Let’s play a game, you and I…

There are 28 events/details and we’ll choose between two items which you’ll feed me one at a time — based on “what hits harder” —  tournament-elimination style. After the game, first ask me to explain my final-round choice, and after I answer, analyze my individual decisions and the decision patterns throughout the game and theorize the positives and negatives of my character — don’t be afraid to offend, make it clean and direct. 

After: Observe the ranking of my choices of 28 items and find the highest ranking item that also describes a distinct, one-time event with a clear setting and description. After that, take the next top choice (excluding the one we just picked). With these two items, create a short story centered around the first items, the other three supporting themes to the narrative. 

While writing, you are Miles Davis — write in past 1st person. You are a weathered young/middle-aged humble and stylish man who doesn't brag and is a little bit of a prick. You don't say things more than you have to, and you have a deep passion for music. You don't explain any of this, and just talk about the story. 

Create a basic plot, exclude flourishing metaphors and descriptions (keep it concise and clean), introduce creative characters and side-plots within the story that follows the narrative: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution. You should focus on creating additional story elements like characters, sub-plots, and invent additional action beyond what is given to you with the rankings. The ranking choices are the background of the story and the focus is the additional creative elements that you invent. 

Here is a sample account; emulate tone, style, personality. Use colorful explicit language and African American Vernacular subtly. 

“I think I was about eleven or twelve and I was just getting into clothes. Anyway, it's Easter time and my father wants me and my sister and brother to look good in church. So he takes me over to St. Louis and buys me a pleated, gray double-breasted suit; some Thom McAn boots; a yellow, striped shirt; a hip beanie cap; and a leather change purse that he put thirty pennies in. Now I know I'm clean, right? When we get back home my father goes upstairs to get something from his office. I got these thirty pennies burning a hole in the new change purse he just bought me. Now, you know I've just got to spend this money-hip and clean as I am, right? So I go into Daut's Drug-store and tell Mr. Dominic, the owner, to give me twenty-five cents' worth of them juicy chocolate soldiers-my favorite candy at that time. You could get three chocolate candy soldiers for a penny, so he sells me seventy-five of them. Now I got my big bag of candy, and I'm standing out in front of my father's office, sharp as a tack, and I'm eating the candy soldiers faster than nobody's business. I ate so many of them I got sick and just started spitting them out. My sister, Dor-othy, sees me and thinks I'm spitting up blood, and runs and tells my father. So he comes downstairs and says, "Dewey, what are you doing? This is my place of business. People come to see me here and they'll think that I done killed somebody, think all this chocolate is dried-up blood, so get upstairs."”

The Life Of Miles Davis

1.Miles and Irene, his first girlfriend, waited for each other in front of school every morning. 

2.Miles was randomly invited up to play with jazz legends Gillespie and Parker: “It was the most exciting experience I had with my clothes on.” 

3.Miles attended the world-class music school Juilliard but disregarded his studies there in favor of the back-alley jazz scene down at 42nd and 52nd. 

4.Miles would quickly go back and forth between composing music and cooking food, stimulating creative processes. 

5.Miles played jazz in Europe and was shocked at the great respect white audiences have in contrast to American racism. 

6.Miles was hooked on heroin, and taken in by old friend Clark Terry. Clark returned to apartment to find Miles had stolen everything — clothes, LP player, furniture — to sell for his addiction. 

7.Miles savvily disregarded the audience during performances which angered many but earned him a stand-out character from other jazz musicians. 

8.Miles was nominated for a grammy for soundtrack on French film which he fully-improvised on how each scene spoke to him. 

9.Miles fell in love with the French sister of a pianist in his band. She gave him a scarf which he wore everywhere — performances, travel, etc.

10.Miles told his wife Francis to come home for lunch from ballet rehearsal despite barely having time; but she didn’t get lunch, he got lunch. 

11.One night, Miles picks up his wife Francis in his Ferrari and tells her to drop out of West-Side Story ballet: “There couldn’t be two stars in the family.” 

12.The crowd loved how Miles expressed his haunting vulnerability through the crackling imperfection of his muted trumpet. 

13.Miles was smoking a cigarette outside his studio when gets in an altercation with a drunk policeman and was beaten bloody. 

14.The police stopped Miles in his Ferrari because it didn’t seem a plausible vehicle for a black man. 

15.Miles returned to St. Louis and locked himself in his father’s summer house, kicking heroin cold turkey. 

16.Miles was a prophet on the bandstand: the younger cats would improvise and when Miles came in, he summarized all the previous solos with his and provided a vision going forward. 

17.As Miles got older, he got sick: drugs, constant touring, bleeding ulcers, crumbling hips, and creative burnout. After a 5 year break, Miles returned to performing, humbler and mellower, the edge taken off earlier arrogance. 

18.Miles admired younger guitarist Jimi Hendrix, resented how white musicians ripped off black rock, and honored Jimi’s spirit after his premature passing by incorporating his music. 

19.As he got older, Miles didn’t remain traditionally jazz but innovated with rock, hip-hop, and emerging styles despite criticism about forsaking his identity. 

20.During tour, Miles didn’t like where Jack DeJohnette’s pregnant wife was sitting backstage and refused to play until she moved. He came and apologized the next day. 

21.As he got older, Miles picked up painting to calm and soothe from his troubles. While giving his wife, Francis, a tour of the apartment he points up to one of his paintings on the wall: “”This is her ass.” 

22.Miles was an avid boxer, often went to Sugar Ray Robinson’s gym, and had a mini-home-gym downstairs. He had his wife, Francis, spar with him to which she jokes: “Good for me because I learned how to duck.” 

23.Miles shows up three hours late at the Venice Opera House. The italians are hollering discontentedly when Miles casually strolls on stage, taking trumpet out of bag and starting to play. 30 seconds later, the shouting cacophony was gone and you could hear a pin drop. 

24.Miles takes Shirley Horn, a young jazz singer and pianist, under his wing and guides her in a male-domination New York Jazz scene. 

25.Despite being a jazz legend, Miles rarely listened to jazz at home and opted for alternate genres and composers like Kachaturian, Debussy, Bartok, etc. 

26.Miles calls a German friend at 3 am: “Man, I received a miniature race car set from Germany and I can’t read the instructions.” He was very enthusiastic about it for a week and then it was gone. 

27.Miles Davis participated in a musical protest against Apartheid: “South Africa makes me ill, makes me sick all over. When I think about it…I can’t even play.” 

28.With a lot of his music, Miles didn’t know what he was going but trusted his intuition to guide him; this was especially the case with controversial rock-fusion album Bitches Brew.