Home » Jazz Articles » Miles Davis
Jazz Articles about Miles Davis
Miles Davis: In A Silent Way
by John Ballon
Miles Davis was going through exciting musical changes in 1968, listening and playing things which were leading him into the future and into In a Silent Way. His music and lifestyle were being influenced by a wave of new sounds and ideas, and he was responding deeply to the music of James Brown, Sly Stone, and Jimi Hendrix. Having already pushed acoustic jazz to the limits with his mid-Sixties quintet, Miles metamorphosed the new sounds around him, creating a work ...
Continue ReadingMiles Davis: Aura
by Todd S. Jenkins
In 1984 Danish trumpeter Palle Mikkelborg composed this ambitious nine-part suite for Miles Davis, based upon his audial perceptions of the jazz legend's aura. The suite was recorded in Copenhagen with a large ensemble including John McLaughlin, percussionist Marilyn Mazur (later a regular member of the Davis band), bassists Bo Stief and Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, electric drummer Vince Wilbum and 23 other musicians. This exquisitely remastered reissue has corrected a prior sequencing problem, reattached a short horn intro onto track ...
Continue ReadingMiles Davis: The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis With John Coltrane
by C. Andrew Hovan
Some nine years after Miles Davis’ untimely death, Columbia Records is still repackaging his recorded legacy. The most recent efforts in this area have been made available both on compact disc and in 180-gram vinyl versions by way of Mosaic Records. It is the latter edition that this review is based on, though it should be noted that basically the only difference between the two sets, besides the presentation medium, is that Mosaic’s package is a 12 x ...
Continue ReadingMiles Davis: On The Corner / Get Up With It
by Todd S. Jenkins
Columbia/Legacy is embarking upon a hot fusion reissue program, reshaping many of their classic albums via digital technology to make the roots of today’s music more relevant. Among the first reissues slated for 2000 are two of Miles Davis’ most misunderstood but oddly influential offerings, “On The Corner” and “Get Up With It”. At the “On The Corner” sessions Miles went nuts with electric eclecticism. He hooked a pickup and wah-wah pedal to his trumpet, hired three drummers and three ...
Continue ReadingMiles Davis: In A Silent Way
by John Ballon
Miles Davis was going through exciting musical changes in 1968, listening and playing things which were leading him into the future and into In a Silent Way. His music and lifestyle were being influenced by a wave of new sounds and ideas, and he was responding deeply to the music of James Brown, Sly Stone, and Jimi Hendrix. Having already pushed acoustic jazz to the limits with his mid-Sixties quintet, Miles metamorphosed the new sounds around him, creating a work ...
Continue ReadingMiles Davis: Walkin'
by Douglas Payne
This bop-era classic finds trumpeter Miles Davis (1926-91) leading two groups from two sessions in April 1954: a superb sextet and a compelling quintet. Both groups center on a blue-chip rhythm section consisting of pianist Horace Silver, bassist Percy Heath and drummer Kenny Clarke. But despite the rock solid foundation and substantial decoration these three provide, Walkin' is all about the horn players. Trombonist J.J. Johnson and tenor saxophonist Lucky Thompson (returning to music after the first of ...
Continue ReadingMiles Davis: Cookin'
by Douglas Payne
During the early 1950s, trumpeter Miles Davis (1926-91) recorded for both Prestige and Blue Note, the most distinctive independent labels in jazz at the time. Davis himself was developing and perfecting a style that was beginning to gain notice, popularity and substantial influence. By 1955, he had formed such an exemplary quintet of musicians, it came to be known as the quintet. Featuring the bursting torrents of John Coltrane, which perfectly balanced the spare romanticism of Davis's trumpet, the quintet ...
Continue Reading
