Birth of the Cool

adorshki

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YOU guys probably know this but for those who don't, Davis also influenced some of rock's finest talents:
Grace Slick wrote "White Rabbit" after a marathon listening session of Sketches of Spain.
Duane Allman said that he had listened intently to Davis's Kind of Blue for two years.
The soloing in "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" which put 'em on the underground radio map, breaking out Live at Fillmore East , reflects the influence of Miles' modal philosophy during those sessions.
He's probably also directly responsible for the birth of "jazz fusion" with In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew.
(From the usual source):
"By 1969, Davis's core working band consisted of Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, Dave Holland on bass, Chick Corea on electric piano, and Jack DeJohnette on drums.[10] The group, minus DeJohnette, recorded In a Silent Way (1969) which also featured Joe Zawinul, John McLaughlin, Tony Williams, and Herbie Hancock...."
Ok there's the seeds of Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, and Return to Forever....
Larry Young was also on the Bitches Brew sessions, later recruited to play organ on the posthumous Hendrix release 9 to the Universe , as was Dave Holland:
"Bassist Dave Holland commented: "I'm not quite sure why I was called, but I was real happy to do it. It was a lot of fun and very informal. Nothing was really planned ... It was real loose, and Jimi seemed as if he was putting it together as he went."
Alan Douglas
likely introduced Hendrix to Miles Davis, Young, and Dave Holland, among others, even though he gets a bad rap for his handling of his posthumous Hendrix releases.

And the list goes on:
"Thom Yorke, singer of the English rock band Radiohead, cited it as an influence on their 1997 album OK Computer: "It was building something up and watching it fall apart, that's the beauty of it. It was at the core of what we were trying to do"
Davis is undeniably one of the giants of jazz, but I could understand if the doco doesn't go up to '70-'71.
I'll look for it and thanks for the heads-up!
 
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walrus

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I agree. I've read so many interviews with musicians who cite Miles in some way or another. Absolutely one of the most influential artists ever.

walrus
 

Quantum Strummer

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Got it on my calendar. One of my fav Miles albums is his soundtrack to Louis Malle's 1958 film Ascenseur pour l'echafaud. The expanded version contains most or all of the recording session. Atmospheric!

-Dave-
 

JohnW63

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I haven't gotten into Miles. I guess the stuff I checked out seemed too helter skelter type jazz.
 

adorshki

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I haven't gotten into Miles. I guess the stuff I checked out seemed too helter skelter type jazz.
Yeah that later stuff especially ca '68-'69 the "Bitches Brew era" was that way, he's even on The First Great Rock Festivals Of The Seventies - Isle Of Wight/Atlanta Pop Festival with an untitled piece at the Isle of Wight festival ... when the producers called him to ask him what the title of the tune was, he said "call it anything", which they thought was the actual title and that's how it appears on the album...:glee:
And which is entirely emblematic of his thinking at the time....
Best suggestion is Kind of Blue, there's a reason it's the best-selling jazz, and even in some critics' estimation, one of the best albums album of all time.

Here's a taste, one of my faves and you may already know it:


:friendly_wink:
 
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bobouz

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I saw him live once - it would have been no later than 1983. In one tune, he kept playing the same refrain over & over & over again - and it turned into a standing joke for those of us who were there that it would forever be dominantly imprinted in all of our brains. In total, it was one of my least favorite musical performances ever.

Regardless of that personal episode, I still had to watch the PBS special the other night, and wouldn’t you know, that darn refrain showed up somewhere towards the end of the program - triggering a whiplashing PTSD moment!
 

walrus

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I'm not a huge fan, but I enjoy the "Jack Johnson" album. Certainly has the "continuity" of an album, and also has a young John McLaughlin playing, who's one of my favorite guitarists.

walrus
 
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