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Lot Essay
This trumpet was one of three custom-made "Moon and Stars" horns made for Miles Davis in around 1980, which included a red, a blue and this black version. Martin ‘Committee’ horns were coveted by jazz musicians even before Miles’ early career days. The company was founded in 1855 by German immigrant John Heinrich Martin and, in 1939, they introduced a trumpet designed with input from an exalted ‘committee’ that quickly became the favored instrument for jazz artists like Dizzy Gillespie. Miles Davis remained loyal to ‘Committee’ trumpets and when the Martin Company was sold (first to Wurlitzer in the 1960s and later Leblanc) they stopped making the ‘Committee’ model but continued to make custom models for Miles Davis.
When Leblanc bought the Martin Company in 1971, the ‘Committee’ trumpet project was handed over to designer and technician Larry Ramirez, a jazz trumpeter himself. Ramirez designed custom instruments like a slide trumpet for Maynard Ferguson and a four-valve for Don Ellis, and was the only one at the factory who truly understood what Miles Davis wanted in his trumpets. At Miles’ request, Ramirez created a red, a black and a blue trumpet with the gilt moon and stars decoration in around 1980. One of the models was ready just before Miles was to give a major performance in Denver, which happened to be Ramirez’s home town, so he was able to hand deliver it to Miles in his Denver hotel room. Ramirez was fond of telling the story that Miles buried the bell in Larry’s stomach to try the trumpet so as not to wake his wife, Cicely Tyson, asleep in the next room.
The blue version of the "Moon and Stars" trumpet made by Ramirez sold through these rooms for $275,000 in 2019. The Davis family apparently retained the red version, while it was rumoured that the black version was buried alongside Miles Davis. The discovery of this trumpet, which came from the collection of Jim Rose, Miles Davis' road manager, appears to dispute that, although it is possible that Martin made more than one black Moon and Stars trumpet for Davis. However, photographic evidence shows that this trumpet being offered was certainly the one that accompanied Miles Davis in the recording studio during the recording of Aura in 1989 and can be seen in numerous publicity photographs with Miles Davis.
When Leblanc bought the Martin Company in 1971, the ‘Committee’ trumpet project was handed over to designer and technician Larry Ramirez, a jazz trumpeter himself. Ramirez designed custom instruments like a slide trumpet for Maynard Ferguson and a four-valve for Don Ellis, and was the only one at the factory who truly understood what Miles Davis wanted in his trumpets. At Miles’ request, Ramirez created a red, a black and a blue trumpet with the gilt moon and stars decoration in around 1980. One of the models was ready just before Miles was to give a major performance in Denver, which happened to be Ramirez’s home town, so he was able to hand deliver it to Miles in his Denver hotel room. Ramirez was fond of telling the story that Miles buried the bell in Larry’s stomach to try the trumpet so as not to wake his wife, Cicely Tyson, asleep in the next room.
The blue version of the "Moon and Stars" trumpet made by Ramirez sold through these rooms for $275,000 in 2019. The Davis family apparently retained the red version, while it was rumoured that the black version was buried alongside Miles Davis. The discovery of this trumpet, which came from the collection of Jim Rose, Miles Davis' road manager, appears to dispute that, although it is possible that Martin made more than one black Moon and Stars trumpet for Davis. However, photographic evidence shows that this trumpet being offered was certainly the one that accompanied Miles Davis in the recording studio during the recording of Aura in 1989 and can be seen in numerous publicity photographs with Miles Davis.