Miles Davis Second Quintet

85 Years of the Genius of Wayne Shorter…And Counting

Written and Photographed by Kenn Sava (*-unless otherwise credited)

Or rather, of Wayne, I should say. In Jazz, many of the icons are known simply by a one word name…

Duke

Louis

Bird

Trane

Monk

Count

Prez

Fats

Billie

Hawk

Miles

Sonny

Ornette

Cannonball

Jaco

Wayne1

In 85 years of life, as of today, August 25th, 2018, and 59 years of recordings and public performances, he’s earned that level of respect.

Introducing Wayne Shorter, 1959, Vee-Jay Records, features all original compositions by Wayne (and 1 cover tune), and includes the great Lee Morgan on trumpet. In 1959, Wayne Shorter was better known as “The Newark Flash,” than as “Wayne.” *- Photographer unknown.

Like Picasso, or his one time employer, Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter’s music has never stayed in one place for too long. Whereas Picasso and Miles went off to create whole new styles of Art and Music, over and over again, with Wayne, I think his “periods” show us different sides of his creative self, and the incredibly large range of his vision. Wayne has left his mark in “hard-bop,” with Art Blakey, in helping to revolutionize small group Jazz with Miles, in exploring the boundaries of electric Jazz with Weather Report, and more recently, in revisiting the possibilities of the small group for the 21st century with his Wayne Shorter Quartet. Along the way, he’s also given us a remarkable body of solo albums for Vee-Jay, Blue Note, Columbia, Verve, and for the past 5 years, Blue Note again, as well as appearing as a guest on innumerable great albums, including the legendary Aja by Steely Dan, Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter, and Mingus among others by Joni Mitchell , and Jaco Pastorius’ two classic solo albums. In beginning to assess Wayne’s accomplishment to this point, it’s helpful to break it down to some of the realms it’s been most prominent in.

(Spoiler Alert!) However, I say this, knowing what I will say towards the end of this piece: That given the paucity of records released in this century of his Music a full assessment and appreciation of Wayne Shorter’s Music and accomplishment to this point is, most likely, decades away. The new 3 album/CD Blue Note set Emanon to be released next month NOTwithstanding. It’s only a start in rectifying a terrible situation in my view. Ok. I got ahead of myself…

Wayne Shorter at the Village Vanguard, NYC, 1965. *- Photo by Francis Wolff, co-founder of Blue Note Records AND one of the finest Photographers in the history of Jazz.

As a saxophonist, his playing is characterized by three things. First, like Lester “Prez” Young, a major influence on him, Wayne is a Master of using space in his playing. During a solo, silence becomes an integral part of the music. Coincidentally, or not, Miles Davis is, perhaps, the most famous soloist in Music history for his use of silence, and this is a trait that seems to become more and more prominent in Wayne’s playing during his days with Miles (beginning in September, 1964), and ever since. The second defining thing about Wayne’s playing is that he added the distinctive sound of the soprano saxophone, popularized earlier in Jazz by Sidney Bechet, Steve Lacy and Wayne’s friend, John Coltrane (among others), to his standard tenor sax in performances and recording beginning in late 1968, and it quickly became a sound he was identified with. The soprano’s higher range is ideal for cutting through the layers of electronic instruments Wayne was heard with beginning with Miles’ legendary Bitches Brew album and then with Weather Report.

Adam’s Apple, Blue Note, 1966, features his Miles Davis band-mate at the time, Herbie Hancock, who has remained one of his closest friends to this day. *- Blue Note Records Photo.

Third- Jazz soloing is frequently referred to as “spontaneous composing,” When Wayne Shorter plays, his economy creates melodies in his solos that comes closer to that definition than just about anyone else I can think of. Here’s an example of what I mean, Wayne performing his now classic composition Footprints, in 1966 on his Blue Note album, Adam’s Apple, with his long time friend, and former collaborator with Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, on piano. Wayne plays the melody (also known as the “head” of the composition) twice, then his solo begins at the 1:15 mark. (Sorry. youtube won’t let me embed the video.)

As a composer, who’s Music graces some of the greatest recordings ever made, Wayne Shorter is, likely, to have the longest influence. Many of his compositions have been considered “standards” for decades. Yet, his orchestral and larger ensemble pieces remain either unheard or overlooked. Some of these will finally be heard on disc when Blue Note releases Emanon next month, which will include a whole CD Of Wayne’s orchestral arrangements performed with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Underrated is his accomplishment as a bandleader. His Wayne Shorter Quartet, 2000-ongoing, is high on the list of great Jazz groups of the century.

Then there is his recorded legacy.

Wayne Shorter with Lee Morgan during Shorter’s Night Dreamer session, Englewood Cliffs NJ, April 29, 1964. *- Photo by Francis Wolff.

The first recorded appearance I can find of Wayne is from July 3, 1959, when at 25, he was a member of the Maynard Ferguson Big Band at that year’s Newport Jazz Festival. Yes, a recording exists! 1959…That’s 2 years before Bob Dylan started performing in NYC. Almost immediately after that concert Art Blakey approached Ferguson trying to pry Wayne from his band. “The Big Band is a bomber,” he told Ferguson. “Wayne is a fighter pilot,” referring to his better suitability for his own small group, Blakey’s Jazz Messengers (usually 5 pieces in those days). Ferguson released Wayne, who immediately flew to join The Messengers in Fort Lick, Indiana. The subsequent five years produced a zenith in the long and storied career of Blakey’s renowned Jazz Messengers and, as much as any other group, served to define the sound of the still popular genre known as “Hard-Bop,” who’s classic grooves (including many by the Messengers), became a favorite source of sampling for “Acid-Jazz” and Hip-Hop in the 1990s.

Wayne Shorter, left, quickly became Music Director of the Jazz Messengers, supplying the band with much of its repertoire. He’s shown with bassist Jymie Merrit, and drummer Art Blakey, rear, the leader of the Jazz Messengers, in August, 1960. *-Photo by Francis Wolff

During his Messengers period, he recorded his first solo album, Introducing Wayne Shorter (shown earlier) in November, 1959, and the rest is a history that is STILL being written. The latest chapter, Emanon, to be released next month, a year short of the 60th Anniversary of Introducing, will include a graphic novel, co-written by Mr. Shorter.

An extremely rare shot of Miles & Wayne both smiling during a live performance by the Miles Davis Quintet. Source- probably a TV Broadcast, most likely in Europe. *- Photographer unknown.

