed on the back. When scanned with a smart phone, a landing page will open with an option to listen to music from Davis while viewing photos and a timeline of the lives of both Davis and Piaf. How cool is that?
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| Family, friends and Postal officials dedicated the Miles Davis-Edith Piaf stamp set at the Rubin Museum of Art in NYC |