Miles Davis is obviously the most iconic Jazz musician in popular culture. His 65 years on the planet-- May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991—span the most Amazing period of musical production in the United Sates so far. And his biography is essentially an historical narrative of Jazz from Charlie Parker through Marcus Miller.
I’ve diaried about Miles before. This is #4 and it’s not the last one I’ll do that follows his time line. But the music today is quite special. Today we listen to Miles’ second great quintet: the band with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. This group stretches Jazz to some of its creative limits. They also eventually hint at the jazz-rock fusion soon to come.
Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead…….
If you’ve stumbled across me for the first time today, I do my best to publish a diary every Sunday about Jazz music and related genres. I post them at about 10pm est.
I’ve diaried about Miles and John Coltrane’s early work here.
I pick up with Miles and Trane and Gil Evans here
And for the short period between Trane and Wayne, I’ve diaried about George Coleman and his time with Miles and beyond here
I am not going into “In A Silent Way” or “Bitches Brew” or beyond today. I’ll do those probably next month sometime and afterwards I’ll add more fusion artists into my bloggings.
Herbie, Ron and Tony began playing with Miles in 1963. George Coleman played with the group in 63 and up until the spring of 1964. Sam Rivers was brought in briefly in 1964. But by towards the end of the year, Miles had convinced Wayne Shorter to leave Art Blakey’s group and to play with him instead.
I’ve diaried about Wayne with Art Blakey here.
With Wayne, Miles first made a live record: “Miles in Berlin”—Recorded Sept 25 1964. Released Feb 2 1965
Milestones
Wayne will become the main composer for the band. There first studio album is called “ESP”—Recorded Jan 21-22 1965. Released 1965—and Wayne writes the title track
I think it’s worth noting how the recordings now focus on original compositions and not “standards” as had been the case in many of Mile’s previous recordings.
Eighty-One, written by Ron Carter and Miles
Released in various combinations are live recordings from The Plugged Nickle in Chicago from Decemeber 22 and 23rd, 1965. Seven sets of music are now released on 8 CD set. This is side two of the vinyl version of the box set….so its probably the 1st set of Dec 22
Green Dolphin Street and So What and The Theme
The live performances are standards and not the original tunes so much. However what they do to the standards is quite original.
“Miles Smiles”, recorded Oct 24 and 25 1966 and released Jan 1967, comes next. It included two tunes, both written by Shorter, that have become jazz standards.
Footprints
Footprints is perhaps one of the most played Jazz tunes. It’s structure is that of a minor blues, making it somewhat easier to play. Though the simplicity of the blues in C minor is quite deceptive as the framework allows for a tremendous amount of improvisation.
Dolores
I’m pretty sure my dad bought that album for me for Christmas in 1985 when I was a senior in High School. Odd to think I’ve been listening to this for 29 years.
“Sorcerer” was recorded May 24, 1967 with one cut from August 21, 1962.And was released in May 1968. The cover features a profile of Cicely Tyson, who will some years later marry Miles.
Masqualero (Shorter)
The Sorcerer (Herbie)
Released March 1968, while recorded on June 22 and 23 and July 19, 1967, “Nefertiti” is the last fully acoustic record that Miles made. It truly is a master piece. And quite moody.
Nefertiti (Shorter)
It really amazes me to think that this music is being made at the same time that Rock and Roll is transforming into something deeper. The changes in popular music are not lost on Miles and the band, but they don’t quite yet reflect this
Pinocchio (Shorter)
Shades of Ornette and Coltrane and Dolphy filter into the sound of this group. This is high level music and it places demands on the audience. The music is unapologetically NOT dance music. This is not at all "popular music". In terms of harmonic and rhythmic development--and melodic--this is advanced music with more in common with Stravinsky and Ravel than with Little Richard, The Beatles, or The Stones.
Why do we call Jazz the United States' only unique art form? Because of this music and the music of Coltrane and Ornette and the other very high level music made at the time. It's not a value judgment, its a recognition of the technical complexity and the musical innovation. Jazz like this compared to the European Classical music is comparing apples to oranges. Jazz like this compared to most popular music is like comparing apples to a hair brush.