After leaving Blakey, Wayne was hired by Miles Davis in the fall of 1964, completing what was one of the greatest groups in Jazz history- Miles Davis’ mid 1960’s Quintet, aka “Miles Davis’ Second Great Quintet” (from late 1964 through 1968), with Herbie Hancock, piano, Ron Carter on bass and Tony Williams on drums. Wayne proceeded to write yet more songs that are now “standards,” (including “Footprints,” “Orbits,” “Dolores,” “Masqualero,” “Limbo,” “Vonetta,” and “Nefertiti”) for a group that re-wrote what small group interplay could be on the albums Nefertiti, Miles Smiles, Sorcerer, and the aptly named E.S.P., named after another of Wayne’s compositions, to such an extent that it’s never been surpassed, in my opinion, and given the incomparable level of talent among its 5 members, may never be equalled. To my ears, it was a revolution in small group musical performance akin to the creation of Cubism in painting and sculpture by Picasso, Braque & Juan Gris, Miles being something of a “musical Picasso,” who’s career has about as many different periods and styles as the Spanish Master Artist.

As timeless as this music is, Wayne Shorter, like Picasso or Miles, wouldn’t stay in the same place musically for long. His years with Miles, spanning an appearance on the Steve Allen TV Show on September 1, 1964 through March 7, 19702, would be one of the few groups who would change the face of music, particularly small group Jazz.

The MDQ live at the Newport Jazz Festival, 1966. *- Photo from the Sony Miles Davis Newport Festival Box Set. Herbie Hancock, Miles, Ron Carter, Wayne, and Tony Williams on drums, left to right. Photographer unknown.

Miles’ First Great Quintet was the group he led featuring the incendiary John Coltrane on Tenor Sax. Wayne and Coltrane were friends who frequently practiced together3. When Coltrane left Miles in 1960 to form his own group, he suggested Wayne to Miles, but at that point, Wayne was playing with Blakey’s Jazz Messengers.  John Coltrane, was famous for his “sheets of sound” style, of which Miles once said, “I had seven tenor players, once.” Paired with Miles’ sublime taste and genius for using silence, the two made perfect foils. It’s interesting that as his time with Miles went on, Wayne Shorter almost seemed to take an opposite, “less is more,” approach, almost the opposite of Coltrane’s, adopting a style a bit like Miles himself.

Art in a box. If I were to take five albums with me to that desert island? You’re looking at one: The Complete Recordings of Miles Davis Second Great Quintet.

Whereas Jazz, to that point, had been characterized by improvisation in solos, in the Second Great Quintet, group improvisation, perhaps influenced by the “free Jazz” of the avant garde, revolutionized more mainstream Jazz. Now, every single note this group played together is considered among the essential Jazz recordings ever made. The box set, above, is complemented by another extraordinary box set, “Live at the Plugged Nickel,” which documents a week of performances during which you can actually hear the group in the process of evolving, Miles, himself, had noted that early on in their live career, the rhythm section played differently behind him than it did behind the other soloists in the group, being more daring behind them. He called them out about it, and the results are there to be heard.

The title of this CD compilation of “greatest hits” from Wayne’s Blue Note period is both true, and an understatement. It’s a great place to start exploring Wayne’s accomplishment. *-Photo by Francis Wolf.

As if all this wasn’t enough, during his time with Miles, Wayne ALSO recorded a string of solo albums for the legendary Blue Note Records label that are now classics, themselves, beginning with 1964’s Night Dreamer. If you haven’t heard it, Juju, Speak No Evil, or the others, I think they’re a great place to start exploring Wayne. He continued to record for Blue Note as a solo artist right up until he left Miles.

On September 20th, 1969, John Lennon announced to the others that he was leaving The Beatles, effectively ending their era. One month before, on August 19th, 1969, Miles began the recording sessions that would mark the beginning of a completely new era in Jazz, creating the bombshell that was and is Bitches Brew, who’s effects and aftereffects revolutionized Jazz and any number of other Musical styles as well. As part of his exploration of electric music, Miles expanded the Quintet. Wayne left in 1970.

My Photo of Wayne performing with Weather Report at the Palladium, NYC, in the 1980’s next to Joe Zawinul’s keyboard gear.

How to follow being a member of one of the greatest groups in the history of recorded Music? He banded together with another ex-Miles sideman, keyboardist & composer, Joe Zawinul, who he had first played with way back in 1959 with Ferguson!, to co-lead the now legendary group Weather Report. Like its name, the sound of the band changed as often as the weather, or the release of their next album. Unlike the rest of what came to be called “Jazz Fusion,” Weather Report obeyed no formula. Their first 2 albums border on the avant garde. From their third album, Mysterious Traveller, on, they found their stride, and though the rhythm section continually changed (coalescing for a time around the incandescent bass genius, the late, Jaco Pastorius, an acquaintance of mine over the last decade of his life), into a “classic” period.

The Wayne Shorter Quartet live at Town Hall, NYC, February, 2011. Wayne is on Soprano Sax, with Danilo Perez (piano), John Patitucci (bass) and Brian Blade (drums).

After Weather Report, possibly inspired by something Miles had said to him about this being his time, Wayne Shorter, finally, became a band leader. And what a band he led! The Wayne Shorter Quartet, consisting of younger masters, Danilo Perez, piano, John Pattitucci, bass, and Brian Blade on drums, dared the seemingly impossible- to follow in the musical footsteps of one of the most daring and innovative acoustic groups in Music history- Miles’ Second Quintet, though with only one horn- Wayne’s. Beginning on September 17, 2000, until the current moment, they have been, to my ears, the first great and important Jazz group of the millennium. Astoundingly, over 18 years of extraordinary performances, only TWO official records have been released by them- 2005’s “Beyond the Sound Barrier,” on Verve, and 2013’s “Without a Net,” on Blue Note, released 49 years after the release of Wayne’s first solo Blue Note album, 1964’s Night Dreamer. Next month, Blue Note will mark Wayne’s 85th by releasing the 3-CD/Lp set by the Wayne Shorter Quartet, Emanon. It’s about time!

Imagine the sound. Moments before I took this, the Wayne Shorter Quartet had just finished lifting the roof off of Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater in 2012. John Patitucci’s bass rests on its side behind Wayne’s soprano sax. Given the group has been heard on only TWO albums to this point as I write this, “imagining” the sound, range, daring and inventiveness this incomparable group creates each and every time it’s graced the stage over the past 17 years is what we have been left with, and what I was thinking about when I shot this.

