Miles Davis
(Requested by E.L. Wisty)
[NOTE: Basic Theory Post below, first in musical theory series of posts]
![](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/700/1721/320/Miles2.jpg)
[NOTE: Basic Theory Post below, first in musical theory series of posts]
![](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/700/1721/320/Miles2.jpg)
Link (Miles Davis official website):
http://www.milesdavis.com/
http://www.milesdavis.com/
Name: Miles Dewey Davis III
Born: May 26, 1926
Died: September 28, 1991
Instrument: Trumpet
"Who's that motherfucker? He can't play shit!":
A response from Miles Davis when asked about Cecil Taylor, a free-jazz piano player. Most people either love Miles, or loathe him. He has been regarded as a man who changed the face of music more than once, the father of fusion, an innovator not only in the jazz genre, but one who influenced rock, and also a drug-addicted trumpet player who played many "wrong sounding" notes. Even if listening to his work is a matter of taste, the influence he had on the industry is undeniable.
"I’ll play it and tell you what is later.":
Miles came from a musical family, as so many of "the greats" do. However, even though his mother was a competant blues pianist, she kept this from her son as she felt that kind of music was too low-brow. Instead, Miles was sent to learn at the famous Juilliard School of Music in New York city, an education which he quickly abandoned to track down Charlie "Bird" Parker.
While learning his craft by doing, instead of the strict study environment of Juilliard, Miles also picked up a heroin habit much like his Jazz heros. During this time, his work was stilted, less than spectacular, and in fact, it sucked. Realizing that his career was in jeopardy, Miles returned to East St. Louis, and with the help of his father he kicked his habit. Even though the subsequent year saw the recording of "Bags' Groove", "Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants", ande "Walkin' ", which were considered important recordings at the Prestige label, Miles' career didn't fully recover until he played the Newport Jazz Festival. His rendition of Thelonious Monk's "Round Midnight" redeemed him, and he was back in the game.
Miles formed his first quintet in 1955, with John Coltrane on sax, Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on the drums. He made several recordings with this group, later adding Cannonball Adderley on alto sax to record the famous "Milestones". In 1959 Miles Davis recorded "Kind of Blue" which is widely regarded as his masterpiece. Also, during this time, he worked on many recordings with Gil Evans. Miles was no stranger to the music industry rule: "Never turn down a gig".
The second Miles Davis Quintet was formed in 1965, with Wayne Shorter on sax, Herbie Hancock on piano (later to be replaced by Chick Corea), Ron Carter on bass (also later to be replaced, by Dave Holland), and Tony Williams on drums. With this quintet, Miles moved into what is called his "time no changes" period. Unlike the previous movement of bebop, this method of playing is referred to as "out there" and reflects the musical ideas that come to the player as they come to the player, unrestricted by the almost mathematical formulas of the chord changes.
"There are no wrong notes." (Bitches Brew):
Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew", released in 1970, is probably one of the most influencial recordings in music, while also being one of the most difficult to listen to. The concept is a fairly simple one: a group of talented musicians, many of whom are high at the time, play free-form in a recording studio for hours on end. The result of this was taken by Miles and Teo Macero, and spliced together into rather prolific (20min) tracks. While the idea is simple, the result was an extremely complex and interesting recording which influenced the work of many in the music industry, not just restricted to the genre of Jazz. This is the work that seperates the Miles Davis lovers from the haters. Bill Meyer from Ink Blot magazine, a critic, expressed this best when he said: "Davis drew a line in the sand that some jazz fans have never crossed, or even forgiven Davis for drawing."
Personnel on Bitches Brew:
Miles Davis (trumpet)
Wayne Shorter (soprano sax)
Bennie Maupin (bass clarinet)
Joe Zawinul, Larry Young, Chick Corea (electric piano)
John McLaughlin (guitar)
Dave Holland, Harvey Brooks (bass)
Lenny White, Jack DeJohnette (drums)
Don Alias, Jumma Santos (percussion)
"For me, music and life are all about style.":
It must be mentioned that although Miles Davis' style was highly improvisational, it was not what is known as "free jazz". In fact, Miles hated "free jazz". Even though Miles' music could be highly dissonant, as well as spontaneous, it was well planned beforehand to produce a certain result. Miles Davis' work was not based on the "happy accident" philosophy. Miles and Gil Evans would prepare skeletal harmonic frameworks before recording sessions, this was the planning stage. In order to preserve the improvisational nature of his work, the other musicians would only see this framework on the day of the recording. For this reason, Miles Davis hired some of the most talented sidemen in Jazz, and a further study of "the greats" in Jazz can be done by looking into each of the sidemen on any Miles Davis recording.
