Miles officially and publicly became a Columbia artist on March 18, 1957 with the release of ‘Round About Midnight. One could call it the album that helped launch Miles’ sound and his image. The cover photo of Miles chosen by the Columbia staff—hiding behind sunglasses, awash in the reddish, interior light of a late-night club, hands and trumpet up close to his face with fingers over his ears—captured the restraint and introversion that were central to his sonic identity. Stoic yet vulnerable. Tough yet emotional. And always, imperturbably, cool.