Miles Ahead - Miles Davis

Feb

27

Miles Ahead - Miles Davis

≡ Category: 1950s, Cool Jazz, Reviews, Worth A Listen |
≅ Written by: Michael Kydonieus

WORTH A LISTEN

Rating:

In a sense, Miles Ahead is only nominally a Miles Davis release. Yes, his lyrical trumpet style is unmistakable, but by necessity, the opportunities for serious improvisation are constrained by the elaborate arrangements by Gil Evans for a 19 piece band.

Let’s get this out of the way. Miles plays fine, with his customary elegance and restraint.

The real question is, how good are Gil Evans’ arrangements? If you think back to the late 50s, the kinds of orchestral colors Evans got out of this 19 piece band were unheard of at the time. The nearest comparison, in terms of variety and expressiveness would be Duke Ellington’s work from the late 30s and early 40s.

He doesn’t significantly rework the harmonies of any of the tunes on Miles Ahead. By that, I mean that he works within the accepted standards of dissonance of the time. There aren’t any of the jagged intervallic leaps, bizarre rhythmic/dynamic shifts, or arcane harmonic substitutions we’ve come to expect from modern arrangers like Jim McNeely. These orchestrations are very smooth, and to my ear, rather tame, if undeniably pretty.

For what it is, Miles Ahead is excellent. The only trouble is, I don’t particularly value it’s accomplishments. Miles Ahead may well be a milestone in the art of jazz arranging, but if I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t plunk down my hard earned dollars to buy it. You may disagree. A quick listen to the samples should be enough to ascertain if this music is for you.