While able to solo in the busy bebop and post-bop manner, Miles is also well known for his haunting melodic lines. Not only could he weave a beautiful modal line, he knew how to play the empty space between his notes. He is a perfect example of the notion: "What you don't play is just as important as what you do play". A well executed silence can be as potent as a well played note.
Modal Jazz, which made Miles Davis' solos so original, broke many musical rules by inserting notes that would not usually be considered as "in the key of the piece", such as seconds, nines, and sharp thirteens where the chord changes didn't call for them. Miles would do things such as solo in dorian mode, which is a scale based on the second note of the key of the piece. This is an extremely dissonant mode as it is so close to the "correct" key, but not that key, that the ear of the listener keeps begging for it to resolve. A good example of this can be found in Miles' piece "So What". The structure of this piece is AABA, where the "A" sections of the piece are in D dorian mode (or the D major scale played from E to E), and the "B" sections of the piece are in Eb dorian mode (or the Eb major scale played from F to F). While this may sound "wrong" to classically trained musicians, it also creates a tension unexplored before in jazz.
Modes and Moods:
Dorian (I) - happy or joyous, the one we are most used to, the major scale
Hypodorian (ii) - serious, haunting, melancholy, highly dissonant ("wrong" sounding)
Phrygian (iii) - angry
Hypophyrigian (IV) - tender, tempered fierceness
Lydian (V) - happy, sounds extremely close to the Dorian mode
Hypolydian (vi) - pious or sad, the second most common mode, the minor scale
Mixolydian (vii) - pleasant sadness
"A legend is an old man with a cane known for what he used to do. I'm still doing it."
Miles Davis died of a stroke at age 65, on September 28th, 1991. His last album was released in 1992.![](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/700/1721/320/Miles3.jpg)
[Link removed - available upon request]
Born: May 26, 1926
Died: September 28, 1991
Instrument: Trumpet
"Who's that motherfucker? He can't play shit!":
A response from Miles Davis when asked about Cecil Taylor, a free-jazz piano player. Most people either love Miles, or loathe him. He has been regarded as a man who changed the face of music more than once, the father of fusion, an innovator not only in the jazz genre, but one who influenced rock, and also a drug-addicted trumpet player who played many "wrong sounding" notes. Even if listening to his work is a matter of taste, the influence he had on the industry is undeniable.
"I’ll play it and tell you what is later.":
Miles came from a musical family, as so many of "the greats" do. However, even though his mother was a competant blues pianist, she kept this from her son as she felt that kind of music was too low-brow. Instead, Miles was sent to learn at the famous Juilliard School of Music in New York city, an education which he quickly abandoned to track down Charlie "Bird" Parker.
While learning his craft by doing, instead of the strict study environment of Juilliard, Miles also picked up a heroin habit much like his Jazz heros. During this time, his work was stilted, less than spectacular, and in fact, it sucked. Realizing that his career was in jeopardy, Miles returned to East St. Louis, and with the help of his father he kicked his habit. Even though the subsequent year saw the recording of "Bags' Groove", "Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants", ande "Walkin' ", which were considered important recordings at the Prestige label, Miles' career didn't fully recover until he played the Newport Jazz Festival. His rendition of Thelonious Monk's "Round Midnight" redeemed him, and he was back in the game.
Miles formed his first quintet in 1955, with John Coltrane on sax, Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on the drums. He made several recordings with this group, later adding Cannonball Adderley on alto sax to record the famous "Milestones". In 1959 Miles Davis recorded "Kind of Blue" which is widely regarded as his masterpiece. Also, during this time, he worked on many recordings with Gil Evans. Miles was no stranger to the music industry rule: "Never turn down a gig".
The second Miles Davis Quintet was formed in 1965, with Wayne Shorter on sax, Herbie Hancock on piano (later to be replaced by Chick Corea), Ron Carter on bass (also later to be replaced, by Dave Holland), and Tony Williams on drums. With this quintet, Miles moved into what is called his "time no changes" period. Unlike the previous movement of bebop, this method of playing is referred to as "out there" and reflects the musical ideas that come to the player as they come to the player, unrestricted by the almost mathematical formulas of the chord changes.
