~Miles Davis Tribute~

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The Biography of Miles DavisMiles Davis was one of the greatest visionaries and most important figures in jazz history. He was born in a well-to-do family in East St. Louis. He became a local phenom and toured locally with Billy Eckstine's band while he was in high school. He moved to New York under the guise of attending the Julliard School of Music. However, his real intentions were to hook up with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. He quickly climbed up the ranks while learning from Bird and Diz and became the trumpet player for Charlie Parker's group for nearly 3 years. His first attempt at leading a group came in 1949 and was the first of many occurrences in which he would take jazz in a new direction. Along with arranger Gil Evans, he created a nonet (9 members) that used non-traditional instruments in a jazz setting, such as French horn and Tuba. He invented a more subtle, yet still challenging style that became known as "cool jazz." This style influenced a large group of musicians who played primarily on the west coast and further explored this style. The recordings of the nonet were packaged by Capitol records and released under the name The Birth of the Cool. The group featured Lee Konitz, Gerry Mulligan, and Max Roach, among others. This was one of the first instances in which Miles demonstrated a recurring move that angered some: he brought in musicians regardless of race. He once said he'd give a guy with green skin and "polka-dotted breath" a job, as long as they could play sax as well as Lee Konitz. After spending 4 years fighting a heroin addiction, he conquered it, inspired by the discipline of the boxer Sugar Ray Robinson. After a triumphant performance of Thelonious Monk's classic 'Round Midnight at the 1955 Newport Jazz Festival, Miles became a hot commodity. He put together a permanent quintet that featured John Coltrane, Red Garland, "Philly Joe" Jones, and Paul Chambers. Miles had a gift for hearing the music in his head, and putting together a band of incredible musicians whose contrasting styles could result in meeting the end result he was looking for. He later added a 6th member, Cannonball Adderly and replaced Jones and Garland with Jimmy Cobb and Bill Evans. In the late 50s, his groups popularized modal jazz and changed the direction of jazz again. He made 2 more classics with the Sextet during this time, Milestones and Kind of Blue. After this time, most of his group left to form their own groups. This was a constant during Miles' career--he brought in the best up-and-coming musicians and after playing in his band and getting established, they formed their own groups. Among the bandleaders to have come from Miles band include: John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderly, Red Garland, "Philly" Jo Jones, Bill Evans, Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, (Shorter and Zawinul would go on to form the fusion group Weather Report) Keith Jarrett, Tony Williams, Herbie Hancock, John McGlaughlin, Chick Corea, John Scofield, Kenny Garrett, Mike Stern, and Bob Berg. During this time, Miles and Gil Evans collaborated again and made another unique record, Sketches of Spain, in which Miles plays Spanish Flamenco music backed by an orchestra. His tone is so beautiful and clear, it almost sounds like his trumpet is singing. After experimenting with different groups for 3 years, Miles, who was in his late 30s (old by jazz standards), fused his group with young players in order to bring in fresh ideas. In 1963, he put together his 2nd legendary quintet: Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and 16 year old drumming protege Tony Williams. For 5 years, this group pushed the limits of freedom and made some fiery jazz! In 1968, Miles brought in Joe Zawinul as a 2nd keyboardist and around this time, started experimenting with electric instruments. He made the classic In a Silent Way and a year later, he added British guitarist John McGloughlin and replaced Tony Williams (who left to form his own band) with Jack DeJohnette, and he took jazz in yet a whole new direction with the record Bitches Brew, in which he fused Rock Music with jazz and went heavily into electric music. This record fired the first shot in the fusion revolution which took jazz to a whole new level of popularity. In the early 1970s, Miles kept experimenting with the electric instruments and fusing more funk into his music. In 1976, a combination of bad health, cocaine use, and lack of inspiration caused Miles to go into a 5-year retirement. He conquered his cocaine habit, received new inspiration and returned in 1981 and made a series of records that I haven't heard. He did keep pushing music, as he was not one to rest on his laurels and play his old music. He started experimenting more with synthesizers and using studio techniques in his recordings. He won a series of Grammy Awards during this decade and continued turning out sidemen, such as Garrett, Stern, and Berg, listed above. Miles Davis died in 1991.******************************************************* ********** The oft neglected last Miles era from 1980-1991 is brilliantly covered in "The Last Miles" by author George Cole. Here is the intro to the book written by George. the last miles - introduction to the bookThe following is an extract from the introduction of The Last Miles: The Music Of Miles Davis 1980 to 1991:Miles Davis entered my life at a relatively late age – when I was in my mid-twenties – but it’s no exaggeration to say that from that moment on, things would never quite be the same again. There is hardly a day when I don’t listen to the music of Miles Davis and there is hardly a time when his sound fails to move me. For anyone else who loves the music of Miles, this will not come as much surprise.But what many people may find surprising, is that the music I play the most is not from Miles’ 50s period (when he recorded albums like Porgy and Bess and Kind of Blue) or the 60s (with the second great quintet of Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams). It isn’t even from the 70s, when Miles fused jazz with rock to produce masterpieces such as Jack Johnson and Bitches Brew. In fact, the music I play is mainly from Miles’ last decade, from 1981 to 1991.I say surprising because a number of people I talk to (including some who are Miles’ fans) tend to dismiss this period, suggesting that at best, Miles was coasting and at worst, he had sold out and was more interested in being hip or making money. It is the contention of this book that this view is wrong and that Miles continued to make music that was fresh, challenging and engaging right up to his death. That isn’t to say that everything Miles played or recorded in this period was good, but in my view (and many of the people interviewed for this book), much of the music Miles made and played in his last decade has much value.When I began this book, I set out to interview as many of the band members Miles had from 1981-91. The task took almost three years, but by the end, thirty-one of the thirty-six band members of Miles’ final decade had kindly agreed to share their memories of Miles with me (only one member could not be traced, despite my best efforts). It means that every guitarist, bassist and keyboardist Miles had in his last bands gives their story. As do many producers, session musicians and engineers.Members of Miles’ road crew provided valuable insights into how Miles liked to sound when playing live. I also spoke to photographers and video directors who worked with Miles in this period, and they provide a fuller picture of the man. Insights from members who played with Miles before the 1980s also help us to understand a little more about Miles and his music.No book about the music of Miles would be complete without a look at the music he played live on-stage and the biggest chapter is devoted to Miles’ live performances. This chapter also includes interviews with many musicians who never recorded with Miles and some who don’t even appear on the various live recordings released after Miles’ death.Through their testaments, we hear how Miles recruited band members, how they learnt the music, how he directed them on-stage and why they left. Many also talk about Miles as a man, a musician and a band leader and reflect on their time with him. My hope is that after reading this book, you will have a much clearer idea about the music of Miles’ final decade and hopefully conclude that the music Miles’ made in this period cannot be simply dismissed.
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