Miles Davis’s quartet of albums recorded with his quintet in 1956 is regarded among the highlights of his stellar career. This comes from the final one, Steamin’.

Yesterday on the bus to see my mate Phil do a stand-up comedy spot in Crouch End, I was sitting at the back opposite a boy of ten or eleven with a big afro.

He had a big rectangular box on the seat next to him that piqued my curiosity, so I asked him whether it contained a musical instrument. He replied that it was a trumpet.

Because it’s the first name that came into my mind, I asked him if he liked Miles Davis.

He looked blank at the name, as did his mother, an African lady who was sitting next to me. So I suggested they might like to investigate, saying Miles was to jazz what Elvis is to rock’n’roll and Marley to reggae.

I even got out my phone to play a few bars of his trumpet playing, to which they both nodded in approval.

Because I don’t really understand the language of jazz, let alone speak it, I don’t have anything illuminating to say about this beautiful tune from Miles Davis. Except to say I love it.

The legendary trumpeter’s laconic, wistful playing is backed by Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums, though it’s Miles’s solo that really captures the mood, followed by a shorter solo from Garland.

The quartet produced four related albums – Cookin’, Relaxin’, Workin’ and this one, Steamin’ – and many of the tracks also feature John Coltrane on tenor sax. But not this one.

Like much of the jazz I like, it conjures up a darkened and smoky basement with rain pouring down outside, and a band performing into the wee small hours to an audience of aficionados.

The interplay between Garland’s piano and Davis’s trumpet is slinky and sinuous and perfectly fits its title – Something I Dreamed Last Night.