"There are no wrong notes." (Bitches Brew):
![](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/700/1721/320/MILES1.jpg)
Personnel on Bitches Brew:
Miles Davis (trumpet)
Wayne Shorter (soprano sax)
Bennie Maupin (bass clarinet)
Joe Zawinul, Larry Young, Chick Corea (electric piano)
John McLaughlin (guitar)
Dave Holland, Harvey Brooks (bass)
Lenny White, Jack DeJohnette (drums)
Don Alias, Jumma Santos (percussion)
"For me, music and life are all about style.":
It must be mentioned that although Miles Davis' style was highly improvisational, it was not what is known as "free jazz". In fact, Miles hated "free jazz". Even though Miles' music could be highly dissonant, as well as spontaneous, it was well planned beforehand to produce a certain result. Miles Davis' work was not based on the "happy accident" philosophy. Miles and Gil Evans would prepare skeletal harmonic frameworks before recording sessions, this was the planning stage. In order to preserve the improvisational nature of his work, the other musicians would only see this framework on the day of the recording. For this reason, Miles Davis hired some of the most talented sidemen in Jazz, and a further study of "the greats" in Jazz can be done by looking into each of the sidemen on any Miles Davis recording.
While able to solo in the busy bebop and post-bop manner, Miles is also well known for his haunting melodic lines. Not only could he weave a beautiful modal line, he knew how to play the empty space between his notes. He is a perfect example of the notion: "What you don't play is just as important as what you do play". A well executed silence can be as potent as a well played note.
Modal Jazz, which made Miles Davis' solos so original, broke many musical rules by inserting notes that would not usually be considered as "in the key of the piece", such as seconds, nines, and sharp thirteens where the chord changes didn't call for them. Miles would do things such as solo in dorian mode, which is a scale based on the second note of the key of the piece. This is an extremely dissonant mode as it is so close to the "correct" key, but not that key, that the ear of the listener keeps begging for it to resolve. A good example of this can be found in Miles' piece "So What". The structure of this piece is AABA, where the "A" sections of the piece are in D dorian mode (or the D major scale played from E to E), and the "B" sections of the piece are in Eb dorian mode (or the Eb major scale played from F to F). While this may sound "wrong" to classically trained musicians, it also creates a tension unexplored before in jazz.
Modes and Moods:
Dorian (I) - happy or joyous, the one we are most used to, the major scale
Hypodorian (ii) - serious, haunting, melancholy, highly dissonant ("wrong" sounding)
Phrygian (iii) - angry
Hypophyrigian (IV) - tender, tempered fierceness
Lydian (V) - happy, sounds extremely close to the Dorian mode
Hypolydian (vi) - pious or sad, the second most common mode, the minor scale
Mixolydian (vii) - pleasant sadness
"A legend is an old man with a cane known for what he used to do. I'm still doing it."
Miles Davis died of a stroke at age 65, on September 28th, 1991. His last album was released in 1992.
![](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/700/1721/320/Miles3.jpg)
[Link removed - available upon request]
21 Comments:
Many many thanks! I have so far got to ca. 1970, not listening to every album but a few: Birth of Cool, Round About Midnight, Kind of Blue, Miles Ahead, Sorcerer, Bitches Brew (+ some Charlie Parker stuff of the 40's with Miles on trumpet) - I admit to downloading some of them since all of them aren't readily available locally, and I'm greedy. Then I got a live album, "Live at the Fillmore East, March 7, 1970", and have downloaded a couple of 1967 dvd boots and another audio boots of the Bitches Brew period. Although I like the earlier, smoother stuff with the magnificent melody lines, I am totally addicted to the Bitches Brew period for some reason. After listening to the Fillmore East recording I felt dazed: like having been transported to another dimension.
By
E.L. Wisty, at Mon Dec 19, 07:49:00 AM MST
Okay, I'll play Miles Davis on Friday. I'm curious about the splicing on Bitches Brew -- will I be able to tell where it's spliced? I also sort of wonder what other jazz musicians think of splicing. I guess I always sort of think of jazz as this heady & unbroken spontaneous moment. Perhaps I'm thinking of a particular kind of jazz, but I don't know what other people call it.
