Lecture 16

Miles Davis (1926 1991)

Born Miles Dewey Davis, III on May 26, 1926 in Alton, Illinois
Davis was a jazz trumpeter and composer widely considered to be one of the most
influential of the 20th century
Davis was at the forefront of almost every major development in jazz from World
War II to the 1990s
He played on various early bebop records and recorded one of the first cool jazz
records
He was partially responsible for the development of modal jazz, and jazz fusion
arose from his work with other musicians in the late 1960s and early 1970s

Early Life
Davis was born to a relatively affluent family in Alton, Illinois
His father was a dentist and they owned a substantial ranch
Davis mother wanted her son to learn the piano (she was a capable blues pianist,
but kept this hidden from her son)
Miles musical studies began at 13, when his father gave him a new trumpet
Davis later suggested that his fathers instrument choice was made largely to irk
his wife, who disliked the sound that the trumpet produced
Early Musical Development
Against the fashion of the time, Davis trumpet teacher, Elwood Buchanan,
stressed the importance of playing without vibrato, and Davis would carry his
clear signature tone throughout his career
Buchanan was credited with slapping Davis knuckles with a ruler every time that
he started using heavy vibrato
By the age of 16, Davis was a member of the musicians union and working
professionally when not at school
Sonny Stitt tried to persuade him to join the Tiny Bradshaw band then passing
through town, but Davis mother insisted that he finish his final year of high
school
In 1944, the Billy Eckstine band visited St. Louis (Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie
Parker were members of the band), and Davis was taken on as third trumpet for a
couple of weeks because of the illness of Buddy Anderson
Miles & Bebop
In 1944, Davis moved to New York City, ostensibly to take up a scholarship at
the Juilliard School of Music, but he neglected his studies and sought out Charlie
Parker instead

He became a member of Parkers unofficial quintet, appearing on many of

Parkers seminal bebop recordings for the Savoy and Dial labels
Davis style on trumpet was already distinctive by this point, but as a soloist he
lacked the confidence and virtuosity of his mentors, and was known to play
throttled notes, and to sometimes stumble during his solos

Half Nelson
Recorded August 14, 1947
Personnel
Charlie Parker (alto saxophone)
Miles Davis (trumpet)
John Lewis (piano)
Nelson Boyd (bass)
Max Roach (drums)
Birth of the Cool
In 1948, Davis began to work with a nonet that featured then-unusual
instrumentation such as the French horn and tuba
This nonet also featured a young Gerry Mulligan and Lee Konitz
After some gigs at New Yorks Royal Roost, Davis was signed by Capitol
Records and the nonet released several singles in 1949 and 1950, featuring
arrangements by Gil Evans, Gerry Mulligan and John Lewis
This began his collaboration with Evans, with whom he would collaborate on
many of his major works over the next 20 years
First Great Quintet & Sextet
In 1955, Davis formed the first incarnation of the Miles Davis Quintet
This band featured John Coltrane on tenor saxophone, Red Garland on piano, Paul
Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums
Avoiding the rhythmic and harmonic complexity of the then-prevalent bebop,
Davis was allowed the space to play long, legato, and essentially melodic lines in
which he would begin to explore modal music
The quintet was never stable, as several of the other members used heroin, and the
Miles Davis Quintet disbanded in early 1957
In 1958, the quintet reformed as a sextet, with the addition of Julian Cannonball
Adderley on alto saxophone
Modal Jazz
Modal jazz is jazz played using musical modes rather than chord progressions
By the 1950s, improvising over chords had become such a dominant part of jazz,
that sidemen at recording dates were sometimes given nothing more than a list of
chords to play from and creating innovative solos became exceedingly difficult
Musicians began using a modal approach to write their songs
This meant that the bassist did not have to walk from one important note
of a chord to that of anotheras long as he stayed in the scale being used

and accentuated the right notes within the scale, he could go virtually
everywhere
The pianist would not have to play the same chords or variations of the
chords, but could do anything, as long as he stayed within the scale being
used
The overall result was more freedom of expression

Milestones
Recorded February 4, 1958 at Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City
Personnel
Miles Davis (trumpet)
Cannonball Adderley (alto saxophone)
John Coltrane (tenor saxophone)
Red Garland (piano)
Paul Chambers (bass)
Philly Joe Jones (drums)
Collaboration with Gil Evans
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Davis recorded a series of albums with Gil
Evans, often playing flugelhorn as well as trumpet
The first album, Miles Ahead, showcased his playing with a jazz big band and a
horn section beautifully arranged by Evans
In 1958, Davis and Evans recorded Porgy and Bess, an arrangement of pieces
from George Gershwins opera of the same name
Sketches of Spain featured tunes by contemporary Spanish composer Joaquin
Rodrigo and also Manuel de Falla, as well as Gil Evans originals with a Spanish
theme
Sessions in 1962 resulted in the album Quiet Nights, a short collection of bossa
nova tunes which was released against the wishes of both artists
The Pan Piper
From the album Sketches of Spain
Composed, Arranged and Conducted by Gil Evans
Kind of Blue
After recording Milestones, Garland and Jones were replaced by Bill Evans and
Jimmy Cobb
Evans departed late in 1958, replaced by Wynton Kelly
In 1959, Davis re-entered the studio with his working sextet and Bill Evans to
record his magnum opus, Kind of Blue
Kelly only played on Freddie Freeloader
So What and All Blues had been played by the sextet prior to the recording
sessions, but for the other three compositions, Davis and Evans prepared skeletal
harmonic frameworks which the other musicians saw for the first time on the day
of recording, in order to generate an improvisational approach