As GREAT as his recorded legacy is, the albums represent only one part of it- particularly in documenting the Music of Wayne Shorter in this millennium. Since 2000, there have only been FOUR Wayne Shorter albums released. Meanwhile, he’s been leading one of the most important groups in Jazz, or in any kind of Music, since 2000, the Wayne Shorter Quartet. To date, this group has been heard on only TWO records-2005’s Beyond the Sound Barrier, and 2013’s Without A Net, a titled that perfectly sums up their live performances. In an interview with Joe Lovano (below), Wayne refers to “the mission” of this group, to continue to explore the territory marked out earlier in the Miles Davis Live at the Plugged Nickel recordings. Since their first performance (known to me) at the Monterey Jazz Festival in September, 2000, the Wayne Shorter Quartet has performed hundreds, possibly thousands, of times. With only two albums to their credit, their evolution and accomplishment remains undocumented. The records companies have seriously let the world, posterity and Music history down here. Some of their performances have been recorded and broadcast by various broadcasting companies around the world, and some are traded among collectors4. They help document the development and evolution as well as prove the importance of this group, and serve to make me feel that the failure to completely and fully document them approaches a cultural tragedy. Will some of these recordings continue to leak out, like John Coltrane’s have, 50 years after his passing? How long will it be before the world is able to hear hear it in the depth it deserves to be heard and finally be able to fully assess the accomplishments of the Wayne Shorter Quartet?

Then there are the orchestral pieces Wayne Shorter has written. Some may appear on Emanon, but there have been rumors of others. These have been sparsely, if ever, performed to date, and so it may be a while before we get to hear them. As a result, I write this piece with the caveat that I know that much of the man’s astounding accomplishment remains unheard. I hope I get to hear it before I’m 85.

Finally, Wayne, the survivor, the Buddhist, and student of life, physics, science fiction and the possibilities, has achieved the status of “sage” when he speaks, which is both rare and sparingly, not unlike his sax playing. He’s become something of a “Yogi Berra of Jazz” with his memorable quotes. If you want an extended taste, here’s one of the longest recorded interviews with Wayne, chocked full of incredible recollections, conducted by saxophonist Joe Lovano-

Perhaps my favorite Wayne-ism is his definition of Jazz- “Jazz means I dare you.” Keep that in mind when you listen to him.

As he turns 85 today. I wish Wayne the VERY Happiest of Birthdays!, a heartfelt THANK YOU for your genius and artistry, and many more years of health, life and Art. Congratulations on the long overdue Kennedy Center Honors coming up this fall!

For everyone else, I hope you avail yourself of a chance to go hear him, or listen to his records again soon, and often. There are galaxies to discover and even life lessons to learned from his music. So much so that I believe people will be listening to Wayne for as long as they are born with ears. And then, by “E.S.P” after.

Recommended Wayne-

It’s all good.

Seriously. In fact, I can’t think of many other Musicians who I could say I haven’t heard a “bad” or “uninteresting” recording by. That includes live dates traded by collectors. You may not like the setting, you may prefer acoustic music to electric, etc., but as for Wayne and his playing? It’s always good. That speaks to the integrity of the man as an Artist, and part of the reason so many revere him. If you choose to buy some Wayne from the links below (only), I will receive a small commission. Thanks.

If you’re new to him and want to dip your toe in the Ocean of Wayne, I recommend starting with Classic Blue Note Recordings, a sort of “Greatest Hits” of his Blue Note period, or the Blue Note albums Night Dreamer, Juju, or Speak No Evil. For classic, electric Wayne, get Heavy Weather by Weather Report. High Life, on Verve, is a masterpiece in my view, and the most overlooked of Wayne’s classic solo albums. If you want to hear Wayne in the groove, check out Ugetsu, Free For All, or Indestructible by Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. To hear Wayne making history with Miles, Nefertiti, Miles Smiles, Sorcerer, and E.S.P. are impossible for me to choose between, so I’d opt for the box set, The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings Of The Miles Davis Quintet January 1965 To June 1968, while the live set The Complete Live At The Plugged Nickel 1965 presents the other side of that coin. For the best of the current Wayne Shorter Quartet, as I look forward to Emanon, Without A Net, his return to Blue Note is stellar. The title sums up the group’s approach, which you can experience in full effect, here-

*- Soundtrack for this post- “Footprints” by Wayne Shorter and recorded by the Miles Davis Quintet on Miles Smiles.

(UPDATE- My thoughts on Wayne’s passing on March 2nd, 2023 are here.)

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  1. In reply to an email- Duke is Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington, Louis is Louis Armstrong, Bird is Charlie “Yardbird” or “Bird” Parker, Trane is John Coltrane, Monk is Thelonious Monk, Count is William James “Count” Basie, Prez is Lester Young, ie “The President,” Fats is Thomas “Fats” Waller, Billie the one and only Billie Holliday, Hawk is Coleman Hawkins, Miles is Miles Davis, Sonny is Sonny Rollins, Ornette is Ornette Coleman, Cannonball is Julian “ Cannonball ” Adderley, Jaco is my late acquaintance John Francis Pastorius, and Wayne is the inimitable Wayne Shorter. ↩
  2. As far as my research shows, these are the first and final appearances Wayne Shorter made as a member of Miles Davis’ groups. ↩
  3. Wayne speaks about his relationship with John Coltrane among others in the interview/conversation he did with Joe Lovano, posted below. It’s completely enthralling stuff which makes me pray that he’s, also, working on a book or autobiography, though I have never heard rumor to this effect. He does mention in it that John Coltrane kept a diary. That has not yet been made public. ↩
  4. A list of unreleased, live, Wayne Shorter dates going back to 1959 currently runs to over 200 pages! ↩

Directions In Listening By Miles Davis

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A ShortList Of Recommended Miles Davis Albums

Timeless. Miles on an Apple “Think Different” Billboard, I shot in June, 1998 on West 23rd Street.

This is an Addendum to my “Riffing On Miles Davis” Post in response to a note I’ve gotten asking what specific recordings I’d recommend listeners check out to hear Miles, and/or get a fuller appreciation of his accomplishment over the 40 years he recorded albums under his own name1. Personally? Miles Davis was my biggest musical influence, as he was for many of the musicians I worked with or admired. He was a living legend to us, akin to what Picasso was to visual Artists during his lifetime, and yes, there are quite a few interesting similarities between Miles & Picasso, but that’s a different piece. Ok. So, here’s my “ShortList” of essential Miles albums- suggestions for both a listener new to Miles Davis to start with, and for where to go from there. To clarify- Miles’s earliest records are almost 65 years old now. Older albums get re-released, if they continue to be worth hearing!, all the time, often with different names. Almost all of Miles’s are still available. I’m using their original album titles here. Disclaimer- This is a “ShortList”- a place to start. If I’ve left your favorite out? I hear you. I’m leaving out some of mine, too. I think we can all agree that there is A LOT of great music in his Discography. Dip your toe in and see where the River Miles leads you. I hope we can all agree on that.

