Annotated Bibliography

Davis, Miles. Kind of Blue. August 17, 1959. compact disk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB669XXjnUg Kind of Blue is an album that sold over more than 4 million copies worldwide, and is definitely one of the most influential records at the time. Around 1959 when it was published, this album was very shocking and different since it included modal jazz, which was very unique from the original bebop and cool jazz. It's very interesting how Miles Davis was the one who dropped away from bebop with cool jazz that became popular in the West, but then moved away with modal jazz once again. All of these songs, mostly 'So What', have been remastered and re arranged myriad times by amazing jazz musicians in history.

Fordham, John. How Miles Daviss second quintet changed jazz. theguardian: Music Blog. last modified October 13, 2010. accessed October 2, 2012. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/dec/24/miles-davis-bitches-brew Bebop was big, but Miles came along with the Birth of the Cool by adding spacious solos and emphasizing each instrument's solo and its tone. Then he added established chords into jazz with his best-seller album Kind of Blue in 1959. In 1964, Miles Davis's second quintet was introduced in order to stabilize the shaken up free jazz. The band had fresh and original solos that brought them great popularity and fame. Miles Davis didn't want only his trumpet to sound flattering and protruding, so the others like Herbie Hancock were ordered to be very unpredictable and challenge the trumpet - this made the tunes so difficult and unique (Miles was still way beyond all of them).

Knight, Brian L. Miles Davis Jazz Fusion. The Vermont Review. accessed October 1, 2012. http://vermontreview.tripod.com/CD%20Reviews/MilesDavisfusion.htm During the early 1970's, Miles Davis recorded and released experimental and creative albums at Columbia's Legacy Label. Funk, jazz, rock, and space were all incorporated, and these approaches definitely impacted a great influence on jazz and rock. Davis performed in USA's top concert music halls, such as NYC's Carnegie Hall. His music was special since it reached not only different genres of music, but even all kinds of people. He had a great talent at picking the

right musicians for his tunes, but it's interesting how he was a very hard musician to work together with. Later in 1972, Miles performed at NYC's Philharmonic Hall, and jazz was brought to another level with more percussion, bizarre sound effects, and different extensions; while keeping the traditional jazz element still present.

Macnie, Jim. Miles Davis. Rolling Stone - Artists. 2001. accessed October 1, 2012. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/miles-davis/biography Being one of the most important musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was a pioneer whom incorporated rock into jazz. He was different from the other musicians in the bebop scene, since he had a distinct tone and a great ear for ensemble, group tone and phrasing. Miles was a heroin addict until 1954 where he stopped - the next year was the birth of the decade's premier jazz group, the Miles Davis Quintet. Around 1968 was when electric instruments and a rock drum beat added to the group. Jazz-rock fusion became dominant, and Miles Davis was invited to play at packed concert halls with many other musicians. In 1972 two of his legs broke during a car crash, but he still continued to input ideas; more electronic instruments with amplification, along with more ensemble funk rather than the singling out instrument solos. Around 1981, he returned back with another hit album, and toured worldwide including Japan and Paris. In 1990, Davis received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement. Davis died by pneumonia and respiratory failure.

Miles Davis Biography, Miles Davis. accessed September 30, 2012. http://www.milesdavis.com/us/biography Being 'cool' is a term that is used everywhere. There is no exact definition, but it would mean something new or about to happen next. Miles Davis always renewed jazz throughout his years with his endless vision and creativity. Born in Illinois and raised in St. Louis, he was a trumpet prodigy since he was young. In 1944, he studied at Juliard School for a semester, however, he dropped out to start his career quickly, with outstanding musicians such as Charlier Parker and Dizzy Gillespie; all three of them are regarded as the top 5 most important jazz musicians in history. As Miles signed with Columbia Records in 1955, he released classic albums such as Kind of Blue and Bitches Brew for 30 years. As the black power movement rose, his music became more electric and amplified, adding electric piano and guitar. Miles was the first jazzman on Rolling Stones.

Miles Davis Quintet. So What. Kind of Blue. Directed by Miles Davis. The Sound of Miles Davis. Studio 61. Brooklyn, NY. June 30, 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqNTltOGh5c This is Miles Davis' first quintet, consisting of Davis as trumpet, Gill Evans as arranger/composer, John Coltrane on tenor and alto saxophone, Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums. The show is called The Robert Herridge Theater, from the broadcasting company CBS. Recorded in 1959, the show featured a 26 minute medley of the group. There were five songs played, and one of them was the super famous' 'So What'. His album 'Kind of Blue' consist of five different tunes, but unique from other music is that there is a main theme and an extended solo that focused more on the instrument and the melody rather than the mood and feeling.

