I was always more of a Miles Davis man. I guess what I’m comparing it to is perhaps if someone were a Coltrane man. I’m not sure why you need to pick one or the other, hell you could like them both as much as you want, it’s just that Miles’ style always spoke to me so much more. His was so understated whereas the style that Coltrane made famous was one that seems to be embraced and expounded upon by many many legions of jambands, rock bands, jazz fusion bands, etc. Anyone that really liked a long jam with sheets and sheets of notes from the soloist. Not that Miles wasn’t into big long jams either, but the period of his that is my favorite is somewhere between 1958 and 1965…
1958 actually saw him in a marvelous quartet with the aforementioned Mr. John Coltrane. Personally this is my favorite period of either artist. My all time favorite jazz record is one called “Relaxin with the Miles Davis Quintet”. There’s a tune on there called “You’re My Everything” that is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard. The piano player, Red Garland, starts the tune after Miles calls it (this is one of the four albums that Miles cut on the same day, there’s lots of rough edges which is part of what I love about it. They keep a lot of the studio chatter on the master). Miles cuts him off and tells him to play it completely differently, which Red does with hardly a pause. It’s heartbreaking. Coltrane’s solo still gives me goosebumps after listening to this album for almost 15 years now.
Another amazing Coltrane solo is his from “Blue on Green” from Kind of Blue. I’m not a guy who ever sat around and really got off on other people’s solos, but these two are very much worth checking out if you don’t already own the recordings.
1965 saw Miles putting together his second “great” quintet. This is the one with a young Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter on the bass, Wayne Shorter on the sax and an 18 year old Tony Williams on the kit. My personal favorite tune of theirs is called “Madness” from the album Nefertiti. Miles was starting to get more than a little out there by this point. He was breaking down the traditional walls of form that he’d begun taking out with Kind of Blue. The level of talent and drive of this quintet took it way beyond where he was able to go with Cannonball and Bill Evans. I’m not really sure there is a form to the tune Madness, but it’s worth a listen. I never consciously realized this in college, or even until recently, but Tony Williams doesn’t touch a damn thing on his kit except the ride cymbal for the entire tune. If any jazz student out there wants to know what it sounds like to “swing”, start here. Most of the tune after the head is Tony’s ride and Ron Carter’s bass, swinging like a wrecking ball. The solos are nice, but what really kills me about how powerful this tune is is all the space, and how ballsy it is to leave so much of it there. Believe me, leaving space is way harder than filling it up, but it always leaves the listener more satisfied. Hearing this tune again this morning for the first time in a while reminds me of that and makes me wonder if I’m not in the wrong band sometimes…