JB'S MAGICAL MYSTERY MUSIC REVIEWS

MILES AHEAD: the forgotten Gil Evans/Miles Davis Jazz Masterpiece.

Posted 04/24/00

Tired of your Jobim/Astrud Gilberto album? Never fear: even part-time jazz fans can look cool at cocktail parties, impress dates, and give cred to their music collection with this very hip, very accessible classic.

When I thought of writing this piece, my motivations were, and remain, simple. Since I'd "reviewed" the Grammys—an event as related to music as an NRA convention—I felt it important to discuss something else, preferably something relating to music as opposed to inane music politics, or pop fads.

Deciding the album was fairly simple, too. Miles Davis' Miles Ahead had been turning in my CD player for some time, and it was a fine place to start. Very big and brassy, yet far from frantic, it just seems to be the album to introduce spring. I suppose also, that I will discuss albums/musicians past and present indiscriminately. I mean, if I am going to do a column gratis, then folks shouldn't give a rat's patootie what I ramble about. Besides, if someone hates it, they should send me a CD and I'll review it. (I won't return it).

Recorded in 1957, Miles Ahead is the first of several album-length collaborations of Miles Davis and arranger Gil Evans. The latter having previously done arrangements for the ground-breaking effort Birth of the Cool, which effectively slowed the frantic pulse of East Coast hardbop and helped usher in the "Cool School." Other album-length collaborations include Porgy and Bess, Sketches of Spain, and Quiet Nights. By far their most famous collaboration is Sketches of Spain—so comparing this album to Miles Ahead is inevitable.

Sketches of Spain and Miles Ahead are very different, however, and it is their difference that is partly the reason that I am writing this review. You see, when someone asks me for my opinion for albums to buy, I start asking a series of questions. Jazz is broad, and one jazz fan might not look a thing like another, just as avid, jazz fan. Who have you heard? Who is your favorite jazz instrumentalist? Do you like big bands, if so, whom? Saxophones, trumpets? Chet Baker or Bessie Smith? Oscar Petersen or McCoy Tyner? These questions are important in determining the ear of the jazz listener.

Following this line of reasoning, I wouldn't necessarily recommend Sketches to everyone. Not because it is more challenging, more "respectable," or more developed. It is just very different. First and foremost, if we were to classify them, Sketches, a later album than Miles Ahead, is closer to a classical composition than Miles Ahead, and was, in fact, largely inspired by, and contains work of, Spanish classical composer, Joaquin Rodrigo.

Miles Ahead, however, is a straight-ahead JAZZ album. It swings. It grooves. It has the blues. And Miles blows over some serious changes, too, while on Sketches, he tends to stay on long vamped chords playing repetitive melodic riffs in front of lush, inventive arrangements. Beautiful: yes. Impressive: yes. Evocative: yes. Swinging: not really. It's simply more of a classical album, and one can enjoy the album more if one thinks of it in that way. Sketches of Spain is an album to sit and listen to, while Miles Ahead can be played during your morning bagel, a drive in the convertible to Marin, during a dinner party, or while you're sitting down and listening attentively.

Miles Ahead begins with 'Springsville," a classic track that is a perfect example of the indefinable chemistry between Miles' playing and Evans' arrangements. After the first two bars, It will send anyone looking for the sunny side of the street. It is clear from the downbeat where the band comes in that Evans clearly understands Miles Davis' playing and showcases his voice in an incredibly sympathetic and electrifying way. His arrangements not only make Davis' highs higher and more dramatic, but his lows softer and more introspective.

For example, Davis, who's not usually known for being a high blower like Dizzy Gillespie is backed on this album (especially on "Springsville") by a wall of trumpets. One would think that these additional horns would wash him out—but incredibly these horns buoy him, raising his voice above theirs. The effect is magical, and (dare I say?) energizing.

Yet, with the uniqueness of Evans' arrangements—using trumpets, French horns, trombones, oboes, flutes and clarinets—the magic of Davis' ballad playing is not lost. The arrangements do not overwhelm or distract from Davis, but compliment his playing—as in the classic Gershwin hit "My Ship," where Davis is backed by a clarinet- and flute-textured arrangement that blends perfectly with Davis' rich tone. Yet Miles is just as paired down, simple, and melodic as his early Prestige recordings.

The track "Miles Ahead," sounds like it could have been on Birth of the Cool—the tune swings elegantly, unlabored in a dense arrangement, and is punctuated with brassy, staccato trumpet phrases that fill in the gaps and bring Davis further to the front. Still, there are hints as to what's coming in the future. "Blues for Pablo," especially, but even "New Rhumba," have early elements of the shape and sound of Sketches of Spain.

Go ahead and get this album. Jazz fans will be impressed when they see you have a Miles album besides Kind of Blue, and even those who don't like jazz will still be drawn to the mood that the album evokes. Do yourself a favor, too, and get the issue with the bonus tracks. Light a candle, open a bottle of Chianti, and invite your significant other over for some pasta.



Comments, or suggestions for albums or events to review? Send an email to: jboyte@ululation.com