Pareles, Jon. Miles Davis, Jazz Genius, Defined Cool. The New York Times. last modified September 29, 1991. Accessed October 1, 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/29/nyregion/miles-davis-trumpeter-dies-jazz-genius-65-definedcool.html With his unmistakable, voice like, vibrato less tone, sometimes assertive yet luminous, Miles Davis has been an elusive touchstone in jazz. He didn't focus on fast, high notes, but the usage of space and rests in the given music. Miles was a very independent and flamboyant musician, known for his charismatic or aloof personality, depending on the person watching. By help from Gillespie and Parker, Miles learned about bebop and soloing. While he was experimenting with cool jazz, Miles played too much that he had to have his vocal chords cut. After cool jazz, Miles tried modal jazz in his album Kind of Blue, and it was a great success since it was so unique than others.Then, rock rhythms and bass lines caught his interest and the rhythm feel was added. After rock, he turned towards funk, and his music reacher a young black audience, inspiring them. Throughout his life, he was married to a singer, dancer, and an actress, but ended up divorcing all three of them. This source has great credibility since it was published in the New York Times as an obituary right after Miles Davis died. It gives a brief, but thorough, concise, but not too deep background on the influence he gave on jazz from the 40's to the 80's. It's basically unbelievable even after reading through all of this here and there, since it's really hard to even spark a change in one period.

I found it interesting that there were facts about his personal life; more of his private medical problems, information on his family, and even his own personality. These are only acquirable if someone knew him personally, and then this is likely to be correct. Another credible part to this source is that on each page, there is a video to lead us through the history of jazz by listening to the specific recording mentioned. This allows much more trust since we can find out what we read on the page, but with our ears this time. Finally, I'd say that the quotes on nearly every page gives the whole article a basic given feeling of truth. There are even some quotes from Miles Davis, and on others there are some from his close people or musicians.

Ruhlmann, William. Miles Davis biography. allmusic. accessed September 28, 2012. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/miles-davis-mn0000423829 Miles Davis played the trumpet differently by adding harmon mutes to make his sound more close to what he tried to express. His career is everything from the mid-40's to the early 90's, and he led nearly every innovation in jazz. Although bebop (fast, inattentive soloing and dynamic rhythm) was popular, Miles developed a new, unusual nonet with various brass instruments. This resulted in the birth of the cool in the west, and became recognized. Later, after forming his quintet with John Coltrane, Cookin', Workin', Relaxin', Steamin' was released respectively. As Miles turned into a more fusion-jazz-rock style, his music attracted a larger audience and was nominated for the Grammy Awards. Throughout his whole life, Miles never stopped to approach the once limited jazz again and again. He is a clear example of an innovated, trying everything he could with the available means.

Sedik, Jeff. Innovative, Influential, and Respected Jazz Legend. African American accessed October 15, 2012.

Registry.

http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/miles-davis-innovative-influential-and-respectedjazz-legend

As one of the most innovative, influential, and respected figures in the history of jazz, Miles Davis started trumpet when he was 13 years old. He went to Juliard School of Music, dropped out and began his career with jazz legend Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, in the style of bebop. After

his happening with heroin, he got together in arranger and composer Gill Evans to release albums at Columbia Records. In 1959, his album 'Kind of Blue' became a landmark in modern jazz, and became the most popular in the year. Later on, after he worked with a lot of cool jazz, he started to get into a new genre of mixed jazz and rock: fusion - musicians like Joe Zawinul and John McLaughlin joined Davis to experiment with the creativity. Right before he died, he had a track recorded that had jazz, hiphop, and rap combined - which was the first fusion heard.

Sharp, David E, Randall Snyder, and Jon J. Hischke. Jazz Style Periods. 2nd ed (Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt, 1997) Jazz started from the early 20th century (Louis Armstrong), from African American origins. Starting from New Orleans and Chicago style Dixieland, improvisation by a main instrument such as a clarinet or a trumpet was accompanied by a two beat or light four beat. Then came Swing with Duke Ellington in the 1930s, where clear sections of a front line melody were created by instruments such as saxophones and trombones. Bop was in 1940s, where trios, quartets, and quintets became the main - Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, and Thelonious Monk are notable figures. Now Miles Davis comes in the 1950s, with Cool Jazz which became really popular in the West. Different instruments like cello and oboe were added, and the individual instruments tone and uniqueness. This continued for a while, however in the 1970s Miles, the one who introduced cool jazz and made it popular, turned to a totally new genre, of fusion jazz electric instruments like synthesizers were used. Finally, jazz began to lose its popularity once the Beatles and Rolling Stones entered the scene with addictive pop tunes.

