Photo by K. Abe/Shinko Music/Getty Images Miles Davis, the trumpeter, band leader, innovator, proud African American and icon of cool, would be celebrating his 100th birthday on 26 May had he not departed in 1991. His sound and renown are more alive than ever, the shadow of his influence still felt throughout the world. Prepare for tributes in clubs and festivals, album releases and treasures pulled from various catalogues and archives. Davis’s ever-changing nature was his superpower. He became the standard-bearer for generations of musicians and shaped the course of improvisational music numerous times. Try to name a contemporary musician of any genre who is willing to leave behind successful sounds and risk losing an audience by forging into unproven territory – and remain popular? Davis accomplished that (as did John Coltrane, his number-one pupil).…