Month: August 2024

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Miles Davis (The development of Jazz 10/11)

Miles Dewey Davis III was born on 26 May 1926 in Alton (Illinois, U.S.). He died on 28 September 1991 in Santa Monica (California, U.S.). He grew up affluent; his mother was a violinist and his father a dentist. 

Davis has been attracted to blues, big bands and gospel from an early age. At nine, he became his first trumpet. Elwood Buchanan taught him to play on it. Davis later spoke of it as the “biggest influence on my life”. Buchanan stressed the importance of playing without vibrato, against the fashion of the time, which he continued all his life.

1940s

At the age of 15, Davis goes to high school and joins a marching band, led by his music teacher Buchanan. He also plays in small ensembles. He eagerly studies music theory and learns to read scores. 

Under pressure from his mother, who felt he should finish school first, he turned down the offer to join the Tiny Bradshaw band. Shortly afterwards, he plays as a substitute in the Billie Eckstine Band, in which Art Blakey, Dizzie Gillespie and Charlie Parker also play. After this experience, Davis decides to move to New York “where the action is”. He is admitted to the Juilliard School of Music but does not finish his education to pursue music full-time. He plays in several bands, including the Charlie Parker quintet. Here he regularly plays with Gillespie and Mingus. In one of the songs ‘Now’s the Time’, he plays a solo that anticipates what would become ‘cool jazz’.

Recordings during this period include ‘Half Nelson‘ (1947) and ‘Sippin’  at Bells‘ (1947). 

In August 1948, Davis, along with Mulligan, Roach, Lewis and others, form a nine-member band (nonet), seeking a musical alternative to bebop. Eventually, nine songs were recorded and released as singles. It was not until 1957 that these were compiled into the album ‘Birth of the Cool’, which has a previously unprecedented orchestral timbre. 

1950s

After returning from a stay in Paris, Davis became depressed and he found himself out of work. He was not yet 24 and became addicted to heroin, which did not help his playing. He eventually got to grips with his addiction and recorded two albums: ‘Miles Davis Quartet’ (1953) and ‘Miles Davis Volume 2′ (1956). More albums followed and they portray his transition from cool jazz to hard bop. Hard bop is more focused on harmony and melody and regularly uses popular songs as a starting point for improvisation. ‘Walkin” is the first album representative of this genre. You can see a recording from this album here:

Miles’ performance at the Newport Jazz Festival in July 1955, along with Monk and Mulligan, brought back public interest in his work. The Miles Davis Quintet, which now included John Coltrane, released four albums in the second half of the 1950s, recorded in two marathon sessions in 1956.  ‘Cookin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet’ (1957), ‘Relaxin’  with the Miles DDavis Quintet1958), ‘Workin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet’(1960) and ‘Steamin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet‘. Watch a recording of ‘When I fall in Love’ from the latter album

Davis travelled to Paris several times, including recording the soundtrack to ‘Ascenseur pour l’échafaud‘ (1958, with director Louis Malle).

Tired of all performances and travel, Davis was ready for a new project. He aspires to a job at a university to combine his theoretical knowledge and his skills as a performer. But it becomes a project with Canadian-American composer, pianist and arranger Gil Evans. Between 1957 and 1962, the two make five albums that differ greatly from Davis’s oeuvre up to that point. 

On Miles Ahead (1957), Davis plays on flugelhorn “The Maids of Cadiz” by Léo Delibes, the first time Davis recorded ‘classical music’. You can listen to a recording of this song played by Gil Evans’ big band here (2018). 

Porgy and Bess (1959), one of the albums made with Gil Evans, contains arrangements of pieces from George Gershwin’s opera.  Sketches of Spain (1960) features music by Joaquín Rodrigo and Manuel de Falla and compositions by Evans. The album was a great success; it sold more than 120,000 copies in the US alone. On this album, you can listen to, among others, Davis’s version of the Concerto d ‘Aranjuez.

The duo’s last album is Quiet Nights (1963), a collection of bossa nova songs that, incidentally, was released against Davis’ and Evans’ wishes.

The box set Miles Davis & Gil Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings (1996) won the 1997 Grammy Award for ‘Best Historical Album’ and ‘Best Album Notes’. It is gift with which to please many a music lover.

