I’m frequently asked by my friends who are just starting to explore jazz – “what cds should I listen to?” Another popular question is “do you guys just make it all up as you go?” These questions and others lead me to this post which I hope to make into a series called Jazz Reviews. Here you can find my reviews of my favorite jazz cds, my favorite jazz artists, my musings on jazz improvisation and what I think makes great jazz and jazz great. The first installment:
Kind of Blue – Miles Davis
For the uninitiated and even for the seasoned jazz listener, this is my #1 recommendation for any jazz collection. Recorded in 1959, Kind of Blue
Modern jazz for everyone
I don’t read about this in other reviews for Kind of Blue but to me, the genius lies not only in the concept of the record but also in how it was recorded and executed by the players. Everything about this record is “cool” and very understated (read: conservative) but at the same time the compositions and playing are also very modern. To understand this, you must know something of the history of jazz and it’s forms, structures, harmonies and melodies but to simplify, Miles, and most notably Bill Evans, crystallized “modal-ism”. The concept of composing songs and playing melodies over certain modes or tonal centers. Up until the mid to late ’50s, jazz composition was largely blues or standard song-form based (with derivatives) containing multiple tonal centers and traditional chord progressions based on Western major or minor scales. Bebop composers (especially Thelonious Monk) introduced extended harmonic structures and melodic material but the forms, for the most part, remained in tact from the late swing era. Herein lies the genius: this record is revolutionary in its concept and playing but unlike other music revolutions like Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring or Ornette Coleman’s The Shape of Jazz to Come, (also released in 1959), Kind of Blue did not immediately create controversy and was largely praised by critics world-wide. It has since become the best-selling jazz record of all time.
I mention earlier that this record is a great starting point for exploring jazz and other jazz recordings. There are a couple of ways to do this. First, you must listen to the record! Jazz is like an acquired taste. You must have the desire to learn and this means listening to a recording many, many times – not just once. How many of you have read James Joyce and understood what he was writing on first pass? Or sat and looked at Rauschenberg and got it right away? Not me. So it is with great jazz. The fantastic thing about Kind of Blue is, I think you’ll like it on first pass so each journey back will reveal more and more insight into a world of intimacy, blues, refinement, humor, melancholy, satire, introspection. It’s deep and there’s a lot to dig up so start at the beginning and listen to the entire record without interruption and without distraction.
The album starts with an orchestrated bass and piano introduction to the first cut, So What, penned by Gil Evans (no relation to Bill Evans) who Miles had collaborated extensively with on albums like Porgy & Bess and later in 1959, Sketches of Spain. Undoubtedly, the Gil Evans collaboration influenced Miles and this record although no formal recognition is given for this particular recording. The introduction successfully sets the the tone for the entire record creating an intimate, cool, relaxed vibe that allows Bill Evans’s modal chording and comping to shine. There’s no fanfare or up-tempo here. It requires you to pay attention. There’s a brief pause before bass player Paul Chambers sets the tempo with the melody which is unusual because melodies are usually played by the horns – especially on the first cut of a recording. The horns answer Chambers with the signature “So What” riff (sounds like so what to me) and we’re off into the tune. So What’s form is AABA which replicates many of the standard song forms from the great american song-book I.E. I Got Rhythm (Gershwin) but the key difference is there are only two tonal centers for So What – Dmin (dorian) and Ebmin (dorian). The harmonies and melodies are derived from the Dorian mode and therefore this song is considered “modal”. The personnel on the record each take turns improvising over the form using the melodies based on the Dorian mode and when everyone has had a turn, the bass restates the melody and the band ends the song. There’s lot’s to digest here but here’s my take on the significance of this song:
A bridge to the future and also to the past
Because the song form is something that is so strongly rooted in the tradition of Western music (AABA), even the novice listener should feel at home with the flow of the song. Conceptually, the improvisers (Miles, Coltrane, Cannonball and Evans) are all exploring, but not necessarily breaking new ground. You can certainly hear the beginnings of what would become Coltrane’s signature sound and style, but it is not flushed out and refined. These players are all steeped in the bebop and hard bop tradition and the ensemble itself (sextet) is familiar so in this way, the listener is at home immediately. The conceptual leap of improvising and framing the music around modal tonal centers is easier to digest because of these factors. But because the harmonies and melodies are in a sense “freed” from their normal patterns and predictability, even the most clichéd phrase sounds new against this refreshed backdrop. The tune is a perfect introduction to the recording and a new sound because it effectively bridges what is familiar from the past to what is unfamiliar and ground-breaking. Other favorites on Kind of Blue
Jazz legends
Before this recording, John Coltrane was an up-and-coming jazz saxophone player. Julian “Cannonball” Adderly was relatively new to the scene. Bill Evans had only recently taken over the chair from Wynton Kelly who was an established hard-bop pianist. Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb were also veterans of the hard-bop community but this recording has helped to cement each of their legacies as “giants of jazz”. Certainly for Coltrane, Cannonball and Evans, it was the catalyst for solo careers that have made each a household name in jazz circles. As part two of using this recording to investigate other jazz (part one being listen to the record – a lot), take a moment to research each of these individuals and have a listen to what they each did outside of this group and particular recording. In my own personal jazz journey, I would go to the record store (yes – vinyl LP’s) and flip through the bins at Waterloo Records (back when it was on South Lamar) and search for jazz personnel I knew and loved on the back of each record and then painstakingly read all of the liner notes to not only get a sense of the program on that particular record, but also a sense of what each artist was known for, who was new to the scene at the time, and what the significance of these players and record was, according to the author. Most of these liner notes were written by jazz aficionado’s who later became producers, writers and important figures in their own right I.E. Ira Gitler, Orrin Keepnews, Leonard Feather, et al. I learned a lot by doing this and although the LP is gone (but making a comeback in some circles!), the world of the Internet is at your fingertips. Just Google Miles Davis and you’ll see what I mean. Countless discographies and biographies abound. In future postings, I will let you know about some great books to check out.
I hope you enjoyed my post. Let me know what you think and if you know Kind of Blue, what are your thoughts on the significance of this record?
Best,
Elias
Preview and purchase Kind of Blue – Miles Davis
