Musical Revolution of Miles Davis - Essay Example

Miles Davis Miles Davis lived and worked during the period of changes and turmoil in the American society. He was oneof those powerful African Americans who emerged in the society to fight for equality and more rights to the people. Miles Davis also took part in this movement rendering people’s desire for equality through music. In fact, the changes and evolution of his musical style is the reflection of the processes that took part in the American society and the civil rights movement in particular. Davis defied the standards and canons of jazz music, and it was the way he made a stand against the oppression of African Americans in the United States. Through his fight, he brought a wide range of stylistic innovations into jazz and becoming a very influential musician of the twentieth century and an iconic symbol in jazz music. Miles Davis was born in 1926 in Alton, Illinois, and from his very childhood he experienced prejudices and oppression, which then had a significant influence on both his personality and music. He got his first musical instrument from his uncle and received lessons from friends of his father. The latter was pro-African American activist, was actively involved in politics and, perhaps even unintentionally, instilled the sense of fight for equality into his children. When Davis’ family moved to a white community, the boy experienced hatred, violence and inequality not only in the streets but at school as well (Miles). In his autobiography, Miles, the musician mentions taking part in numerous musical competitions held at school and losing them to white peers. Such inequality had an important influence on Miles future career because, as he states in his book, “if I hadn’t met that prejudice I probably wouldn’t have has as much drive in my work” (12). 1944 was the year when Miles Davis emerged on the scene in New York for the first time. It was the time when revolution in jazz music was on its way. Davis participated in that revolution against racial injustice and commercialism in music; he was not a leader in it though. He spent that period of his career under the watchful eye of Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Charlie Parker, who influenced his bebop style as he learned it by playing alongside with them. Davis worked with the Parker quintet, and that very period in his life appeared to be remarkable for his style as he perfected his performance and worked up his personal approach to play difficult rhythms and melodic lines (Miles). This period of his career can be called the romantic or emotional one because being a young musician he was just developing his technique and laid stress on lyrical intensity and emotional power of his music. In 1948, Davis started playing with the Claude Thornhill band and composer Gil Evans. Between 1949-1950, they recorded pieces, which then in 1954 were compiled into the album Birth of Cool followed by the album Boplicity, which is regarded as the transition between bebop to cool. Being one of the fathers of cool, Davis abandoned it and recorded Walkin’ in 1954, which is referred to as hard bop characterized by returning to soul and to the actual roots of jazz, which is black gospel music. It was during this period that Davis became an influential personality in jazz as a trumpeter, as a bestselling star, as a leader able to introduce new trends and find young and talented musicians (Sales). At that time, Davis also started developing style characteristics of his later work. More specifically, his music and performance became softer, slower and scale-oriented rather than chord-oriented. Such characteristic features of his music can be seen in his album Milestones, in which he abandoned chord changes and adopted scales using them as a kind of a framework for improvisation. Today, this technique is called “modal” and is regarded having a profound impact on the future evolution of jazz. In 1959, Davis recorded the album titled Kind of Blue, which became the highest selling jazz album ever and is regarded as Davis’ greatest achievement (Sales). In 2009, the US House of Representatives voted to honor Kind of Blue and reaffirm jazz as a national treasure (“ABC.net”). The nest several years were remarkable for his style and career. In particular, for him, it was the period of further experimentation with his style and innovations to his music. It was the period of the rise of rock and roll. Miles Davis was perceptive to any changes and was ready and eager to stay in the movement to be able to keep the attention of his audience. In his autobiography, he wrote, “to be and to stay a great musician, you’ve got to always be open to what’s new, what’s happening at the moment. You have to be able to absorb it if you’re going to continue to grow and communicate your music” (273). He started experimenting adding rock and electronic aesthetic into his pieces, which went alongside with his personal innovations. At the same time, ascending to the roots was also an important component of Davis’ compositions. One of the best examples of such fusion is his album named Bitches Brew recorded in 1969. In this album, one can feel the African influence, especially in the way beats are stressed alongside the party of Davis’ trumpet. On the other hand, the influence of a rock aesthetic is also noticeable in the album. Particularly, one can hear the influence of music of his friends at that time, such as James Brown’s electronic beats and electric guitar party characteristic of Jimi Hendrix. Also, Miles Davis added wah-wah effect pedal to the sounding of the trumpet, electric keyboards, and invited musicians who had rock experience to his band. There were also black days in his biography and career. When he moved to New York, he neither smoked nor drank. In 1949, however, he engaged in these destructive activities and for the next several years almost stopped working. Different types of addictions were common among beboppers as they believed that drugs helped them perform their extremely difficult pieces. Fortunately, he was able to give up drugs, and after four years of silence he emerged with a series of new albums recorded with his quintet, which included George Coleman, John Coltrane, Philly Joe Jones, Art Blakely, and Max Roach (“Telegraph”). As a person, Davis was uncompromising and strict. There was nothing more important than music, and public opinion meant almost nothing for him. He was not quite polite with his audience: he never smiled, used to leave stage without waiting for applauses to stop, and turned his back to people while performing. What is more, Davis loved luxurious life: he lived in a huge house, wore flamboyant clothes and accessories variegated with diamonds (“Telegraph”). In other words, he was quite an eccentric person. Miles Davis was a great American trumpeter and composer who is regarded as one of the most influential and successful musicians of the twentieth century. He was the representative and innovator of a range of jazz styles, such as hard bop, cool jazz, modal jazz, and was always open to new developments in musical styles. Critics’ and audience’s attitude towards him and his music was ambivalent as some stayed loyal to his work while others loathed his style and music. Despite the controversies, Miles Davis is referred to as a luminary that stands out in the entire history of jazz. Works Cited "Miles Davis." Telegraph 30 September 1990, n. pag. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. . "US House of Reps Honors Miles Davis Album."ABC.net 17 December 2009, n. pag. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. . Davis, M. Miles. The Autobiography. Simon and Schuster, 1990. Print. Sales, G. Jazz: America’s Classical Music. New York: Da Capo Press, 1992. Print. Read More