In March 1959, Davis released ”Kind of Blue” which is often called his best album and one of the best albums in the history of jazz. By 2019, it had sold a total of 5 million copies. Songs include: ‘Freddy Freeloader’, ‘So What’ and ‘All Blues”. The latter song is played here by the Frankfurt Radio Big Band in 2020.

‘Kind of Blue’ departs from Davis’s earlier hardbop jazz style where improvisations are based on complex chord progressions. Instead, soloists improvise based on a predetermined ‘mode’, usually one or more of the seven classical scales, or a variation thereof. The aim of such a modal approach is to increase the freedom for soloists to shape an improvisation. Later, John Coltrane, among others, would also opt for this ‘modal approach’.

1960s

Miles continues to tour with his quintet during these years, which sees many personnel changes over the years. He also had to be hospitalised several times for hip fractures and a liver infection. His record sales dropped to a minimum. However, In the late 1960s he again record five new albums: ‘Miles smiles’ (1966), Sorcerer‘(1967), ‘Nefertiti‘(1967), ‘Miles in the sky’(1968) and ‘Filles de Kilimanjaro’(1968). During concerts, the band links songs together so that they flow into each other. Davis continued to do this until 1975.

In the last two albums, Davis switches partly to electric instruments, the beginning of his ‘fusion’ period.  Rock influences are now increasingly audible. ‘In a silent way’ (1969) is considered the first fusion album, and it prompted a lot of comments from jazz critics. Here you can listen and watch ‘In a silent way’ from the album of the same name.

1970s

‘Bitches Brew’ (1970) is another bestseller. By 2003, it had sold one million copies. The songs that make up the album were compiled and edited from separate recordings with technical aids. Miles Davis starts performing with ‘Bitches Brew’ in the support acts of rock bands such as those of Steve Miller and Neil Young. He also performs to an audience of 600,000 at The Island of Wight Festival. Again, critics follow him with suspicion. You can watch and listen to part of Bitches Brew here.

Davis became influenced by the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen; critics spoke of ‘space music’.  The album ‘On the corner’(1972) mixes this influence with funk. A series of albums with recordings of performances followed: ‘In concert’(1972), ‘Get up with it’(1974), Agharta (1974), Pangea (1976) and Dark Magnus (1977). Fans loved these albums; critics wiped the floor with them. They denounced Davis’s habit of playing with his back to the audience or looking at the ground during performances. He used alcohol, codeine and morphine to stay on his feet during these performances and had to be hospitalised repeatedly.

In 1975, Davis stops making music. In the following five years, he tries to put together a new band. Eventually, he managed to come back. He releases two new album ‘The man with too horn’(1981) and ‘We want Miles’ (1981), which earned him a Grammy Award for ‘Best Jazz Instrumental Performance By a Soloist’. 

It was only after he suffers a stroke that he distanced himself from the use of alcohol and drugs for the rest of his life, started drawing and living a healthy life. He now also plays ‘cover’ versions of pop songs, such as Cindy Lauper’s ‘Time After Time’. He swapped his funk-based style for a more melodic one. He also collaborated with a slew of other artists, such as Zucchero Fornaciari in a version of Dune Moss.

1990s

In 1991, at the Montreux jazz festival, Davis plays for the first time songs from the albums Miles Ahead, Porgy and Bess and Sketches of Spain, which he had recorded with the recently deceased Gil Evans in the late 1950s, with an orchestra conducted by Quincy Jones. You can listen and watch their entire performance here. Davis’s occasionally weak playing was because he was seriously ill at the time of the concert.

At a grand concert in Paris attended by many colleagues, he receives the order “Chevalier of the Legion of Honour” from the hands of the French minister of culture, who called him the “Picasso of Jazz”. 

Back in the US, his latest album ‘Doo-Bop’ which would be released posthumously (1992), as well as Rubberband (2019). On 25 August, he performs publicly for the last time. A snippet of his last performance in Europe on 1 July 1991, the song ‘Human Nature’, can be seen here. 

In September, Miles dies of a series of complications.