First, Kind of Blue– Yeah. What else would be first? It seems to be every critic’s #1 choice as the first Jazz album you should have. Ok, I get that. For me, it’s much more. It’s a record I’ve lived with for most of the 56 years since its been released. I’ve gone through phases with it. First, there was the “tunes” phase- listening to, and loving the songs as songs, while marveling that they were basically composed at the recording sessions, or as legend has it, by Miles in a taxi on the way to them.

The Official Soundtrack of The Night. I go to The Met to see Art. I listen to this to hear it. I wore out the Lp, then bought this, the first CD release. There's now a 50th Anniversary 2 Disc edition with outtakes- Get that.

The Official Soundtrack of The Night. I go to The Met to see Art. I listen to this to hear it. I wore out the Lp, then bought this, the first CD release. There’s now a 50th Anniversary 2 Disc edition with outtakes- Get that.

Then, there was the Miles-“So-What”-Solo-Phase, which most musicians probably go through. I’m talking about Miles’ solo on “So What,” the first solo on the record. First, you marvel at its utter perfection. Finally, you write it out, study it, and learn to play it on whatever instrument you play. Then? You realize that was easy enough, but it doesn’t come within miles (sorry) of what he did. You start to wonder why not, and you then start to become a “Musician.” Further, jazz can be taught, but Jazz can’t be taught, I believe. The intellect, the sensibility, the taste, the creativity, the feeling, and the unique essence that makes a Master Musician are either there, or they’re not. Even if they are all there? You’re still not Miles. Only Miles was Miles. If you want to know why he was so great, or hear music that is Art, in my opinion, listen to this.

In the 1990’s I was fortunate enough to know, and once work with, the multi-intrumentalist & vocalist Mark Ledford. He passed way far too soon and is probably best known for having been in Pat Metheny’s Band, and having a solo CD out on Verve called Miles 2 Go. He also played with the late, great Joe Zawinul, the co-founder of the legendary band, Weather Report. Joe composed “In A Silent Way,” now a Miles Davis classic, and performed on some of Miles’ classic albums. Mark introduced me to Mr. Zawinul, one evening at the Blue Note, NYC. I was a very long time lover of Joe Zawinul’s music going back before his days with Weather Report, to those days he spent with Miles. Yet, when I finally got to meet him, all I could ask him was, “Have you heard Led play trumpet?” I wondered if he felt about Mark’s playing the way I did. Mark Ledford uncannily sounded like Miles on trumpet. Believe me, I don’t say that lightly. The highway of Jazz is littered with “Miles-wannabees,” who never were. Like me, Mark Ledford had grown up with Miles, and unlike me, he played trumpet. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, but when I first heard him play, I was like “WOW. This is uncanny.” I was lucky enough to have him play trumpet on one of my records.

Anyway, the point is that even Mark Ledford, a brilliant multi-talented musician, who could sound more like Miles than any of the millions of Miles imitators, wasn’t Miles. He would tell you that. Listening to Miles and trying to think where he was going…what would come next…was a game I still play. Then? There was that sound. As I wrote earlier, for me, his sound defines living in NYC as much as any sound I can think of. People in London, Cairo, Tokyo and Moscow probably feel the same way. Well? Sorry, but Kind of Blue was recorded here, within walking distance from where I’m writing this, so we’ll take dibs on it. Yet, Kind of Blue is as much about Miles’ sound when he plays, as it is about the sound when he didn’t play. It’s a masterpiece of silence, as much as it is of music, of “negative space,” as Artists call it, as I mentioned in my first Miles Post. When you go back and listen to earlier Miles albums you can hear it there, too. But, it’s a featured player here, and something that became integral to listening to Miles henceforth. For me, this silence is what puts Miles’ legendary coolness over the top. No other musician, in any kind of music has ever been as revered for what he played as for what he chose not to play.

Another view of the “Think Different” Billboard, June, 1998. This one shot from under what is now the High Line

Time would go by, and I’d come back to Kind of Blue, again. This time for Trane. John Coltrane is a world unto himself. He was as revolutionary a figure as Miles was, in his own way. One of the first “mainstream” jazz musicians to experiment and adopt elements of the avant garde in his work, he was a man who was on a mission. A mission that ended far too soon, when he suddenly passed in 1967, age 40! Look at his discography and you’d think he lived to be 100, almost no one was as prolific a recording Artist as John Coltrane (Thank goodness!) Like Miles, all periods of Trane’s work are important, and his period with Miles, which would end shortly, was certainly up there with any of them. While Miles was creating perfect statements with the utmost economy, John Coltrane was wailing. He often sounds like a man who knows he doesn’t have a lot of time to get it all in. Possessing one of the most formidable techniques in the long & storied history of the Tenor Sax in Jazz, he used every ounce of it, seemingly, all the time. Miles once said, no doubt referring to him, “I had seven tenor players, once.” Yet, in spite of what some critics say, I don’t ever hear him overplaying. Later, his explorations carried him much further afield than we hear him here, and that’s a different story, but on Kind of Blue, he is the perfect counterfoil for Miles (as he is one virtually all of his recordings with him.)

So, you can listen to “Kind of Blue” for the music. You can listen to it for Miles. You can listen to it for Trane.

And, you can also listen to it for the great Cannonball Adderley. Or the great Bill Evans, or for the band as a whole (Paul Chambers bass and Jimmy Cobb’s drums complete the band, with Wynton Kelly on piano on one track), a unique combination of master musicians, all at their peak, all together in one room. Thank Buddha there was recording equipment, engineers present, and someone remembered to hit the “Record” button! (I’ve been to sessions where someone actually forgot to.)

After Kind of Blue, there are many different ways you can go in exploring Miles’ recorded legacy. For me, I’d go with the music of the group that took acoustic music further than anyone has- before or since- Miles’ Quintet of 1965-67, the so-called “Second Great Quintet.”.

You’re looking at nothing less than what remains the State of The Art in small group Jazz. Available as individual records, or in this Complete Box Set, seen at Barnes & Noble, Union Square, one of the few CD Stores left in NYC this week. I never leave home without it…on my Phone.

