I came across this amazing piece by Brian Eno where he looks at Miles Davis, his legacy, and how his context and persona may be more to it than the actual music itself.
"I remember seeing a thing on TV years ago. An Indonesian shaman was treating sick people by apparently reaching into their bodies and pulling out bloody rags which he claimed were the cause of their disease. It all took place in dim light, in smoky huts, after intense incantations. A Western team filmed him with infrared cameras and, of course, were able to show that he was performing a conjuring trick. He wasn't taking anything out of their bodies after all. So he was a fake, no? Well, maybe - but his patients kept getting better. He was healing by context - making a psychological space where people somehow got themselves well. The rag was just a prop. Was Miles, with a trumpet as a prop, making a place where we, in our collective imaginations, could somehow have great musical experiences? I think so. Thanks, Miles, and thanks everyone else who took part, too."
It really makes you think, "Aren't there a few otherartists that fit this description too?"
The whole piece is a must read. It was originally published in The Wire in 1993, but I came across it on this site MORE DARK THAN SHARK