Miles Davis is widely hailed as a pioneer of 20th-century jazz and his influence on the development of rock. The Guardian places him among the best jazz musicians ever. Davis was at the forefront of many innovations: ‘cool jazz’, ‘hard bop’, ‘fusion’ with rock, soul, funk and hip-hop. As such, his work is a sustained critique of bebop. He stretched the boundaries of jazz far and, in doing so, also inspired many musicians.

A two-hour-long documentary, ‘The Miles Davis Story’ won an international Emmy Award.

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Dizzy Gillespie (The development of Jazz 9/11)

Dizzy (John Birks) Gillespie was born on 21 October 1917 in Cheraw (South Carolina, U.S.) and he died on 6 January 1993 In Englewood (New Jersey, U.S.). His father was the leader of a local band. At the age of four, he started playing the piano. After his father’s death, he was 10 at the time, he skilled himself on trombone and trumpet. 

1930s

After hearing Roy Eldridge play on the radio, he aspired to a career in jazz. From 1935, he played professionally in various orchestras. In Teddy Hill’s band, he made his first record, the ‘King Porter Stomp'(1937). This ‘jazz standard’ was recorded many times after that. You can listen to the song here, played on a classic gramophone:

A technically improved reissue from1994 can be found here. A ‘stomp’ is a specific repetition of chords and is deployed in many melodies.  Here you can hear it and probably youbrecognize the ‘stomp’.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Stomp_progression_block_chords_F.mid

1940s -1950s

From 1939, Gillespie was part of Cab Calloway’s orchestra that played at the Cotton Club in Harlem at the time.  With this orchestra, Gillespie records his first composition “Pickin’ the Cabbage”(1940). Listen to the original recording here.

After an argument, Calloway fired Gillespie. He blamed him for misplaced humor and, moreover, thought his solos were too adventurous. ‘Chinese music’, Calloway called them. Later, Calloway would make repeated use of Gillespie’s virtuosity. After his dismissal, he wrote and arranged music for various bands, including those of Woody Herman, Jimmy Dorsey and Ella Fitzgerald. However, new opportunities presented themselves. 

First, he joins Earl Hines band and then Billy Eckstine’s band, of which Charlie Parker was also a member. In these bands, his contribution to the development of bebop came to fruition and Gillespie became the face of this genre. 

During this time, Gillespie brings several compositions to his name, such as ‘A Night in Tunisia’ (1942, recorded here in 1981), ‘Groovin’High‘ (1947), Woody ‘n’ You’ (1944), ‘Salted Peanuts’  (performed here by Dizzie Gillespie and his Orchestra in 1946). These songs are substantially different from mainstream swing music in melodic and rhythmic terms. ‘Woody ‘n’ You’, a tribute to Woody Herman, is one of the earliest examples of bebop. You can listen to this song here in a performance by the WDR Big Band from 2023.

During these years, Gillespie played in several small ensembles and formed several big bands.  With one of these, he records the film ‘Jivin’ in Be-Bop’ in 1947. Watch and listen to a clip ‘Bebop Dancers’ here, which shows that fast-paced bebop requires special dancing skills. The film consists of a sequence of song and dance numbers, with no further plot.

The band ‘Gillespie and his Bee Bop Orchestra’ played an important role in broadening the popularity of bebop. At the fourth ‘Cavalcade of Jazz’ in 1948, he was announced with the words, “the musicianship, inventive technique, and daring of this young man has created a new style, which can be defined as off the chord solo gymnastics.”

Since the sound cup of his trumpet had become bent during a party 45o, he always played on such a type of trumpet because he liked the sound.

1960s – 1970s

Gillespie met South American trumpeter Mario Bauzá, with whom he performed together in various jazz clubs in Harlem. Gillespie becomes an aficionado of Afro-Cuban jazz, which was popular for its danceable nature. With his compositions ‘Manteca‘ and ‘Tin Tin Deo’, Gillespie himself also contributed to Afro-Cuban jazz. On a jazz cruise to Havana, he met Arturo Sandoval and together they toured Europe with the United Nations Orchestra. Here is a recording in Havanna in 1985 in which Gillespie and Sandoval play ‘Night in Tunisia’:

1980s/90s

In the musical ‘Stevie Wonder’, he played the trumpet solo in the song ‘Do I Do’. He wrote the soundtrack for the film ‘The Winter in Lisboa’. You can watch that now. 