By
ing, at Mon Dec 19, 11:09:00 AM MST
E.L. - Have you ever tried studying, working on homework, or writing while listening to Miles? You'd be shocked at how easy it is. It's like Miles makes your brainwaves optimal for thinking.
ing - Actually, Bitches Brew is spliced REALLY WELL. Without being told, you would never know that this hadn't been played in one long succession. Not like the DJ's of THESE days, anyhow... :D
Jack
By
Rose, at Mon Dec 19, 09:18:00 PM MST
Jack,
Sorry I haven't put anything together for this blog yet. Between work, Christmas, family and trying to get my new audio interface working for my computer I haven't had a chance to write anything.
Did I list enough excuses? Ha!
Anyway, I am working on a short thing on how Bitches Brew changed my musical life. I'll try to get it done soon.
Actually, its been tough to focus on Miles because I've been listening to Coltrane at work recently.
AndyW
By
AndyW, at Mon Dec 19, 10:50:00 PM MST
Jack,
Yeah I have.
By
E.L. Wisty, at Tue Dec 20, 02:05:00 AM MST
The smoother stuff worked brilliantly but I got too lost in Bitches Brew to concentrate on work!
By
E.L. Wisty, at Tue Dec 20, 03:43:00 AM MST
It's weird because I'm realizing just how...mapped out music really is! IOW,
hmm...how do I explain this?
As best is able, music has been described with words, formatted, labeled. It's not a bad thing, although I can see people being adverse to it, on a purist sort of idealistic perspective. As in, how can you label, describe music? Pin it down like that?
Well, it's been done pretty well, I think. I was particularly interested in:
Modes and Moods:
Dorian (I) - happy or joyous, the one we are most used to, the major scale
Hypodorian (ii) - serious, haunting, melancholy, highly dissonant ("wrong" sounding)
Phrygian (iii) - angry
Hypophyrigian (IV) - tender, tempered fierceness
Lydian (V) - happy, sounds extremely close to the Dorian mode
Hypolydian (vi) - pious or sad, the second most common mode, the minor scale
Mixolydian (vii) - pleasant sadness
This stuff is blowing my mind. not sure how to feel or think about music being so defined. This is all Greek to me, lol pardon the pun.I recognize the words being used.
AFA Miles, most excellent. There were misconceptions I had, that you enlightened me on. Example; How he did in fact have some sort of plan,
ahead of time, to produce a certain result. I didn't know that! I almost feel kinda dumb for that, but I really thought it was all free form like BB.
And I haven't even made my way don't the music theory post yet!
I think I do like music having been
so labeled, not sure. I like it because I could use it when playing.
Thanks Jack, good stuff, very educating, enlightening for me.:)
By
Nabonidus, at Tue Dec 20, 08:43:00 AM MST
You couldn't have nade EL Wisty any happier! No way!
I don't own any Miles Davis, as in CDs, but I don't own CDs by everybody. I really like this playing, tho whenever I would watch a performance, I would avert my eyes somewhat because of his reputation as a womanizer and even ... well, doesn't matter. I would do this, guided somewhat by instinct which is what he'd played with, his instinct, his ear, his heart.
Very neat.
I grew up playing piano (started lessons at age 4). The theory is inviting, basic or no. Minor notes, tones, semi-tones, scales and on, these are helpful no matter how base it may seem. I am pretty confident I am not the only piano player, (I loved the instrument more than anything), who'd had the elephant snatched from her. Certainly, as a child, no one mentioned or spoke intentionally of theory with me. I figure it's a heap like lit theory, which writers tend to resent. WIthout us, there would be no them. I am curious about the difference.
Besides all of this, monsieur ought to hang out here. I hope my note on TBWHM helps. He's missing out!
By
ginab, at Tue Dec 20, 08:47:00 AM MST
Call me "typo babe".
By
ginab, at Tue Dec 20, 08:48:00 AM MST
In fact, I have sometimes had this image of jazz as sort aimless, self-centered improvisation, kind of musical "wanking". A prejudicial idea it might be but the image may have something to do with free jazz. As there is no plan thought up in advance, I imagine the result *might* be kind of aimless if the musicians don't have a strong vision of what they want to play and can plan as they go ahead.
By
E.L. Wisty, at Tue Dec 20, 11:42:00 AM MST
Oh, and I do hope Gina's message on TBWHM does the trick and gets Pete show up. I bet he could say much.
