Neil Oram pronounced that Oram was the worst behaved boy in the whole history of the school. This was after Oram had organized a couple of mass rebellions and refused to be caned. In his second year a fellow 'rebel' pupil, Paul Eva, introduced Oram to modern jazz. Oram has recounted how the moment Eva played him Gerry Mulligan's ‘Walking Shoes’, instantly his life was changed. Soon, via a primitive record player and earphones in his father's shed, Oram discovered the art of Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz and Charlie Mingus. New very sharp modern
Horn in jazz compete directly with Basie's hard-swinging blues, the duo capitalized on their contrast from Basie’s sound, playing with a soft and mellow sound. By showcasing their different sound, Ruff and Mitchell continued to get bookings from Birdland to play intermission for other big name groups like Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Lester Young, Dinah Washington and others. After working with Claude Thornhill and arranging for his orchestra, he began arranging for Miles Davis. In 1948 the Miles Davis Nonet was formed with a sound completely unlike anything jazz listeners had heard before. The original idea for the nonet was to