In December 1991, Gillespie was diagnosed as suffering from pancreatic cancer. He abruptly cancels his tour but succeeds in recording another album in early 1992. In December that year, a grand celebration of his 75ste birthday took place, but he could not attend it himself due to his poor health. He died on 6 January 1993.

He is considered one of the best jazz trumpeters of all time.

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Duke Ellington (The development of jazz 8/11)

Ellington conducts the orchestra from behind the piano

Edward Kennedy ‘Duke’ Ellington was born in Washington D.C. on 29 April 1899 and died in New York City in 1974. His father and mother both played the piano. At the age of seven, he received piano lessons himself. His mother made sure he always looked neatly groomed. This worked out so well that in his surroundings he was called ‘Duke’. ‘Duke’ was a passionate baseball fan, and he earned some extra money by selling peanuts during games. 

1910s

Only at the age of 14, Duke gets a taste for playing the piano. He writes his first composition ‘Soda Fountain Rag’, probably inspired by his job as a bartender. You can hear this one here: 

More than 1,000 more compositions would follow, many of them destined to be played on a 78-rpm record. Many of these became jazz standards.

He now also takes music lessons to improve his technique and to master notation. At the age of 17, he leaves school to perform here and there, while painting during the day. At 18, he forms his own band, ‘The Duke’s Serenaders’. Instead of being satisfied with the successful gigs, he leaves for Harlem NYC with musical friends to get a piece of the ‘Harlem Renaissance’. This fails and ‘Duke’ and his friends return penniless to Washington D.C. 

1920s

Still, Ellington will return to Harlem NYC in 1923 where he got a four-year contract at the Hollywood Club. He became bandleader of a 10-piece band. With this orchestra that gradually came to be called ‘Duke Ellington Orchestra’, Ellington played all his life.  The orchestra still tours the world under the direction of Ellington’s youngest son Paul. 

Ellington wrote a few songs for the ‘Chocolate Kiddles’, a revue that toured several European cities in 1925. You can hear an excerpt from this revue, played and sung by Johnny Dunn and Jake Green, here:

By now, the band had a recognizable sound thanks to Ellington’s innovative arrangements and piano playing. In 1927, the prestigious ‘Cotton Club’ contracted the band after a successful audition. The repertoire was broad, consisting mainly of songs and tunes from revues. Audiences flocked, moreover, the performances were heard weekly on the radio. He recorded several songs with singer Adelaide Hall, of which ‘Creole Love Call’, became a world hit. You can hear the original recording here.

1930s

In the early 1930s, Ellington records several films. In ‘Check and Double Check’, the orchestra plays his ‘Old Man Blues’ during a dance scene.

During the Great Depression, Duke Ellington’s orchestra managed to survive. In 1933, he recruits singer Ivie Anderson and together they produce the hit ‘It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing). In the following recording, you can hear Ella Fitzgerald sing the song, accompanied by the Duke Ellington Orchestra (1965). Ella also shows she has mastered scat singing. That is singing on meaningless words.

Other songs from that era include: ‘‘Mood Indigo’(1930), ‘Sophisticated Lady’(1933), ‘Solitude‘(1934) and ‘In a Sentimental Mood’(1935).

During this period, he and his orchestra performed several times in England, Scotland, France and Ellington writes series of compositions around a specific musician.  ‘Jeep’s Blues‘ was bested for Johnny Hodges, ‘Yearning for Love’ for Lawrence Brown, ‘Trumpet in Spades’ for Rex Steward, ‘Echoes of Harlem’ for Cootie Williams and ‘Clarinet Lament‘ for Barney Bigard. These compositions perfectly matched the style and technical skill of each.

A well-known song like ‘Caravan’ also dates from this period (1937). Incidentally, this song was composed by Juan Tizol, one of the members of Ellington’s band. You can see a recent version here, played at the 2021 Big Band Jazz Party. A nice band, no show suits, a mix of old and young players, a beautiful setting and stars that fall from the sky.

