By the time Miles Davis convened his late-1950s sextet, which included John Coltrane on tenor saxophone, Bill Evans on piano, and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley on alto saxophone, he had already become a jazz legend. But nothing Davis accomplished as a bebop great playing with Charlie Parker readied the jazz world for "Kind of Blue." In two early-1959 recording sessions, Davis executed a wholly new way for his band to play jazz. The ensemble improvised melodies rather than harmonies, staying away from rapid-fire chord changes and playing at a dreamy pace that helped "Kind of Blue" become an instant classic upon its first release on August 17, 1959. Forty years later, it's no less a gem, and Columbia's revised reissue of the CD in 1997 added an alternate take of "Flamenco Sketches."
"Kind of Blue"
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Even though "Kind of Blue" is nearly everyone's favorite Miles Davis album, the esteemed trumpeter started his career playing in a far more frenetic context. Yet when playing with Charlie Parker, the scion of bebop, Davis always favored a slimmed-down "cool" approach with fewer notes, usually stretched into longer phrases, and an attraction to more smoothened edges in a music infamous for its jagged intensity. By 1948 Davis had made his first great maverick recording in "Birth of the Cool," which featured him leading a richly orchestrated band in a cushioned, almost velvety atmosphere that allowed his burgundy trumpet sound to shine.
Miles and Charlie Parker
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"Birth of the Cool"
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You can almost correlate Miles Davis's many categorical shifts in his playing with each new decade. Where the 1940s were heady with bebop's discoveries--even when the trumpeter bucked the play-it-fast trend--the 1950s were a time when Davis created a whole new sound for himself. His contract with Prestige Records allowed Davis to record busily through the early 1950s, documenting his exploration of a more economical--and soulful--sound as he began to build bands around his own strengths as a trumpeter. He peaked in 1956, with his quintet featuring the young John Coltrane, pianist Red Garland, drummer Philly Joe Jones, and bassist Paul Chambers. Known in hindsight as Davis's first "great" quintet, the band recorded a string of classic albums ("Cookin'," "Steamin'," "Relaxin'," and "Workin'") to close the door on Davis's Prestige era. He would go directly to Columbia Records, even then a major player in pop and jazz, and would stay with that label for decades.
Miles Davis Quintet, "Cookin'"
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"Chronicle: The Complete Prestige Recordings"
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As the 1950s wound down, Miles Davis's talents were unmistakable. His trumpet tone was warm and lyrical enough to have caught the attention of orchestrator and likeminded jazz maverick Gil Evans for "Birth of the Cool," and Evans was ready to renew their partnership more than a decade after their initial, auspicious collaboration. By 1957 Evans had found Davis an ideal mate for his nearly symphonic ideas. He quickly signed Davis on for several dates with lush instrumental backdrops, the first of which, "Miles Ahead," featured Evans's 19-piece orchestra as the instrumental background for the trumpeter. Davis and Evans enjoyed numerous collaborations between their first in the late 1940s and their last in 1968, none more rewarding than their 1958 take on "Porgy and Bess."
"Miles Ahead"
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"Porgy and Bess"
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After "Kind of Blue," Miles rooted through various bands, settling finally on his second "great" quintet (this one with Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone and Herbie Hancock on piano) for a string of powerhouse recordings between 1965 and 1968. On the way to the Shorter-Hancock quintet, Davis had begun crystalizing a new sound with various saxophonists, including George Coleman. By 1965, however, a quartet of youngsters had settled in behind Miles, with teenage drummer Tony Williams the most ferocious among them. But Shorter and Hancock, along with Williams and bassist Ron Carter, coalesced into a blazing unit, able in concert to tackle standards vigorously and with myriad occasions for rhythmic and melodic risk taking. They were similarly able to infuse each of their studio recordings with an electrifying mix of jazz languages, some of them borrowed from the modal experiments of "Kind of Blue," some from funk's oncoming rhythmic intensity, and still some from the jazz avant-garde. A certain place in the jazz annals for this Davis band will be forever guaranteed.
Davis Quintet with George Coleman:
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"Miles Smiles"
Davis Quintet with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock
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Complete Miles Davis Quintet 1965-1968
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In the late 1960s, jazz's shift to a more rock-oriented approach wasn't surprising. Popular music was edging jazz further and further into the commercial margin even as jazz artists were getting increasingly familiar with rock and funk's rhythmic drives. When it came time for a jazz artist to definitively throw the switch and plug into the rock world's volume and intensity, it was Miles Davis who stepped up. "The revolution was recorded," writes Amazon.com contributor (and author of a forthcoming Miles bio) John F. Szwed about Davis's 1969 magnum opus, "Bitches Brew." When it was released, "Bitches Brew" was almost frightening, with its wicked neo-Nubian cover art, its two-LP sprawl, and its sonic forestry of electric guitars and electric pianos and elongated rhythms. On the heels of the watershed release, Davis would play all manner of rock venues and record a string of classic live albums, with "Live Evil" standing out among the others.
"Bitches Brew"
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"Live Evil"
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After "Bitches Brew" Davis ardently pursued his long-form compositions, typically with an array of electric instruments and often with his trumpet processed through an amplifier. The sounds were consistently coarse and exciting for rock & roll fans. But after 1975 Davis began an extended absence from recording due to unsteady health. And when he returned to music, the recordings he made moved closer and closer to radio-friendly pop, reaching the widest audience with "Tutu" in 1986 and "Amandla" in 1989. Davis had achieved a kind of pop-star status by the 1980s, and the recognition seemed to encourage music that held little of the edginess of the late-1960s and 1970s material. With bassist Marcus Miller and young saxophonist Kenny Garrett, though, Davis seemed to generate some compelling funk-tinged tunes.
"Tutu"
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"Amandla"
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