Three nights, one trumpet: how Batumi celebrated Miles Davis's centennial anniversary

The 19th Black Sea Jazz Festival honored Miles Davis's centennial across three transformative nights at Batumi's tennis courts from July 10-12, 2026. Rather than nostalgic retrospection, the festival explored Davis's continuing influence, drawing musicians whose careers stemmed from his innovations and spiritual heirs who carried his legacy forward.

Friday's opening featured M.E.B., with Vince Wilburn Jr.—Miles's nephew and 1980s bandmate on drums—leading an ensemble including Darryl Jones, the bassist Davis recruited at age 21 who later joined Rolling Stones, and Keyon Harrold, who voiced Davis in the film "Miles Ahead." The concert functioned as creative laboratory rather than traditional tribute, spanning Davis's catalog from "Theme From Jack Johnson" through the hypnotic "In a Silent Way / It's About That Time" to "Pharaoh's Dance," "Bitches Brew"'s explosive opener. Technical mastery ensured arrangements remained transparent despite the open-air seaside setting.

Saturday brought R&B vocalist Eric Benét, whose immediate connection with audiences transformed spectators into companions. At nearly 60, his falsetto remained pristine as he delivered his 1999 hit "Spend My Life with You" alongside a genealogical exploration of soul music—Al Green's Memphis warmth, Bobby Caldwell's sophisticated blues-soul, Prince's Minneapolis alchemy—converting the venue into pure celebration.

Ghost-Note, the 10-piece funk collective from the Snarky Puppy lineage led by Robert "Sput" Searight and Nate Werth, closed the festival with kinetic energy. Material from "Mustard n'Onions" exploded with live rawness. The centerpiece interwove 1970s funk and soul royalty—James Brown, Ohio Players, Sly & the Family Stone, Parliament-Funkadelic—into unbroken rhythm, culminating with hip-hop tributes featuring classic breakbeats that transformed dancing from entertainment into biological imperative.