By
E.L. Wisty, at Tue Dec 20, 11:45:00 AM MST
Andy - This is a busy time of year, I know you'll put a review up when you're ready. You see, the problem with me is I have no life... :p
E.L. - oh yeah, I can't imagine Bitches Brew being helpful... haven't ever tried that. Studying for one of my math exams "Round Midnight" and "Kind of Blue" were choice. *grin*
Wanking Jazz seems to be what "free-Jazz" is thought of to be. At least by myself and many musicians I know... then again we are all music snobs!
nabonidus - Happy to help!
Gina - My parents discussed theory with me quite a bit, but not to the depth that I decided to research it once I got a little older. I've always been the type of person who needs to know exactly how something works. Musical theory is akin to disassembling alarm clocks.
If Pete would like to contribute, I'd be thrilled. He's had a lifetime of exploring music. I believe he's a busy man, though, and probably wouldn't have the time. I mean, he gets 400-odd posts on a chapter... he's got enough blogging to keep him for life over on his!
By
Rose, at Tue Dec 20, 01:02:00 PM MST
Yes, the man is busy, yes...
I think my dad was jealous--in fact, he was--that I learned to read music. He played by ear. A lot of big band, somejazz, some classical. Shame he never remedied his gift with a little understanding.
I really like what you're doing here. I'm sure, from your years teaching theory, there are a few students who hang on your memory for good reasons. There's always a few. ;-)
By
ginab, at Tue Dec 20, 04:32:00 PM MST
A silly newbie question...I was thinking about the various saxophonists that Miles played with - Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter etc. The former played alto, the latter two tenor. So my question: do saxophonists specialize in either one, so an alto saxophonist could not play tenor saxophone and vice versa, or is it that they could play both but for one reason or another prefer one?
By
E.L. Wisty, at Wed Dec 21, 07:04:00 AM MST
E.L.
Alto sax is an Eb instrument and the Tenor is a Bb instrument. Meaning, when you play a C on the Tenor sax, it is actually is a Bb, and similarly with Eb on the Alto.
Both saxes work the same way physically, but if you are a sax player reading off a "concert pitch" (in the regular key) lead sheet, you have to be able to sight-transpose the chord changes into the key of your instrument.
Theoretically, they should be able to go both ways, but they would have a preferance. (Based on the way the saxes sound.) Once they pick a preference, they'll tend to stick with it because they get used to thinking in that key.
Jack
By
Rose, at Wed Dec 21, 12:17:00 PM MST
Yep, I know what the difference between alto sax and tenor sax is based on. Pretty much the same concept as with, for instance, violin and viola. Ta!
By
E.L. Wisty, at Wed Dec 21, 01:28:00 PM MST
E.L.
I figured you would when I saw you play(ed?) viola. That was more for benefit of anyone who didn't know the difference that also had the same question. (Or upon reading your question went "oh, that's a good one, I'd like to know too".) The real answer is in the last paragraph.
I'll put up a post on Saturday night, as Sunday night I am at Andrew's for Xmas dinner and probably won't have time to write anything.
Wishing everyone the best!
Jack
By
Rose, at Thu Dec 22, 10:26:00 PM MST
Heh, I was reading back here and caught the stuff about jazz wanking that EL and Jack wrote. :)
I can think of two guitarists that even though they are rock, their solos are akin to jazz wanking for me, they go nowhere, they are irritating.They get lost.
They can play rhythm just fine, maybe they are better guitarists than I am, but the solos make me wince everytime.
I saw Smashing Pumpkins live, we got free tickets. Billy Corgan,I like him well enough, but his solos sucked! The other one is a guy named Vern, I can't remember his last name but he is from an 80's band Living Color ( not the TV show), "Cult of Personality." His solos reeeaaallly
go nowhere and sound wankifying.
By
Nabonidus, at Fri Dec 23, 02:58:00 PM MST
Okay, I played a few by Mr. Davis and Bitches Brew was the clear winner. Super cool.
By
ing, at Sat Dec 24, 01:08:00 AM MST
My Dad played a show with Miles Davis opening!
After the Dead got over being terrified they listened to Miles' great Bitches Brew period band and decided to just play as free as they could.
Thank you Bill Graham for having vision and putting bands together as different as Miles Davis and the Grateful Dead so the kids got to hear what else was happening in music.
Great Jazz blog Jack!
By
Justin Kreutzmann, at Sat Dec 24, 10:58:00 AM MST
must be in the stars...right after reading this Miles post I got a CD from Mike, the bass player in my Dad's new band, that has the Miles - Dark Magus recording.
Too cool.
By
Justin Kreutzmann, at Sat Dec 24, 02:50:00 PM MST
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