To clarify- Miles’ “First Great Quintet” was the working group (i.e. they performed live) he had from 1955-58 that included Tenor Saxophonist John Coltrane. The group that recorded Kind of Blue is referred to as his “Sextet.” For me, everything the Second Great Quintet recorded is essential. Miles was joined by Wayne Shorter (Tenor, and later, Soprano Sax), Herbie Hancock (Piano), Ron Carter (Bass) and Tony Williams (Drums)- a group of young, and already accomplished, talents who grew to become masters on their instruments during this experience. One of their albums was titled “E.S.P.,” which perfectly summed up the previously unheard level of group intercommunication they attained as well as anything could. Therefore, the “album” I’m recommending is The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings Of The Miles Davis Quintet January 1965 To June 1968, a 6 CD set, pictured above. It’s a compilation of their albums of the period. It would be very very hard for me to pick one album. If you held a gun to my head? E.S.P., then Nefertiti, The Sorceror, Miles Smiles, but we are splitting hairs now.

E.S.P. as a single Lp/CD. While the music inside is telepathic, the cover, with then wife Cicely Tyson, makes me wonder, too. See note below about Japanese pressings.

E.S.P. as a single Lp/CD. While the music inside is telepathic, the cover, with then wife Cicely Tyson, makes me wonder, too. See note below about Japanese pressings.

This is music that features Miles at the peak of his powers, in the company of 4 young musicians (Tony Williams was 17 when he joined Miles!) who are becoming Masters, themselves, right in front of our ears. A key point in this evolution occurred when when the band was performing live early on. Miles wondered why the group played differently, more adventurously, behind Wayne’s solos than it did behind his. So he called them out on it and told them to play the same way behind his. In short order the group was matching its leader at every turn, and, by the time of their later recordings, even push him. It’s exciting, fresh, exploratory and endlessly vital music, that, in my opinion, redefined what acoustic jazz could be. Those terms are carried on in the superb Wayne Shorter Quartet of 2001 to date, one of the few bands that carries on in the spirit of the GQ2, perhaps at the behest of Miles, himself, who reputedly passed the torch to Wayne the last time they spoke. I digress.

If, like me, you get to the point where you must hear every note the GQ2 played, than by all means check out The Complete Live At The Plugged Nickel, Miles In Berlin, and the Live In Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series Vol. 1, (a 2011 release that only scratches the surface of rare live recordings by this band that are avidly traded among collectors. These are not on the “Shortlist,” however. Many of these are in surprisingly good recording quality, having originated from Radio or TV Broadcasts- or both.)

Many Miles fans will part ways with me here, when I make my next selections, and that’s fine. It’s my personal opinion. I think we’d all agree that it’s best to hear as much of Miles’ music as one can and decide for yourself, what speaks to you. There are about 50 studio albums to choose from that Miles recorded, 36 or so live albums, but, as I said, these are augmented by hundreds of live tapes that collectors trade. This list is merely a suggested starting point to help you figure out where you’d like to go, or suggest new roads if you’ve dipped your toe in Miles’ Ocean.

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This one changed my life. Oh, and music has never been the same since, too. Perfectly titled. Perfect cover art. Perfectly Revolutionary.

I’d suggest Bitches Brew next. As I touched on previously, Miles Running The Voodoo Down. it was a revolution in a career of many innovations. It still sounds ahead of its time to me. It has that air of improvisation that Kind of Blue has, but in an entirely different way. Wayne, Keyboardists Joe Zawinul, Chick Corea, Larry Young, Guitarist John McLaughlin, Bass Clairnetist(!) Bennie Maupin, Bassist Dave Holland, and Drummers Lenny White, Jack DeJohnette, Billy Cobham and Percussionists Airto and Don Alias, joined Miles in brewing up a concoction that melted the borders not only between rock and jazz but between so many other kinds of music at the same time, it was like the flat earth had suddenly become round. I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say it had the equivalent effect of The Beatles going psychedelic 2 years earlier with the release of “Strawberry Fields Forever.” The influence of this album is everywhere I turn today- every time I see a jazz group that includes an electric instrument, there it is, or a group of some other kind of music that has jazz elements (including Prince) and an electric instrument or two.

Miles’ work with Gil Evans is also revolutionary, and much less controversial. Many consider it his most beautiful music. It extends as far back as 1949-50 and is collected on the legendary, and highly recommended, album The Complete Birth of The Cool, which is exactly what it was. Miles has been “cool” ever since. For me? He defines it. The shot below is from a radio session done the year before the record. Miles was playing Gil Evans Arrangements that featured unusual instruments for small group jazz, like the tuba and french horn. So, the band became known as “Miles’ Tuba Band.”  About 10 years later, they reconvened to created the masterpieces “Sketches of Spain” and “Porgy and Bess,” (yes, the Gershwin Opera). Add them to your list.

Pre-Birth of the Cool. Miles, NYC in 1948 with Lee Konitz on Alto, and Gerry Mulligan on Baritone Saxes, Left, John Barber on Tuba. From my collection.

Ok, it’s been hard to leave off other albums featuring John Coltrane, so I will wait no longer.

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No. He’s not posing here, or in the silhouette. Only Sinatra and Ella can “sing” standards with Miles. (Louis and Billie ain’t bad, either.)

Milestones is a classic. Along with Trane, it contains another (like on Kind of Blue) rare appearance by Cannonball Adderley, along with Red Garland (Piano), Paul Chambers (Bass), and Philly Joe Jones (Drums). This band, without Cannonball, comprised Miles “First Great Quintet.” “‘Round About Midnight,” and “Miles Ahead” would be your next stops for the studio work of this group. Two points should be made here- 1) Miles created these records for Columbia Records, who he signed with in 1955. Before that, this group recorded for Prestige. Among the Prestige titles, I love Workin’ and Steamin’, though Cookin’ and Relaxin are right up there as well.

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Workin’” but not Steamin’ “It Never Entered My Mind” is on this. One of his greatest performances for my money.

After these, head to the even earlier Blue Note recordings Miles made, that were released as Young Man With A Horn, and then Miles Davis Volume 2 and Volume 3, from 1952-54. They have been collected in a Blue Note “Complete” CD set.

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Miles Davis Volume 2 on Blue Note. One of their most iconic cover designs.

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The back cover of the above proves that Music is the universal language.

