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East St. Louis Jazz Hero

Decades after Miles Davis redefined the sound of jazz and became one of the most influential musicians in history, the East St. Louis house where he grew up sat vacant and in disrepair. The property where Davis learned to play trumpet had suffered a fire and had been vandalized. It was set for demolition when East St. Louis Jazz Hero Lauren Parks made a difference. Alongside…

House of Miles preserves legacy of jazz legend Miles Davis in East St. Louis

By Taylor Holt and Keyanna Johnson Published: Feb. 11, 2026 at 5:04 PM CST EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (First Alert 4) – A visionary. A trailblazer. Miles Davis — often called the father of cool jazz — was an artist who bent sound, broke rules, and helped write America’s story in music. But, before the world knew his name, before the trumpet changed everything, his journey began in East St.…

All That Jazz

Lauren Parks and Jas Gary Pearson have turned the childhood home of music legend Miles Davis into a community catalyst. Story By Daniel DurchholzVisuals By Michael Thomas Jazz music plays softly inside a small house at North 17th Street and Kansas Avenue in East St. Louis. Located on a largely empty block, it’s a nondescript structure, a single family home that sat empty and in disrepair for at…