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Chapter 12: Miles Davis, His Groups & Sidemen
General Contributions
1)
Creating a personal trumpet style, and then modifying it in the 60’s.
2)
Producing a large volume of high-quality recordings.
3)
Pioneering modal jazz on Kind of Blue (1959).
4)
Pioneering jazz-rock fusion.
Facets of Miles’ Playing Style
 Pitch bends and alternation of tone quality.
 Use of Harmon mute without the stem for an intimate sound.
 Use of restraint and silence in solos; precision rather than abundance.
 Occasional freedom from strict time.
 Unique paraphrasing of melodies to give them a fresh sound.
 A more mellow approach, staying in the middle register (until the mid60’s)
 A concern for overall texture. Miles wanted a smooth texture throughout
the band, and a simpler solo style helped solidify his concept of texture.
The Classic Quintet
 After Birth of the Cool, Miles led a quintet that recorded a mountain of
material for Prestige records in 1956, including Steamin’, Cookin’,
Workin’, and Relaxin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet.
 The group was comprised of John Coltrane on tenor saxophone, Red
Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on
drums.
 Although Miles was known for his link to cool jazz, these albums
featured blistering solos and aggressive playing from all members of the
group. Many compare these recordings to Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five
and Count Basie’s Kansas City Seven.
 These albums also contained the first appearance of John Coltrane.
 Ex: “Airegin”
 The group moved to Columbia Records, and with the addition of
Cannonball Adderley on alto sax, recorded the landmark album
Milestones in 1958.
 Milestones moved improvisation away from many chords to just two,
giving the soloists more freedom to concentrate on interesting melodies
and rhythms.
 Ex: “Milestones”
Gil Evans (1912-1988)
 Evans was a brilliant arranger who had originally worked with Miles on
Birth of the Cool, and provided ideas and arrangements for many of
Miles’ great albums of the late 50’s and 60’s.
 Miles approached Evans in 1957 with the idea of forming a large band
again with just Miles soloing. This collaboration eventually became
Miles Ahead, Porgy and Bess, and Sketches of Spain.
 Evans used many non-jazz instruments on these albums to create rich,
sonorous textures.
 Miles Ahead (1957) was a collection of tunes connected by lush bridges
created by Evans. The sound of the orchestration was much more rich,
avoiding the “brass vs. saxes” approach.
 Sketches of Spain (1960) focuses so heavily on orchestration that it is
almost a classical album, except for “Solea,” which is a long modal
improvisation over a march-like background. This tune shows influence
from the modal experiments that were to become Kind of Blue that were
being recorded at the same time.
 Ex: “Solea”
Kind of Blue (1959)
 Kind of Blue is significant because it is one of the first jazz albums to
explore modal jazz. Instead of many chord changes, the band stays with
one or two modes throughout an entire tune.
 The players on the album also contributed to its success: Cannonball
Adderley on alto sax, John Coltrane on tenor sax, Bill Evans on piano,
Paul Chambers on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums.
 The track “Flamenco Sketches” also utilized a new way of band
interaction. Instead of having a preset number of measures for each
chord, the soloist decided when to move on and the rhythm section
followed.
 Ex: “Flamenco Sketches”
 Ex: “All Blues”
Jimmy Cobb (b. 1929)
 Cobb’s ride rhythms were on the front side of the beat, so that they pulled
the band forward.
 In 1963, Miles hired a new rhythm section that consisted of pianist
Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Tony Williams. This
rhythm section would stay with him until 1968.
 Although mostly ignored by critics of the day, this rhythm section helped
create new and fresh sounds that forever changed the Davis band.
 The abilities of the individual players as well as their cohesiveness as a
section allowed them to play things that rhythm sections had never
played before.
Tony Williams (1945-1997)
 Only 18 when he began playing with Miles, Williams immediately
proved to be a new force in jazz.
 His playing was freer and a lot riskier than his contemporaries, but light
and crisp at the same time. His technique also was more orchestral at
times, using his drums to add texture instead of merely keeping time.
 Ex: “Freedom Jazz Dance” (Miles Smiles – 1966)
 Ex: “Black Comedy” (Miles in the Sky – 1968)
 Along with a new rhythm section, Davis’ tunes took on a new approach.
He began avoiding bridges, turnarounds, or tunes with sectional divides
in favor of a more flowing approach.
 The use of space in melodies also increased.
 Also, the relationship between horns and rhythm changed. This can be
seen best on “Nefertiti.” The tune is a melody repeated over and over
again, so that the rhythm section’s accompaniment becomes the feature
in a way.
 Ex: “Nefertiti”
Wayne Shorter (b. 1933)
 Both an impressive performer and composer, his inclusion in the band
also changed the Davis sound.
 Shorter originally gained popularity working with Art Blakey in the early
60’s before joining Miles’ band.
 Shorter’s lines were unpredictable, yet logical. He also had an ability to
improvise melodies that sounded as if they had been pre-written.
 Ex: “Masqualero” (Sorcerer – 1967)
 Ex: “Masqualero” (Live at the Fillmore East – 1970)
 In 1969, Shorter began playing more sparsely, interspersing moments of
silence with bursts of notes. He continued this style of playing with his
own jazz-rock group, Weather Report.
 As a composer, Shorter was important because he was able to construct
chord progressions that did not function in a typical way.
Miles Goes Electric
 Beginning in 1968, Miles began incorporating electric instruments into
his group. The album that documents this transitional period is Filles de
Kilimanjaro (1969).
 Ex: “Petits Machins”
 Miles not only added electric instruments, but employed multiple
keyboard players, electric guitar, and multiple drummers. He also began
to favor the soprano sax over the tenor.
 His marriage to Betty Mabry at this time also changed his style and
sound. She exposed him to the music of James Brown, Sly and the
Family Stone, and Jimi Hendrix.
 The sound of the group changed from soloists and rhythm section to an
ensemble sound. Miles went into the studio in 1969 and 1970, and these
experiments became the landmark albums In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew,
and A Tribute to Jack Johnson.
 Rather than have prewritten tunes, most of the music was created by a
loose jam in the studio and assembled later by producer Teo Macero.
 Ex: “Pharoah’s Dance”
 A standout on these albums is English guitarist John McLaughlin, who
even has a tune named after him on Bitches Brew.
 Live performances during this period consisted of free-form jams, with
tunes interspersed. Rather than tell the band to play the tunes, Miles
would have phrases that would cue the band to play a certain tune.
 Miles began electrifying his trumpet as well, using the wah-wah pedal on
most of his recordings from 1972-1975.
 Ex: “Sivad”
 In an attempt to attract a younger audience, Miles tried a much more
funk-influenced concept for 1972’s On the Corner.
 Ex: “On the Corner/New York Girl/Thinkin’ of One Thing and Doin’
Another/Vote for Miles”
 Ex: “Helen Butte/Mr. Freedom X”
 After a retirement in 1975, Miles returned in the 80’s, but without the
freshness and vigor that had been with him before.
 That being said, he still moved forward, even experimenting with hip-hop
on his last album, Doo-Bop (1991).