Oh. The other point, 2) is that the Miles in that as great as their studio records are, and they are among the greatest ever made by anyone, Miles and Coltrane MUST be heard together live, in my opinion, to get any kind of full appreciation of their chemistry together. As I’ve said, they were the perfect foils- Miles the genius of understatement, the inventor (to my way of thinking) of musical silence, contrasted by John Coltrane, who was at that time working on development of the final stages of what would be called his “sheets of sound” style. What might sound on paper like a musical train wreck (no pun intended), was in reality magic. Art. From there, there are, once again, bootleg recordings around, many of which belie the late 1950’s dates, with more than acceptable sound. The greatest “official” live album is Jazz At The Plaza, a somewhat unintended album (the musicians didn’t know they were being recorded), but a miraculous live document of the Miles Davis Kind Of Blue Sextet.

Ok. Still with me? Want to hear more? Good! We still many Miles to go! (Sorry.)

Before, and after, Bitches Brew was a very fertile period for Miles. In A Silent Way, and Jack Johnson are bookends in a sense- the former beautiful, subtle, crystalline, thanks in no small part to the presence of Joe Zawinul, who wrote the title track, in a band that includes 4/5 of the Second Great Quintet, along with John McLaughlin (Guitar), Dave Holland (Bass) and Chick Corea joining Hancock and Zawinul on Keyboards). Recorded in 1969, it’s the album right before Brew. “Jack Johnson” was recorded immediately after Brew in February and April, 1970. Miles Backed by “the greatest rock and roll band you have ever heard” (QUOTE) (McLaughlin, Sonny Sharrock- Guitars, Hancock & Corea- Keyboards, Benny Maupin on Bass Clarinet and Jack DeJohnette and Billy Cobham on Drums, he wasn’t lying.

You’ll notice that many of the albums pictured are the Japanese CD’s. Why? The choice of Lp or CD is up to you. I actually have both of many of these, but my CD’s were nearer to hand.) In records and CD’s there are some who think the Japanese pressings sound better than the American versions. For Miles’ albums, this was true years ago, both in the later days of vinyl Lp’s and the early days of CD’s when many were rushed into production here in the US while paying little attention to sonic quality, sometimes, not even bothering to find the correct master tapes. So, early on, I went for the Japanese CBS/Sony pressings, which are what I still have and are shown here. CBS/Sony (Japanese Columbia Records) was legendarily fastidious in their attention to sound quality.

A bigger potential issue is that Columbia, which owns most of Miles recordings up to the 1980’s undertook a reissue program that saw them scour their vaults for unreleased takes to include as part of a series of “Complete” Box Sets. You should also be aware that they remixed (and remastered) the original tapes. This is something I find potentially troublesome in some cases. There is a lot to be said for having the original mixes, when an album was orignally mixed (i.e. was recorded on multi-track equipment.) Off the top of my head, I’m not sure what the current state is of mixes one would get if buying these albums on CD’s today. They might be the original mixes, which would have been done by Miles’ legendary Columbia producer, Teo Macero, more likely, they may have been remixed. It should say somewhere on the packaging. I don’t have them, so I can’t check. The Japanese CBS/Sony pressings I show are both. Bitches Brew states that it is a “New Remix,” but there is no additional information anywhere in the package.

Really? By Who? They're not sayin

Really? By Who? They’re not saying.

I’d have to compare them side by side with the original Lp versions out now to know if they’re different. Does it make a difference? Possibly not. Miles music was acoustic up to 1969-1970 and performed in small groups. There’s really not a lot to mess up there, though anything is possible. (Note- Sony, who bought Columbia, issued a 9 CD Box set called Miles Davis: The Original Mono Recordings in 2013, of his Columbia albums through 1961, with a few extras. I haven’t heard this because I prefer Stereo, when it issued that way, along with mono.) With the later albums, there’s much more potential for difference. I’m saying all of this to make the buyer aware of it, though it’s a subject I have not as yet seen anyone mention. It applies to other artists, especially rock artists, much more than it might to jazz artists for the reasons I mention.  Still, with any classic recordings, it is something to keep an eye, and ear on. IF you really want to get to the heart of the matter? Go for the original Lp’s. Yes, you can spent a fortune on original pressings, but if you are only looking to get the original mixes, any of the issues from the Lp era will contain them (I can’t vouch for the currently available Lp reissues.) The front cover images of these Japanese CBS/Sony CD’s are the same as the original Lp’s.

Ok. back to the matter at hand. While Miles’ recording career lasted about 40 years, he took about 6 years off from about 1974 to 1980. In 1981 he suddenly returned, with a new album, and a live tour. He continued to do both until he passed in September, 1991. We miss him, still.

The return from retirement.

In 1980 Miles came back after over a decade off. He recorded a string of quite popular albums, but only two of them are going to make my “Shortlist.”

Tutu is a different type of masterpiece. Produced by the very underrated Marcus Miller, for me, it harkens back to Gil Evans while using every bit of a contemporary sound, with utmost taste. Brilliant and unexpected, it’s matched every bit by the incredible photography on the cover and in the booklet.

The Prince of Darkness looms out of the Darkness.

The “Prince of Darkness” looms out of the Darkness on the cover of. Tutu, by Irving Penn, part of what I think is the greatest photoshoot of Miles ever. The 4 foot poster of this was pictured in my prior Post.

And finally, Miles & Quincy: Live At Montreux. Recorded two and a half months before Miles’ passing, it was one of only two times Miles looked back musically, and WHAT a time! With an orchestra led by Quincy Jones, Miles actually plays the music he made famous with Gil Evans on “Porgy & Bess” and “Sketches of Spain,” 30 years earlier. Most of his fans thought he would NEVER play them again. It was the last musically revolutionary thing he did. Then, two days later in Paris, France, he, again, walked down memory lane, but this time in the company of many of the now Masters who were once his sidemen, including- Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Jackie McLean, John Scofield and Dave Holland, among others. Thankfully, Audio and Video recordings of both concerts exist.

The sun never sets on great music. June, 1998 on West 23rd Street.

A perfect conclusion to one of the most important careers in the history of recorded music.

Oh! Lest I forget to at least mention that Miles also recorded extensively with no less than Charlie “Bird” Parker, who he was obsessed to find after moving to NYC to study at Julliard, at age 18. He not only found him, Bird moved in with him, and the two played together off and on regularly during Davis’ key formative years. Many of these recordings are still available, and while they are quite good, and endlessly fascinating, I’d recommend them to fans who have become obsessed with Miles as “something else” to hear and enjoy. It turns out that Miles Davis, perhaps, knew Bird, another of the greatest and most important musicians of the 20th Century, who died at age 34, as well as anyone did. Amazing!