Tillack, Tim. The Influence of Miles Davis on Jazz. The Knowledge Eater (blog). accessed October 2, 2012. http://knowledgeeater.blogspot.kr/2010/05/essay-influence-of-miles-davis-on.html Jazz history is very broad since there are many different styles within the big genre. You can have different instruments standing out and leading, and a clear example is band leader, innovator, superstar Miles Davis. His style of trumpet playing gave a unique persona with extraordinary emotional power, and by joining bebop bands he expanded his techniques of high, fast melodic phrases. As bebop continued to emphasize virtuoso, Davis and Gil Evans got together with fellow musicians to release the Birth of the Cool album. Ironically as it is, Miles released an album with full of soul and black roots, since cool jazz in the West was known as 'white man's music'. In the early 70's, fusion jazz-rock was born by adding electronic instruments

with the wah-wah pedal. Some critics viewed this as an act to grab attention, but we can see that even today many of this is alive. Miles is a great musician leader that knew who would sound best at the certain track - many of these set trends as well. His Kind of Blue album was voted as a national treasure in 2009 by a unanimous 409 to 0.

Tingen, Paul. Miles Beyond: The Electric Explorations of Miles Davis (Chp.4), Books, 2001)

1967-1991.

(Billboard

Music was head into new directions. Miles Davis was a great bandleader that allowed very strong and unique music produced, by exploring different elements of genres such as folk, soul, and rock. However in 1968, his music gained more momentum, and even more experimentation continued, with his time at Columbia Records with his group Miles Davis Quintet, the one regarded as the first great quintet. He said, For me, the changes that were happening in my music were very exciting, and the music that was happening everywhere was incredible. Interestingly, when Miles changed his girlfriend every five years, his style of music changed, as well as his fashion and daily routine. His creativity increased as he became more physically healthy. Miles Davis was known for his cigarettes and drugs such as heroine, however since 1970, he became a health freak and didnt even drink alcohol for a while. He is also regarded as a leading founder of jazz-rock fusion, but he didnt invent it, in fact it was experimented since The Beatles tried post-production after recording. Experienced musicians from other genres like Dave Holland added his electric bass sound in the recordings, giving the music a more R&B feel. Things went smoothly until around 1976, where Miles substituted a few members with a new piano player, Herbie Hancock. This recording was the first session that Mles David that included two keyboards, and the electric piano was added to the group later on, which was very new. It was common for Miles to enlist and bring in new members to the group, but he also liked to rely on his old partnership with experienced veteran musicians such as Gill Evans. As in art, there is abstract painting, where art emerges different concepts simultaneously, in music, ambient music has the abstract aspect of something like scent or environment, as if its in a different state of mind - regardless of the conscious or subconscious state. Lots of the music (live sessions and recordings) that they were known to produce were very careful and around a single idea expressed by instruments.

Miles would invite all the members to come together for a session, and from the chord sheets he would just make the instruments strip the melody and only play that - giving it an original sense. However, sometimes the ambient style of music wasnt exactly the most appealing music to the public, because several tunes were too hard to understand, or difficult to appreciate. One of his fellow composers, Teo Macero, joined with Miles to produce music that was a combination of leaving-things-out, and having the harmony and rhythm developed into a beautiful atmosphere. Fellow musicians such as John McLaughlin stressed that Miles was the sole leader when recording, and his vision was absolute - he had ideas and motifs that no one would normally think of, and brought the musicians in a much more creative sense. Miles once noted that all you need in music is the mood to establish, and it can go on for hours - its that simple - just open the theme, and suspend on it.

This book, Miles Beyond, is an excellent source since Paul Tingen is a music journalist for many different magazines, as well as books on music. On the back of the book, there are over 20 books and 30 articles cited as sources, which gives it credibility as well. A bunch of primary sources and even modern day reviews and opinions are included, which gives it a recent and conservative feel to it as well. Also, Miles Davis live band personnel, or history, is at the back of the book, which shows accurate dates and accurate information. I particularly enjoyed the whole chronological order of the text, although I didnt read the whole book yet. Different approaches during various time periods were very interesting to learn about, and how Miles Davis view from the public shaping into a solid influential figure was neat. The book is in an objective point of view, however its not the easiest thing to do - not emphasizing too much is still hard since Miles was such a great musician. The last hook that captured me was that this book is regarded the most interesting and valuable jazz books of recent times, as well as a very absorbing book on the personal and musical life of Miles, introducing to the public side of Miles, as well as his sensitive side.