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 The history of Jazz has seen few personalities as influential as Miles Davis. Today he is known as the most successful jazz musician of all time, but his success did not come over night. He played with virtuosos like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker at a very young age but soon realized that his technical ability on the instrument would never come close to that of these giants. So Miles found his own way, and he developed a sound that would stand out by its musicality and simple beauty. The following transcriptions are from a very important but often overlooked period of Miles's work. They illustrate a point in Miles's career where he had already found his very personal sound and had already been playing a leading role in a major revolution in jazz. From today's point of view this period of his work is to be seen as a point of departure for several revolutions to come.
 Blue Haze: Four (March 15, 1954)
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Miles had just overcome his drug addiction when this session was recorded. This recording session was one of the firsts where he was sober again. It features Horace Silver, Percy Heath and Art Blakey.
"Four" was usally attributed to Miles Davis, but it was actually written by Eddie Vinson for Miles Davis; today, both are usually mentioned as authors.
This is an interesting solo, as Miles articulates almost aggressively. His ideas stand out mostly rhythmically, which becomes obvious when he repeats one tone several times. The solo features a hard sound right from the pickup, which Miles was not known for before.
Interesting: during Miles's solo, a ii-V in E major occurs 4 times, the first two times Miles plays the melody of that part, the third time he plays the first note of that melody and omits the rest, and the last time he plays an Eb major phrase leading to the following chord. However, never plays something in E major other than the melody of that part.
Difficulty: Beginner – Intermediate
Especially suited for: all Horns, Voice
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Walkin: Solar (April 3, 1954)
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This is one of the most famous recordings that features Miles playing with harmon mute, a sound which was to become his signature. It features Horace Silver, Percy Heath and Kenny Clarke as rhythm section, and the alto player David Schildkraut, who is one of the few musicians who did not become famous after playing with Miles Davis.
Just like on "Four", Solar is officially Miles's tune, though it is in question if he actually wrote it himself; guitarist Chuck Wayne is believed to have written it, while Miles only gave it its name. It is a 12-bar form that is reminiscent of a C minor blues.
This solo shows how much Miles interacts with his rhythm section, especially with Horace Silver, who makes his comping totally dependent on what Miles is playing at a given moment.
Difficulty: Beginner – Intermediate
Especially suited for: Trumpet, Saxophones, Guitar
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Download this transcription as PDF in Bb transposition! Download this transcription as PDF in Eb transposition!
 Bag's Groove: Oleo (December 24, 1954)
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This recording session took place on Christmas Eve 1954; surprisingly, a lot of important jazz musicians seemed to be available for a session on this day: Sonny Rollins, Horace Silver, Thelonius Monk, Percy Heath, Milt Jackson, and Kenny Clarke all appear on the album originally planned as a quintet session (though on this take Jackson and Monk do not play). Oleo is Sonny Rollins's tune and is today one of the most played "Rhythm Changes"-heads.
The solo is very simple, it starts off like a children's nursery rhyme and develops playfully in the first chorus. The second chorus is more dramatic, it features blues colors and clearly the #11 (in Bb major: E natural), a color which would become typical to Miles's playing.
Difficulty: Beginner – Intermediate
Especially suited for: Trumpet, Trombone, Piano, Guitar
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Kind of Blue: So What (1959) ( Buy album at amazon.com) ( Buy mp3 for $0.99 at amazon.com) This is the solo from the opening tune of the (arguably) most important album of Miles's. Recorded roughly 5 years after the three other solos, it's a taste of how Miles's style had developed.
The tune is a very good example of a modal tune as its "A" part is only Dm7 and the "B" part is Ebm7 (one halftone higher); it is officially credited to Miles Davis.
The solo shows Miles's tendency, already visible in his earlier works, to play very sparsely, masterfully working with silence and placing his notes very thoughtfully. This is a solo every jazz musician should know, as beginners and professionals alike can learn a lesson from it.
Difficulty: Beginner – Intermediate Especially suggested for: Every instrument Download this transcription as PDF! |
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