Miles has always led me to what's relevant in music, generation after generation. His bands have always featured the greatest, most relevant artists of their times and he either defined the moment in the jazz world or, at the very least, left me on the doorsteps of what was truly important.
I see Miles' musical career as a collection of several eras and styles. The Charlie Parker era (1940s), the Coltrane era (1950s), the great Tony Williams Quintet (1960s), Bitches Brew and Electric Miles (1970s), and the Marcus Miller ressurection era (1980s). If I reflect on how I've focused my studies of Miles' music, it would look like this:
Obviously the Tony Williams era has dominated my focus. For good reason. In my opinion, this was Miles' pinnacle. His playing had matured to incredible levels, his command of his instrument and melodic inventiveness was at its peak. The band that surrounded him was young and innovative. No group before them or since has ever mastered the artistry of space in music to the degree that they did. Wayne Shorter was a phenomenal composer, Herbie Hancock was redefining how jazz piano was approached with his classical virtuosity, Ron Carter had an immovable foundation and the great Tony Williams was emerging as one of the greatest musical forces in the 20th century. No matter how many times I listen to these recordings, I'm enlightened by what this group had to say and humbled by Tony's genius! At 17 years old he changed music forever....time will eventually catch up to him....eventually. We're not there yet.
This morning, my iPod ClockFree radio app woke me at 6:15 midway through Coltrane's solo on Bye Bye Blackbird. I don't think my brain cells have ever snapped to attention and focus faster than they did this morning! It was literally seconds from deep sleep to fully alert. It was an epiphany and a literal wake-up call to put more of that pie chart focus into the Coltrane-era band. I woke up and quickly went to iTunes to purchase a CD that I had somehow missed - Round Midnight. Two cuts on that disc are true masterpieces.
On 'Round Midnight, Miles sets up the solemnity of Monk's most pensive composition with a sensual muted trumpet statement of Monk's gorgeous melody while Red Garland supports him harmonically. Monk's compositions are harmonically dense and unlike any others. He has yet to be truly recognized for his compositional greatness. After a perfectly framed transition from the melody with punctuation from Philly Joe Jones, Coltrane takes the tune from Miles and presents a masterpiece statement that makes your head spin! You can sense his comfort with the complexity of Monk's compositions. After all, Coltrane defined his unique style on the bandstand with Monk. Knowing Coltrane's intellectual approach to his improvisation, and his relentless pursuits of endless permutations of harmonic and melodic depth to his solos, you can sense that Coltrane has invested hundreds of hours in making this tune work effortlessly for him. If you ever doubted the return on the investment in practicing your craft, Coltrane provides a clinic here!
Bye Bye Blackbird is a simple composition that opens with a sweet Red Garland introduction. Red was famous for framing a song perfectly out of the gate. There are stories about Miles freezing after Red's intros because he was just captivated to the point of being speechless. Miles states the melody here and proceeds to develop the tune with a focus on extending the melodic line with lots of space. I recall an interview with Miles where he noted that the key to good improvisation was to "play the spaces" not the notes. This is a perfect example of how to execute on that approach.
Coltrane transitions from Miles and just captivates your heart with his lyricism. You can see the musical bridge from Charlie Parker to Michael Brecker in this solo. Like Parker, and Tony Williams a decade later, Coltrane is clearly ahead of the others on this date. His sound, approach, and harmonic reinvention here is far advanced from the others yet he's sensitive to the others in the group and adeptly takes the song from Miles' simplicity to his own intellectual excursion seamlessly. You can sense his incredible genius here and can see where he is heading in the years to come. You really should listen to this solo to appreciate it's magnificence.
Red Garland completes the picture with his unique combination of Bud Powellesque be-bop and Erroll Garner's block chording. Red is so sweet and so warm. Like Herbie Hancock a decade later, he has the rare ability to support soloists perfectly from a harmonic perspective while also redefining the improvisational approach to the piano for his era.
Which takes me back to my musical father. Miles was such an incredible force in 20th century jazz. He never stayed still, he always found the best musicians, best composers, and the people that worked together to create collective greatness...Collective and individual greatness - not easy to do. He did this for several generations and always seemed to locate the defining voice for each generation. All the while, Miles also redefined his own sound and enhanced his skills on his instrument.
He was true greatness in music!
