Miles Davis (1936-91) TWO trumpeters towered over the post-war azz scene • Milles Davis who died on 27 September, and Dizzy Gillespie.
Dizzy has always been the musicians' ! favourite; the 'complete trumpeter of astonishing range and virtuosity. But for impact on the direction of jazz and on the public imagination, Miles Milles pioneered a unique style which ing, almost desolate phrasing of intense emotional power.
A mite pretentiously, the theatre critic Kenneth Tynan ued the Spanish adjecability to transmit powerfully felt emofon with the minimum of fuss and thel maximum of restraint.
Improvisation
The facts about Miles Davis' musical career are well known. His formative period was several years in the late "forties and carly 'fifties with Charlie Parker;
period of the Be-bop' revolution which stressed small-group improvisa. tion against the formal predictability of Swing.
His emergence as a leading jazz in. novator was marked thc nonet recordings Birth of the Cool (1953).
Probably his establishment as the leading jazz figure of the period was his band of the late 'fifties and carly 'sixties, and his record Kind of Blue (1959).
Around this time he made a series of recordines with a Gil Evans orchestre which are classics, most notably Sketches of Spain and Miles Nead.
His bands of thi of jazz greats - ill Evans Jones, Cannonball Adderley, Ron Carter and above all tenor saxophonist John Coltrane.
It was under Davis' tutelage that Coltrane began to assume the mantle of was way the most innovative and important jazz saxophonist since the war. Coltrane's experience with Miles led directly to his egendary recording A Love Supreme Image Miles was always concerned, compulsively, about his image. Like a famous woman singer sometimes mentioned on these pages, he periodically re-invented himself. His music and image of the 'fifties and early sixties captured the 'spirit of the times', at least for the transatlantie middle classes - confidence, sophisticaThus his music reflects the high point of the post-war capitalist boom. Unlike the consciously 'black: of the carly 1960 led by Archie Steps the nearest he got to politics was a concert for the 30CH0Or Coloured People in 1964 (recorded as My Punny Valentin)
Wealth and fame didn't save Miles from a period of heroin addiction, an period are a roll-cal Philly Joe ill-health for Miles. critics, moving Silent Way (1969). conservative National Asne vancementor liked him He Kandi worthwele human Oec monessmusican feroin led directly to Coltrane's death ir his forties, and led to periodic bouts of In the late sixties he re-invented his music in a way that infuriated many on to izz-rock fusions and electronic backing groups with In a He went on to play with & nost of rock musicans, turner nuriating jazz traditionalists the Block)
Tanyaeonass. brought up in the era of Swing, never was too 'Introspective, worthwhile human effort, in music, art, science or whatever, is collective. Innovators can only innovate by reference to what has gone before; they stand on the shoulders of the previous generations.
But just occasionally someone turs up who can suddenly synthesise what has gone before and turn it into something truly new and revolutionary. Such a person was Miles Davis.
For those brought up on the Clash and Sex Pistols (or worse still new Kids on who never had the oppormusic, try the album Kind of Blue for the classic Miles Laws ine cesarorm aisonor the modern For a three-track sampier try so What? (on Kind of Bite) Blues for Pablo (Miles Ahead) and Human Nature (You're Under Arrest).