Ahhhhhhh, I envy you.....Miles' work is extraordinary and revolutionary and beautiful,
and majestic, and powerful, and gentle, and, and, and.....
He is one of the, if not THE seminal musical artist of the past century;
he changed how music is played, looked at, and felt for ever...
Anywho, now that that is said....:-)
I personally always like to listen to the 'arc' of a musician's career and their own
personal musical evolution; so I usually try to start at the beginning and go forward
from there....Mind you, this is just my personal proclivity; but if you were to
approach your discovery of Miles in this way, here are some landmark albums from his
career which I think are good places to start to see this evolution I mention:
**The Birth of Cool--1948--Helped define this new movement in Jazz and really started
to distinguish Miles approach to his instrument and his 'sound'....
**Walkin'--1954--Someone else mentioned this one as well as a good example of his
mid-50's work; kinda "Cool" kinda "Bop"..Well, it just swings! :-)
Check it! :-)
**Milestones--1958--Here is a wonderful example of Miles' most famous Quintets (there
is another couple in the 60's as well, but this is a classic line-up); featuring John
Coltrane, Philly Joe Jones, Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, John Coltrane, William "Red"
Garland, Paul Chambers....Amazing album of Hard Bop...This album was actually MY intro
to Miles and is dear to my heart therefore; I musta played this album everyday, twice
a day for months....Wonderful music and energy, high energy!
**Kind Of Blue--1959--What can I say about this album that hasn't already been said
before..Consider by many THE seminal jazz album of all times...
Sometimes I think lauding one single piece so much has a tendency to to oversaturate
it's, and/or dilute it's, majestic and impact; but it really is an amazing piece of
music and history...All songs were entirely improvised from 'sketches' Miles gave the
musicians in one take....
Breathtaking, yes....:-)
**Sketches Of Spain--1960--Possibly the ultimate example and expression of the
collaborative work of Miles and arranger Gil Evans....Revolutionary for the time and
once again Breathtaking in scope...Beautiful music to drive to and to make love
to....;-)
**Miles Smiles--1966--The beginning of yet another profound transition for Miles, and
ultimately for music in general....A powerful example of one of Miles' other famous
Quintets; featuring: Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock,
Ron Carter, Tony Williams.....This IS the beginning of Miles' forrays into Electric
Jazz (or Fusion, as it were)....Kind of as a side note, but...
You will notice that Miles has the savvy to really hook up with the
"Young Lions" on the scene to keep himself fresh and on the edge and always willing to
experiment; and even more than that, to really challenge himself and his artistry, his
music, his spirit....
**Nefertiti--1967--Someone also mentioned this record and of Joni's affection for
it....It continues in the footsteps of 'Miles Smiles', though broadens the path
greatly...Amazing music..Stretching the boundaries and conceptions of peoples' notion
of what Jazz was all about or could be...
What MUSIC could be...
**In A Silent Way--1969--WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!! Gently and Magically opening
the gateway to Heaven....THE REAL FIRST full 'Jazz-Fusion' album...
Two 'pieces' of music; each filling one side of the album....Once again Miles'
redefining our notions of music and setting a course for future musical styles and
patterns, the full effects of which we are just starting to see now....Can I safely
use this word one more time: AMAZING! :-)
**Bitches Brew--1969--A Double album monster....A more fully, and I do mean more
FULLY, realized continuation of the expressions and explorations of
"In A Silent Way"...
"In A Silent Way" = Fusion First steps
"Bitches Brew" = Fusion runnin' like a Motha'!
--Once again Miles assembles the cream of the crop:
Wayne Shorter, Bennie Maupin, John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Josef Zawinul, Dave
Holland, Harvey Brooks, Jack DeJohnette, Lenny White,
Charles Don Alias, Jumma Santos, Larry Young
--An interesting connection to Joni here....J. Zawinul and Wayne Shorter went on to
form 'Weather Report' which of course Jaco Pastorius joined after their first album (I
think)....Just an interestin' tidbit...:-)
**After this point Miles gets Waaaaaaaaaay 'Out There', and some people really can't
stand the stuff he does from this point forward in the 70's; it is all heavily
electric, with a large usage of Wah-Wah on his horn for most of it, very percussive,
often very atonal, and also very rhythmically it can be repetitatively
cyclical......It is very hard to define, and quite honestly why should we...? Although
Miles wasn't very well received at the time for this RADICAL new direction he took,
once again time has proved the man's artistry to be revolutionary and in this instance
very visionary...
The full effects and influence are just now beggining to be felt...
This period's music is very much the harbinger for much of today's Trance/Jungle/Drum
& Bass music as well as so much more....It has stimulated several generations of
musicians to continue to explore boldly the ever expanding boundaries of music, and
more importantly I think to realize that those boundaries are just illusionary
constructs to be dismantled, dissolved, and ultimately dismissed....
**Some of the key albums from this period I will briefly mention
(mainly 'cause I is fallin' asleep here...It's late.....lol...:-) as I think they are,
well....Key...:-)
**Big Fun--1972
**Get Up With It--1974
**Miles Davis Live at the Fillmore East--Recorded 1970, released ?
**On The Corner--1972, released ?
**Agharta & Pangaea--Both recorded Live in Japan 1975, and the last recordings of
Miles before his 'retirement' (or sabbatical) from playing until the late 70's.
-----Well, I hope this gets you started......LOL....:-)
Seriously, I do envy the position you are in....I still regularly listen to Miles, in
all his periods, and continue to find something new for myself all the time.....He is
THE man....But you are on the threshold of a really wonderful world to explore and I
hope you find the landscape as breathtaking and inspiring as I have and continue to
do....
Goodnight and God Bless....Peas.....Sir Lance :-)
--
Lance A. Michel:
-There are as many shades to reality
as there are windows unto the soul-
