Miles Davis

MidCentury Modern Music

By: John Cousins

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Length: 2 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

The story of Miles' career is the story of the golden age of jazz. It is the story of the transition from big bands to small ensembles. It is the story of developing and exploring improvised music in small combos: trios, quartets, quintets, and sextets. Miles was at the forefront of every major style and genre of jazz that took place over a rapidly maturing arc from just after World War II through the sixties. This period was twenty-five years of explosive creativity and accelerated musical development. The breadth and depth of Miles’ impact, influence, and creative output are staggering. Creative and artistic periods don't have clear boundaries. They are like clouds; from a distance, you can grasp the form, but the closer you get, the more the boundary blurs. With Modern Jazz, the period boundaries blur, but there are distinct aesthetics and centers of gravity to the movements such as bebop, cool, hard bop, modal, and post-bop. The name attached to creating all these genres and forms of music is Miles. Jazz is the only truly American art form, and no one has had such a profound and wide-ranging impact on jazz as Miles Davis. As a bandleader and composer, Miles Davis has influenced most, if not all, notable musicians and bands from all genres of music. One could make a good case for dividing jazz into two categories: BM and AM, Before Miles and After Miles. Actually, the main category of jazz is DM, During Miles. Miles' tenure represents the golden age of jazz music. Everything else is a series of footnotes.