Out of the shadows . It was at the end of Trane ’ s first stint with Miles Davis in Baltimore from September 27 to October 2 , 1955 , that he married Naima , who by then had a five-year-old daughter , Antonia “ Syeeda ”. Born in 1926 in North Carolina , Juanita Austin , also known as Nita , took the name of Naima in keeping with the practice of the Black Muslims , who encouraged African-Americans to adopt Muslim names in place of their American surnames and given names that harked back to the days of slavery .
In 1954 , Miles Davis , himself freshly out of his own heroin hell , recorded one masterpiece after another for the Prestige label , including “ Four ”, “ Blue Haze ”, “ Solar ”, “ Walkin ”, “ Oleo ”, “ Airegin ”, and “ The Man I Love ”, among others . His entourage was made up of the elite of modern jazz : Sonny Rollins , Lucky Thompson , Milt Jackson , Horace Silver , Thelonious Monk , Percy Heath , Kenny Clarke , and Art Blakey . On July 17 , 1955 , at the Newport Festival , his performance of “’ Round Midnight ” attracted the attention of the major label Columbia , which initiated talks with the independent Prestige label , with whom Miles was currently under contract . Columbia negotiated permission to record the trumpeter immediately for recordings that could only be released once Miles had honored his Prestige contract . Further , Miles was asked by his new label to form a permanent band . Since Sonny Rollins had left the quintet that Miles had just led at the Café Bohemia with Red Garland , Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones , Philly Joe recommended John Gilmore , who was burning it up in Chicago at the time with Sun Ra . But Gilmore ’ s style , which already contained the seeds of his audacity to come , did not suit Miles . Finally , Philly Joe Jones and Red Garland convinced him to call Coltrane , who joined them at the Las Vegas Club in Baltimore .
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