So What
So What is a simple figure based on 16 measures of one scale, 8 of another and 8
more of the first, following a piano and bass introduction in free rhythmic style
Recorded in 1959
Personnel
Miles Davis (trumpet & leader)
Julian Cannonball Adderley (alto saxophone)
John Coltrane (tenor saxophone)
Bill Evans (piano)
Paul Chambers (bass)
James Cobb (drums)
Second Great Quintet
Coltrane departed after a 1960 tour to form his classic quartet
In 1963, Davis long-time rhythm section of Kelly, Chambers and Cobb departed
Davis quickly got to work putting together a new group, including tenor
saxophonist George Coleman and bassist Ron Carter
A few weeks later, drummer Tony Williams and pianist Herbie Hancock joined
the group
Coleman left in the spring of 1964, and by the end of the summer, Davis had
convinced tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter to quit Art Blakeys Jazz Messengers
Shorter became the principal composer of Davis quintet
The lineup of Shorter, Hancock, Carter and Williams, the last of Davis acoustic
bands, is often known as the second great quintet
Freedom Jazz Dance
From the album Miles Smiles
Recorded in October of 1966
Personnel
Miles Davis (trumpet)
Wayne Shorter (tenor saxophone)
Herbie Hancock (piano)
Ron Carter (bass)
Tony Williams (drums)
Electric Miles
Davis influences included late 1960s acid rock and funk artists such as Sly and
the Family Stone, James Brown and Jimi Hendrix
This transition required that Davis and his band adapt to electric instruments in
both live performances and the studio
Davis augmented his standard quintet with additional players
Herbie Hancock and Joe Zawinul were brought in to assist pianist Chick
Corea on electric keyboards, and guitarist John McLaughlin made the first
of his many appearances
After the group recorded In a Silent Way, Tony Williams left to form the group
Lifetime, replaced by Jack DeJohnette

Davis albums In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew were among the first fusions of
jazz and rock that were commercially successful

John McLaughlin
From the album Bitches Brew
Recorded in 1969
Personnel
Miles Davis (trumpet)
Wayne Shorter (soprano saxophone)
Bennie Maupin (bass clarinet)
Chick Corea, Larry Young & Joe Zawinul (electric piano)
John McLaughlin (guitar)
Harvey Brooks (electric bass)
Lenny White, Billy Cobham, Jack DeJohnette (drums)
Don Alias (congas)
Juma Santos (shaker & congas)
Sabbatical
Troubled by osteoarthritis (which led to a hip replacement operation in 1976, the
first of several), depression, bursitis, ulcers and a renewed dependence on alcohol
and drugs (primarily heroin), Davis performances were routinely panned
throughout late 1974 and early 1975
By the time the group reached Japan in February 1975, Davis was teetering on a
physical breakdown and required copious amounts of vodka and cocaine to
complete his engagements
Immediately thereafter, Davis withdrew almost completely from the public eye
for five years
Davis became completely dependent upon heroin, spending nearly all of his time
propped up on a couch in his apartment watching television, leaving only to score
more drugs
Last Decade
By 1979, Davis had rekindled his relationship with actress Cicely Tyson, to whom
he was married from 1981-1988
With Tyson, Davis would overcome his drug addiction and regain his enthusiasm
for music
As he had not played trumpet for the better part of three years, regaining his
famed embouchure proved to be particularly arduous
His last recordings, both released posthumously, were the hip hop-influenced
studio album Doo-Bop and Miles & Quincy Live at Montreux
Miles Davis died from a stroke, pneumonia and respiratory failure at the age of 65
Duke Booty
From the album Doo-Bop
Recorded in January and February 1991

The project stemmed from Davis sitting in his New York apartment in the
summer with the windows open, listening to the sound of the streets, and Davis
wanted to record an album of music that captured these sounds
In early 1991, Davis called up his friend Russell Simmons and asked Simmons to
find some young producers who could help create this kind of music, leading to
Davis collaboration with Easy Mo Bee

Sources
History and Tradition of Jazz by Thomas E. Larson
Jazz for Dummies by Dirk Sutro
Jazz a film by Ken Burns
http://en.wikipedia.org

Discography
1. Freddie Freeloader by Miles Davis
from the album Kind of Blue
Columbia Records CK 40579
2. Half Nelson by Charlie Parker
from the album Charlie Parker Memorial, Volume 2
Savoy Jazz SV-0103
3. Milestones by Miles Davis
from the album Milestones
Columbia Records CK 85203
4. The Pan Piper by Miles Davis with Gil Evans
from the album Sketches of Spain
Columbia Records CK 40578
5. So What by Miles Davis
from the album Kind of Blue
Columbia Records CK 40579
6. Freedom Jazz Dance by Miles Davis
from the album Miles Smiles
Columbia Records
7. John McLaughlin by Miles Davis
from the album Bitches Brew
Columbia Records
8. Duke Booty by Miles Davis
from the album Doo-Bop
Warner Brothers Records