|
Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants make a formidable team, enjoyed
equally by fans in New York and San Francisco as well as in countless
places in between and beyond.
The team itself is a potent mixture of the top modern jazz veterans of
the Forties and Fifties and more recently established stars of the Fifties.
Although modern jazz has only been with us since the early Forties, the
standouts of the era are already clearly indicated and I doubt whether
further jazz history will dull their lustre. A great jazz performance is
always within a certain tradition and a timeless thing regardless of the
era in which it was played. Some critics of jazz say that it may well be a
transient thing and that we must wait centuries to see if it survives with
a validity like Bach and Beethoven have in their idiom. Without going in to
why I would disagree with this, I would say that the next two centuries
are likely to move twice as quickly in terms of cultural evolution as the
two centuries which preceded them and the position of all music, as we know
it, may be very different than its present one. All we can draw from in
judging the relative merits of a jazz performance is our listening
experience within the idiom. Louis Armstrong's recorded solos of thirty
years ago are pure and powerful statements today and, for the same reasons,
Miles Davis' of three years ago will be meaningful thirty years hence.
The Giants here present two different line-ups. Both include the expert
rhythm combination of Percy Heath and Kenny Clarke who, at this time, were
co-members of the Modem Jazz Quartet. Many Prestige sessions benefited from
their complementary accompaniment.
Bags' Groove is Milt Jackson's minor blues which has become a jazz
standard at an early age through recordings by Milt himself, Jay & Kai,
Bob Cooper and Bud Shank, Bud Powell, Mat Mathews, Jack Millman, Virgil
Gonsalves and Milt again with the Modern Jazz Quartet. Here it is presented
in two takes, only one of which was issued before. The take that I describe
is the latter as the other will be as new to me as it is to you when I hear
LP 7109.
Miles is the first soloist with Percy and Kenny backing him. This is the
session where Miles asked Monk to lay out during his (Miles) choruses.
Monk, who comes to play although he had practiced the idea of laying out
himself long before this session, was insulted by the request. After Miles'
beautifully logical solo Milt plays a forceful declarative one as Monk
comps timidly at first for him. Thelonious' solo follows and he tosses
rhythmic figures around like someone bouncing a rubber ball off a wall,
but drops out again as Miles re-emerges to sum up in a model solo.
The session of June 29, 1954 found Heath, Clarke and Davis joined by
|
|
Sonny Rollins and Horace Silver, two of the brightest and influential
talents to emerge in the Fifties. These were the first Davis-Rollins
recordings since 1951 (Dig, Paper Moon on Prestige LP 7012) and include
three Rollins originals that have been much played by Davis quintet and
other groups in the next three years. Shelly Manne has recorded Doxy: Phil
Woods and Gene Quill use it as their theme.
Airegin is not a purified alcoholic beverage; it refers to a country in
Africa (spell it backwards). Miles and Sonny state the minor key theme
against bass and drums backing. Horace enters to "comp" for soloists Davis
and Rollins who each blow three thoughtful, swinging choruses. It is
interesting to compare this version with the one later recorded by Miles
and John Coltrane (Prestige LP 7094).
Oleo is spiritually reminiscent of some of the things that Charlie Parker
and Miles used to do together but the form of the accompaniment is a varied
one. The theme is stated by Miles and Sonny with only Percy supporting them
except on the bridge where Kenny and Horace join in.
Miles opens the soloing with a puckish muted bit in front of bass and
drums. Horace is in evidence only on the bridge and this pattern is
followed in Sonny's choruses. After Horace's solo Miles returns for another
stint with Percy backing him and the full rhythm section heard again only
on the bridge. Kenny stays aboard for the last eight bars and then the line
is played in the same manner as it was in the opening chorus.
George Gershwin's But Not For Me is swung medium and firmly without
neglecting the feeling of romantic sadness. Two solos by Miles sandwich the
improvisation of Rollins and Silver. There are two takes presented here.
As in the case of Bags' Groove, my description is of the one originally
issued.
Doxy, according to the dictionary, can be an opinion or a mistress. From
the funky character of the piece I would take it to be an opinion of a
mistress. Miles, Sonny and Horace know the "chick" quite well and she's
down to earth it seems. This is the type of number that critics call "thin
thematic material" or some other such hogwash because they have no "funk"
on their shoes. The essence of jazz stares them in the face and they can't
see it.
This album is indicative of the prowess of Miles Davis and the rest of
the Modern Jazz Giants; a collection of their best for 1954. If you
remember, 1954 was a very good year for Giants.
notes by IRA GITLER
supervision by Bob Weinstock
recording by Van Gelder
|