Ok!

So? There you have it.

Once you make your way through these, you’ll have a good idea which direction you want to go in next. Well? You’re in the right place. Miles’ late 1960’s albums are perceptively labelled-

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‘Nuff said. Now…where are my headphones?

*-Soundtrack for this Post is “Someday My Prince Will Come,” from the 1937 Disney film, Snow White & The 7 Dwarfs, as recorded by Miles Davis on the album of the same name, which I did not list, but chose because it’s a classic performance of a song that was never intended to be a jazz standard and now is one, and…because it fits. All photos are items from my collection.

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  1. He took about 6 years off from about 1974 to 1980 ↩

Riffing On Miles Davis

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Here we go, again. Or, to quote the late, great Eddie Jefferson in “Moody’s Mood for Love”- “Here I Go, Here I Go, Here I Go, Again…”

The film, Miles Ahead, gives me cause for concern. No, I haven’t seen it yet. I’m not sure I’m going to see it. Why? Probably for the same reasons I didn’t go to see the Steve Jobs movie. While I’m all for artistic freedom and creative license, as time goes on it seems that “docudramas” that purport to be “about” someone real tend to paint incomplete pictures of their subject. They “riff” on them. Whether they are “good” movies, or not, whether they do any justice to the truth of their subject, or not, the public comes to base their opinions of their subjects on these films. Sometimes, (like Lady Sings The Blues “about” Billie Holiday, which “incongruously transforms Holiday’s messy, bisexual, masochistic romantic history into a glossy romance about a troubled, needy woman-child and the endlessly patient dreamboat who could slow but never entirely halt her march toward self-destruction,” according to Nathan Rabin of The Onion AV Club), even worse, they may leave them feeling there’s no need for them to look past the film for themselves. (Both Billie Holiday and Miles Davis wrote Autobiographies.)

This is very sad.

I’m hoping the film, whatever it’s “about,” will inspire viewers to want to hear more of Miles’ music, ideally, all of it, and that will be the primary result of it.

Last time I checked, very few Artists or Musicians had been canonized as saints, though in my personal Church of Art, they’re revered to me. They’re human. They had flaws. Some did very bad things. Allegedly committed crimes, even murder. Some did drugs, and weren’t exactly nice or easy people to know. Miles Davis has been accused of doing some bad things. Does creating great timeless Art or Music that effects millions of people make that Ok? That’s not for me to say.

Larger Than Life. Miles in a 4 foot poster from Tutu. From my collection.

I do know this-

Miles Davis was probably the most influential Artist in my life. While I never met him, his signature and mine actually did wind up on the same piece of paper once, a few inches apart, and I was fortunate enough to see him perform about 40 times. That’s as close as I got to him. But, his music, especially his albums? They’ve been closer- they’ve been a part of me since I learned how to work a record player.

When his album Bitches Brew came out, only the latest in a string of game changing albums he released every few years, it was so controversial, it led to the break up of the band I was in at the time. At that point I was playing electric bass in a friend’s blues band, and listening to jazz. After Bitches Brew, an unprecedented mix of jazz, rock, funk, avant garde, and what came to be called “world music,” and the first-shot-over-the-bow that something very new and different was going to be happening hence forth, a lot of us realized it was possible to play electric instruments and play jazz. So, I started looking around for a band to do that with, eventually found one, and went on the road with them for five years. They were all far more accomplished musicians than I was. Miles was a legend, even back then, to all of them, too. He has been as long as I can remember.

It’s hard to think about the impact that every single one of Miles’ albums had at the time it came out, going back to the Birth of the Cool, which is exactly what it was, in the late 1940’s . It must’ve been like Picasso creating a new work to the artists of his time. Miles had the ability to move mountains with every new album. Musicians would listen to them and think about them vis a vis what they were doing. Miles was always Miles beyond. In fact, all of his albums from the late 60’s bore the moniker “Directions in Music by Miles Davis.” That said it all. With Bitches Brew, people began to argue that it “wasn’t jazz.” If you had followed the thread of his music through the 1960’s, you could hear where he was going and you could also hear the same thing that always defined Miles, more than anything else- His sound.

No one could play a melody like Miles. And then, no one else had his sound.

He started the 1960’s fresh off what is widely considered the greatest jazz record ever made- Kind of Blue  in 1959. His 1960 group, now referred to as his “First Great Quintet” included that other great master of post war jazz improvisation- the tenor saxophonist, John Coltrane. The two couldn’t be more different, and made perfect foils for each other. Miles was the inventor of space- what Artists call “negative shapes,” that is, what isn’t there- in music’s case, silence. Miles could say more with less than any Artist in Jazz history- even with one note. (Even when I heard him in a concert late in his career, racked will illness and apparently having trouble moving on stage, there would be that one moment, that one note that would sear the night and make your jaw drop. The silence that inevitably followed making it infinitely more poignant.) John Coltrane was on his way to developing what became his signature “sheets of sound” style, would solo after Miles and his voluminous brilliance would serve to frame Miles the way black velvet sets off a diamond. Of him, Miles famously once said, “I had 7 Tenor players once.” Coltrane left to form his own group, but somehow Miles managed to put together another great group- his, so-called “Second Great Quintet” with Wayne Shorter on Tenor, Herbie Hancock on Piano, Ron Carter on Bass and Drummer Tony Williams. As the sum of its parts, this band of Masters, was, for me, the pinnacle. To this day, I revere every note I have heard them play in the slightly over 2 years they were together as I do no other group I have heard. No group has taken the art form of the acoustic jazz quintet further.

Then, it changed, again. He went from the Second Great Quintet to an increasingly more electric sound. This was the mid-1960’s and rock and funk were influencing him. Herbie and Wayne remained for the first few albums, and then they, too, left and were replaced by people like Keyboardists Joe Zawinul, Keith Jarrett & Chick Corea, Guitarist John McLaughlin, Bassist Dave Holland, Drummer Jack DeJohnette, and many others, quite a number of whom went on to have had long and important careers.

Today, Miles’ influence is everywhere. His legacy lives on. While many of his side men, like Hancock, Shorter, Corea, Jarrett, Holland, Marcus Miller, Mike Stern, et al, are still among the biggest names in jazz, his legacy is being handed down to their side men, and on it goes. For me, a day doesn’t go by that I don’t hear a piece of his.

So? Why do I dread this movie?