There are bootlegs from the group’s European tour in 1967 available. There is also some live video available from this tour. Praise the youtubes!
Live Footprints Oct 31, 1967
Live Gingerbread Boy November 8, 1967
At the end of the 1970s, Miles was not recording or releasing material. The record company (Columbia) took it on themselves to release compilation albums of tracks between 1955 and 1970 that were never released. “Water Babies,” released in 1976, was first. This one featured left over tracks from the recording session for “Nefertiti” and “In a Silent Way”. (I’m not doing In a Silent Way today)
Capricorn
There are a few other tracks from this period eventually released on albums called “Circle in the Round” (1979) and “Directions” (1981). The tracks are also available in subsequent box sets and as bonus tracks on later CD releases.
Miles actual studio release after “Nefertiti” was called “Miles in the Sky.” It was recorded on January 16 and May 15-17, 1968, and it was released July 22, 1968. Now we begin to hear things maybe leaning towards the fusion to come. One track even features George Benson on guitar
Paraphernalia
Another track has Herbie on Fender Rhodes and Ron on Electric Bass. The bass was probably a Fender and they probably called it “The Fender”. I don’t think one can find too many musicians left who simply call an electric bass a Fender, but they used to exist in large numbers!
Stuff
Allow me a moment of keyboard player nerdisms…Herbie is playing a Rhodes. The first recording of a Fender Rhodes in jazz is by Joe Zawinul with Cannonball Adderley on Cannonball’s recording of “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy”. This is all somewhat early for a Rhodes. Folks seem to sometimes think a Rhodes is the electric piano on most recordings, but on most rock and roll recordings it is not. On most rock recordings (The Beatles, The Doors, Santana), the electric piano is a Wurlitzer…at least until the early 1970s.
The final album made by the quintet is the excellent “Filles de Kilimanjaro” This one was recorded on June 19 and September 24, 1968. It was released in the UK in 1968, but in 1969 for USA. Herbie, Tony and Wayne will record a bit more with Miles, but this is the last of Ron Carter with Miles. In fact, Chick Corea and Dave Holland play on two tracks, their first with Miles.
Frelon Brun (with chick and dave)
Heheh…Chick isn’t even playing a Rhodes. It’s an RMI Electronica piano. RMI’s get used a lot through the early 70s. I do believe Rick Wakeman (of Yes) uses one on “Long Distance Runaround”. Music is getting louder and pianos found in bars and clubs less frequently. The RMI was an alternative to a Rhodes or Wurlitzer. I think folks may have convinced themselves it sounded more like an acoustic piano. I’m about 90% sure it had an organ like keyboard, meaning it did not respond to how hard you hit the keys like a piano would. Keyboard technology has benefited by advancements in computer memory a great deal. My Roland Jupiter 50 weighs 25 pounds, has 73 keys, and sounds quite convincingly like an acoustic piano. Now I’m looking into one of the new Yamaha CP-4s for its action and 88 keys. Gear is fun for musicians to talk about, but probably quite boring to everyone else!
Filles de Kilimanjaro (w/herbie and ron)
I think you can hear the funk coming through these records. Of course jazz musicians invented the funk, so that shouldn’t be surprising….but it foreshadows how things are about to change starting with “In A Silent Way”…and that is right around the corner for Miles.
Music at this level is still being played in some clubs and concert halls and in some living rooms. Musicians of this level do exist. No one is making music at this level with the same high profile as Miles had today in the 21st century. In an earlier diary I called George Coleman "the bar" for how a musician play; a beacon for what musicians should strive for. This quintet is "the bar" for how well any group should play. Between Miles work and that of Coltrane on the Impulse label, the jazz world has spent much of the last 50 years trying to catch up.
Autumn Leaves 1964
Thanks for listening everyone! I'll be back next week and maybe try to do an artist a bit more obscure or I may go with some Big Band stuff since I'm doing a Big Band gig next weekend. Please support your local Jazz musicians and all local live music. Rock on with your bad selves