All the hand waving over MD....

Music Lane

It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes.

Posted by andy evans (A) on July 10, 2014 at 01:16:10

In Reply to: In fairness posted by David Smith on July 9, 2014 at 22:26:38:

I know Rick W. thinks I have cloth ears, but for me Miles as a trumpet player comes close to "unlistenable" even before Bitches Brew. I've completely overdosed on his plangent Harmon mute sound, I find his flurries of notes boring and it's all style over substance. With Freddy Hubbard you get leaping phrases, dynamics, and solos that build and have substance. It's another world - he's a proper trumpet player with chops.

The reason I looked at 1965 was to look at Miles' sidemen. No wonder the call went out "Miles wants you for his band". Herbie had made Maiden Voyage and was a writer of substance. Wayne Shorter had not only written great tunes, he was also a great arranger - he had just done Pensativa for Art Blakey, which is a little masterpiece. Tony Williams had his own directions brewing.

So did these guys need Miles at all? They got a big name, and they got the chance to play regularly together as a band. And they got to play tunes written by Shorter and Herbie (and the occasional Miles). But the down side was that they also got the "moody" Miles sound and his take-it-or-leave-it trumpet solos. Miles was a master in creating mood and style. But for the "second great quintet" it was a mood and a style that - for me at least - was inferior to the more dynamic music his band would otherwise have been making and were in fact recording separately at the time.

Miles to me was a bandleader and a stylist. He workshopped stuff and didn't compose much - he let his sidemen and his arrangers do that. The big advances in music came from the composers like Monk, Mingus, Coltrane, Herbie, Shorter, Zawinul, Corea, Bill Evans etc. What did Miles ever write himself that had the substance of "The Black Saint and the SInner Lady" or "Heavy Weather" just to pick two albums out of a hat. These were musical concepts, not a few notes written on the back of an envelope.

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - Jazz in 1965 - andy evans 08:14:39 07/09/14 (17)

RE: Jazz in 1965 - David Smith 21:35:31 07/09/14 (0)

RE: Jazz in 1965 - DaveT 19:25:54 07/09/14 (0)

I'm shocked! - Mike K 18:17:37 07/09/14 (10)

He also had a sound... - jazz1 01:45:30 07/10/14 (0)

RE: I'm shocked! - Rick W 21:52:20 07/09/14 (1)

LOL! nt - David Smith 22:26:59 07/09/14 (0)

Wow - David Smith 21:32:24 07/09/14 (6)

Not only did he make only one great album... - musetap 21:43:29 07/09/14 (5)

In fairness - David Smith 22:26:38 07/09/14 (4)

Technically that is irrelevant, it's the REALITY that counts.... - musetap 12:00:06 07/10/14 (0)

All the hand waving over MD.... - andy evans 01:16:10 07/10/14 (2)

You left out "catalyst"... - musetap 12:17:34 07/10/14 (0)

Hey - David Smith 05:29:20 07/10/14 (0)

On the Classical Music Front - Larry I 13:51:25 07/09/14 (0)

Other Voices/Other Rooms in the house in 1965... - musetap 12:39:07 07/09/14 (1)

RE: Other Voices/Other Rooms in the house in 1965... - Larry I 11:34:55 07/10/14 (0)

Yep. A good year for music... - dancingseamonkey 08:51:40 07/09/14 (0)

Follow Ups

All the hand waving over MD.... - andy evans 01:16:10 07/10/14 (2)

You left out "catalyst"... - musetap 12:17:34 07/10/14 (0)

Hey - David Smith 05:29:20 07/10/14 (0)

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