Because unless you grew up with this, it’s really hard to capture on film. Jazz was (and still is) a very hard way to make a living- mostly in small clubs in an environment filled with drugs, alcohol, crime, trouble and little to no money for most. Yes, there was  scandal and a lot of controversy in Miles’s life. It’s very easy to make a drama out of it. I hope that’s not all it does. To do so, would be to miss the point.

From here, to eternity. My other 4 foot "Tutu" Poster. This one, the cover shot.

From here, to eternity. My other 4 foot Tutu Poster by Irving Penn. This one, the classic cover shot of “The Prince of Darkness.”

It would be to miss why Miles is an Artist for the ages.

While I don’t believe in comparing Artists qualitatively, I do think it can be illuminating to see similarities and differences between them. Miles is often called “the Picasso of Jazz,” and I can understand why- Their lives largely overlapped (Picasso- 1881-1973, Miles 1926-1991. Miles also painted.) They both refused to be pigeonholed, and changed styles as frequently as it suited them. They both continued to grow and evolve as Artists literally right up to the very end. When I think about Picasso and Miles Davis, I wonder if the total number of pieces Picasso created may be very similar to the total number of performances that Miles Davis gave, when you consider live and studio performances. Though Miles was infrequently in the studio during large portions of his career, he was active as a live performer. Whatever the total numbers might be, the two are similar in that they were both extraordinarily prolific.

Picasso was very aware of the history of art and what was going on in and around him, witness his long relationships with Matisse, Braque, among others, Miles immediately sought out, then played with Charlie “Bird” Parker, the greatest musician of his time, soon after arriving in NYC to study at Julliard, and, startling to many, the  young unknown, barely out of his teens, was asked by Bird to join his group. Interestingly, as time went on, Miles, in turn, nurtured the careers (to varying degrees) of the likes of John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul and Herbie Hancock among many others. He was also very aware of what people like Jimi Hendrix and later, Prince, were doing, and played with both.

Along with Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and a few others, his performances of standards define them.

Along with this, the kid from East St Louis, Illinois wound up sonically defining New York City. It’s impossible for me to listen to Kind of Blue, which may be the greatest improvisation in music history, without seeing a tone poem of New York City in my mind each time. (A live performance shortly after its recording, with John Coltrane-)

No one else I have ever heard, in any kind of music, has come closer to it. A couple of years ago the Village Voice  ran a list of the greatest New York City songs. Nothing from Kind of Blue, which was recorded on 30th Street in Manhattan, made the list. Someone is out of their mind. Kind of Blue celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2009. Get back to me on how some of the songs the Voice picked are doing in 50 years. The “cool” sound, style and attitude he created, and embodied, in the 1950’s became en vogue everywhere, nowhere more than right here.

Maybe one day I’ll see the film and feel my fears were for naught. Miles Davis made a unique and extremely valuable contribution to music, to American and World culture. Even though he didn’t die that long ago, this contribution is already in danger of beginning to be forgotten. This is not something to be taken lightly. His legacy is important- to me and countless others. I’m writing this to express how I feel about Miles (and “riff” about him the way the film may), and to say that I hope anyone interested in him hear as much of his music as you can1

You can also support it by buying Art, Art & Photography books, and Music from my collection! Art & Books may be found here. Music here and here.

Written & photographed by Kenn Sava for nighthawknyc.com unless otherwise credited. To send comments, thoughts, feedback or propositions click here. Click the white box on the upper right for the archives or to search them. Subscribe to be notified of new Posts below. Your information will be used for no other purpose.

  1. Miles created a long legacy of recorded music, and changes styles of music more often than almost anyone else has. Kind of Blue, seems to be where most people start. After that, I’ve written an entire piece called “Directions In Listening By Miles Davis”Directions In Listening By Miles Davis” with some thoughts on what to check out next. He also wrote an Autobiography. So, get to know him through those and make your own mind up about him. If you want to know what’s really important about Miles, do yourself a favor- Go to the source- start with his music. It’s a font that will be inspiring millions for as long as music is played.

    Yes, Miles Davis was a complex man by all accounts. Like Steve Jobs, people will be trying to understand him and tell stories, even make films about him for many years to come. Both were, by all accounts, incredibly complex men. That alone makes it very hard to do them justice in a 2 hour film. Some love Miles, some loathe him, many found him scary, difficult or impossible to deal with. All I know is that Miles, the Artist, is one of the greatest Artists in music- that’s what’s important, and the rest is, now, details. If you go and see the film, keep this in mind and try and imagine the effect his music had at the time and how often it changed the musical world. That doesn’t happen often. How many Artists take those kinds of risks anymore? How many risk losing their audience? And how many do it over, and over, and over, and over, again? That’s a big part of his legacy that shouldn’t be forgotten, and one I hope will be emulated by those still being influenced by him, those who want to get to the heart of what’s really important, like this-

    Next time you listen to Miles, listen for that one note that says more than words ever can- it’s there in every one of his performances, and then listen for the silence.

    *Soundtrack for this post is “It Never Entered My Mind” as performed by Miles on “Cookin’ & Steamin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet” (there are other versions), a long time personal favorite. It was written by Richard Rogers & Lorenz Hart and published by Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

    POSTSCRIPT- June 20, 2020- I finally did see Miles Ahead. I found Don Cheadle’s performance to be amazing. It’s obvious to me how much care and passion he put into this film. Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter appear onstage during the final credits, which makes me believe they had some level of awareness of the film’s content, though I am not saying they gave their approval to it- I simply don’t know. Still, it strikes me as a dramatization, and as such, it’s fine as an ancillary source. I still say- go to the source (if you’re looking for a visual source, check out the new documentary film, Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, which ran on PBS’ American Masters series in early 2020), get familiar with Miles’ accomplishment, and his own words, and then, if you’re looking to see his life interpreted dramatically, riffed on, by someone else, check out the film. If not, you are selling Miles, and yourself, short, if the film is all you know about him. It reminds me of the dramas being done on Picasso, that other endlessly creative 20th century Artist. That they keep Miles’ and Picasso’s name in front of the public is good, I guess, but if that’s as far as the public’s interest goes, and they don’t discover who these people REALLY were for themselves? They are left with distorted views, which is what I feared when I wrote the above in March of 2016, and this is not good, in my opinion.

    NighthawkNYC.com has been entirely self-funded & ad-free for over 8 years, during which 300 full-length pieces have been published! If you’ve found it worthwhile, PLEASE donate to allow me to continue below. Thank you, Kenn. [paypal-donation ↩