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Miles Davis ^ John Coltrane:
GIANTS IN ketkospect
In early
Giant Steps—his first
May of 1959, tenor saxophonist John
Coltrane recorded the landmark album
Steps—his first album exclusively of original material
that signaled his arrival as both a composer and performer.
On the same date, bassist Charles Mingus recorded his master
piece Mingus Ah Urn. Later that month, saxophonist Ornette
Coleman laid down the tracks of his revolutionary (and
prophetically-titled) album The Shape Of Jazz To Come—a pro
found record that ushered in the free jazz movement.
What a month! Yet while May,
1959 gave birth to these three
classic albums, an even more impor
tant album was recorded a bit ear
lier that spring. Over two sessions
in March and April, trumpeter Miles
Davis recorded Kind Of Blue, an
album often considered the greatest
and most influential small group
recording in jazz history. Kind Of
Blue was the capstone of a fruitful
collaboration between bandleader
Davis and saxophonist John
Coltrane—both rising stars in their
early 30s. This influential pair's col
laborative catalog has just been
released on a six-CD box entitled
Miles Davis And John Coltrane: The
Complete Columbia Recordings 1955-
1961.
Since the advent of modern jazz
in the 1940s, no bandleader has
been as innovative or important as
Miles Davis. Davis began his ctreer
playing with seminal bebop saxman
Charlie Parker in the late-'40s, then
followed that by leading the his
toric Birth Of The Cool sessions in
1949-'50. Davis' promise was in question in the early-1950s,
however, as heroin addiction affected his talents and his reli
ability. By 1955, he had quit heroin, become physically fit
through a tough regimen of boxing, and finally formed a
stable, working band with Coltrane as the saxophonist. After
wrapping up a Prestige Records contract on four fine albums
with Coltrane (Cookin', Workin', Relaxin' and Steamin'), Davis
signed with Columbia Records.
Between October, 1955 and
April, 1959, Davis and
Coltrane recorded three com
plete albums—'Round About
Midnight, Milestones, and Kind
Of Blue, all included in this
boxed set. Also found here are
two live albums, Jazz At The
Plaza. Vol. 1 (recorded in 1958
and originally released in
1973) and Miles And Monk Live
At Newport (also recorded in
1958, but not released until
1964) Rounding out this mas
sive set are cuts from Someday
My Prince Will Come, as well as
a number of outtakes and
alternate cuts. To top it off,
there are 18 tracks that have
never been released—a full
hour and a half of music.
Various elements combined
to make these historic ses
sions so important. The first
was Davis' development as a
bandleader. He had an unri
valed skill at finding excellent
musicians, nurturing their tal
ents and encouraging their creativity. So many great musi
cians served their apprenticeships with Davis that his bands
became known as the "University Of Miles." Graduates
include, first and foremost, John Coltrane, but also pianists
Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett and saxophonist
Wayne Shorter—to name a scant handful of the dozens who
matured under Davis' guidance.
It was during this time that Davis first mastered the band
leader's role, mentoring bassist Paul Chambers, drummers
Philly Joe Jones and Jimmy Cobb, pianists Red Garland, Bill
Evans and Wynton Kelly, alto saxophonist Julian
"Cannonball" Adderley and, of course, tenor saxophonist John
Coltrane. Under Davis' watchful eyes, these musicians
achieved a camaraderie and level of group communication rare
in an art form that thrives on such interplay.
On 'Round About Midnight and Milestones, the band
infused bop tunes by Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker with
an elegant, relaxed intensity char
acteristic of all the band's arrange
ments. Highlights include beautiful
and engaging takes of "Bye Bye
Blackbird" and Thelonious Monk's
"Hound Midnight" as well as ebul
lient versions of Gillespie's "Two
Bass Hit" and "Dear Old
Stockholm." The material was from
the bop canon, but the versions
were fresh and original, all high
lighted by intriguing solos from
Coltrane and Davis.
By the time they recorded Kind
Of Blue, Davis and his band mem
bers displayed an ability and will
ingness to rewrite the basic rules of
jazz improvisation. Borrowing from
methods used by other composers,
Davis and pianist Bill Evans
approached the album as an exer
cise in modal improvisation—that
is, the songs were built on various
modes (or scales) rather than spe
cific chord changes, as was the
norm in bebop. This allowed the
musicians greater freedom in how
the, developed their improvisa
tions. The bard didn't practice these songs—it simply went
into the studio and played them, fresh, for the first time. The
result is one of the few perfect moments in jazz, when indi
vidual brilliance and delicately balanced group interplay pro
duce a pure masterpiece.
By the end of Coltrane's tenure with Davis, he nad mas
tered the modal approach he and Davis popularized on Kind
Of Blue. Coltrane's artistic growth during this time was phe
nomenal, and by the time he
recorded Giant Steps a few
weeks after Kind Of Blue, he
was starting to establish him
self as the greatest and most
influential saxophonist since
Charlie Parker. Until his death
in 1967, Coltrane's path as a
leader established new norms
and standards for saxophone
composition and improvisa
tion.
Davis, on the other hand,
was broadening his skills as a
perfoimer. During this time,
he collaborated with arranger
Gil Evans on what would
become Sketches Of Spain. He
continued to develop his skills
as a bandleader, and after he
and Coltrane split for good in
1961, Davis tinkered with per
sonnel until he finally put
together his second great
band in 1965 (with Wayne
Shorter and Herbie Hancock).
The spring of 1959 was a
profound era in jazz. The jazz
pantheon was crowded with legends, but none left so
indelible a mark as Miles Davis and John Coltrane, the most
important jazz artists of the post-Worid War II era. The roots
of their importance can be heard in their collaborative works:
some of the most enduring, challenging and beautiful jazz of
all time. It's all here in this majestic collection, arguably the
one single indispensable box set in jazz.
Gene Hyde
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AUGUST 16, 2000