Miles Davis and John Coltrane
Miles DavisDuration: 08:22
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Miles Davis and John Coltrane were both born in 1926, and they played together from 1955 to 1960. For a pair that created such iconic albums as Milestones (Columbia Records, 1958) and Kind Of Blue (Jazz Images, 1959), one might expect more stylistic similarity from the two artists. However, their end-of-period recordings shined precisely because of the contrast in improvisational style they had each refined. By the end of the ‘50s, Davis had diminished the amount of bebop he was playing and instead was concentrating on an "in the pocket" cool jazz form, often with lush harmonies. Meanwhile, Coltrane had liberated himself from bop to begin exploration of raw "sheets of sound." This also was modal but in an avant garde way and more focused on a lead horn melody. Dare it be said, their chemistry and eventual breakup feel analogous to the luminescent path of McCartney and Lennon. Here, Davis and 'Trane are joined by Wynton Kelly (piano), Paul Chambers (bass) and Jimmy Cobb (drums), forming one of the greatest jazz ensembles ever. Trumpet and sax solos start at 0:08 and 1:55.
Posted by Scott Lichtman.
