Miles Davis' Customized 'Moon And Stars' Trumpet To Be Sold At Auction

A rare Martin Company trumpet which was both designed and played by iconic jazz musician Miles Davis will be sold at auction at Christie’s in New York City on October 29th.

According to reports, Davis’ “Moon and Stars” trumpet is one of three ordered by the jazz icon in 1980, around the time he reemerged from a five-year hiatus from performing and recording. The customized horn instrument features a deep-blue lacquer finish with a distinctive gilt pattern featuring crescent moons and stars. The word “Miles” is also inscribed on the inside of the bell. The famous auction house is projecting the instrument to sell somewhere between $70,000 and $100,000.

The owner selling the blue “Moon and Stars” trumpet acquired the instrument from jazz guitarist and Davis collaborator George Benson. One of the three versions of the customized trumpets is in possession of the Davis family (colored red), while another (colored black) is buried along with Davis in the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx borough of New York City.

Watch the trumpet being played by jazz musician Keyon Harrold in the video below.

Keyon Harrold Plays Miles Davis’ “Moon and Stars” Trumpet

[Video: Rolling Stone]

“This is a classic. This is a relic. As a trumpet player holding this horn, this is amazing,” Harrold says of the rare and valuable instrument. “Knowing the history of Miles as being very, very detail-oriented, I can imagine he designed this totally himself. He was a visual artist as well. The layout of this is so beautiful: the moon, the stars. Just looking at the design, it’s just flawless.”

Christie’s Becky MacGuire also added, “[A] trumpet like this — top quality in its field, beautifully made and, most important, with impeccable provenance — is definitely top in class.”

Earlier this year it was announced Davis’ long-forgotten Rubberband sessions recorded back in the mid-1980s have been completed and is set for release on September 6th via Rhino.

[H/T Rolling Stone]