1940s

Meanwhile Ellington teamed up with Billy Strayhorn, who became an indispensable ‘alter ego’ when it came to polishing lyrics and compositions, as well as rehearsing with the band and even playing the piano on recordings.  Strayhorn also composed ”Take the ‘A’ Train’, still today the band’s signature tune. 

Ellington was a master of composing short melodies; he also continued composing longer pieces, such as ‘Black, Brown, and Beige(1943) which deals with the history of slavery. The link is to a performance by the Klezmer Company Orchestra (2011). This composition received a lukewarm reception. More successful was ‘Jump for Joy'(1941). Here performed by the ‘Newark Academy Jazz Essentially Ellington Orchestra’ (2017) 

‘Beggers’s Holiday’(1946) eventually made it to Broadway.

1950s

Once again, big bands struggled to pull together. Count Basie disbanded and continued with a small ensemble. Duke Ellington was initially luckier; he booked a 77-day tour in Europe in which he performed 74 times. Then difficult times also dawned for the Duke Ellington Orchestra. At the Newport Jazz Festival on 7 July 1956, a small miracle happened, which I described in episode 2/11 of this series. Everything had backfired on that day; eventually tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves played a solo, and Ellington let him improvise for six minutes, while the audience turned into a dancing crowd. The recording of this performance would become the best-selling album of Ellington’s career. 

1960s

Ellington starts devoting himself to composing film music. The first film was ‘Anatomy of a Murder’ (1959). This was followed by ‘Paris Blues'(1961) in which Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier performed. Here you listen to Paul Newman playing ‘Mood indigo’. 

During this period, Ellington also made recordings with musicians he did not have daily contact with, such as Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkings, John Coltrane and also Frank Sinatra. A session with Charles Mingus and Max Roach resulted in the album ‘Money Jungle‘. 

He performs all over the world and is recording with several local artists, such as Sweden’s Alice Babs, and South Africa’s Sathima Bea Benjamin.

1970s

Ellington works on his first opera,’ Queenie Pie’, but it remains unfinished. His last performance was in the ballroom at Northern Illinois University on 20 March 1974. He dies of lung cancer on 24 May 1974.  At his funeral, Ella Fitzgerald spoke the words “It’d a very sad day. A genius has passed”.

Here the first joint performance with Louis Armstrong after 40 years on the Ed Sullivan Show, ‘In a Mellow Tone'(1961)

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Louis Armstrong (The development of jazz 7/11)

Louis Armstrong (nicknames Satch and Satchmo) was born on August 4th, 1901, in New Orleans and died on July 6th ,1971 in New York City. He played trumpet and cornet and had a great influence on the development of jazz.

He spent his childhood in poverty. At the age of 11, he bought a cornet in a pawn shop and by the age of 13, he was already playing in bands entertaining audiences in dance halls, brothels and riverboats.

1920s

In 1922, ‘King Oliver’ asked Armstrong moving to Chicago and play in his ‘Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band’. You can listen to an early recording of the band here.

In Chicago he is payd well for the first time. Influenced by his first future wife Lil Hardin, he broadens his skills by also playing classical music. From 1924, he plays in the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, the most prominent African-American band of the time.  Here you can listen to this orchestra, whose members at the time included both Louis Armstrong and Coleman Hawkins.

Armstrong has fully mastered the New Orleans style (‘old jazz’). When he joined the Fletcher Henderson band, he had been pioneering the most current forms of jazz for quite some time. This included the shift from collective to individual improvisation. His improvisations were sophisticated, subtle and melodic.

In 1925 Armstrong formed his own band ‘Louis Armstrong Hot Five (later Hot Seven)’. Among others he recorded the hit Potato Head Blues (1927) and his improvised solo in this song has since been imitated countless times.

Writing about improvisations, the introduction and solo of the song ‘Weather Bird’ (1928) together with pianist Earl Hines is one of the most famous improvisations in the history of jazz. Listen here:

During that year, Armstrong made 25 recordings. He also started singing more and more, his ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’ (1929) became a hit. So did Armstrong’s interpretation of Carmichael’s ‘Stardust’ (1931) and ‘Lazy River’ (1931). You can listen to the latter below. He appears to be a master of ‘scat singing’, which is singing and improvising with meaningless words.

1930s

The Great Depression put many musicians out of work. Louis Armstrong could come and play at the New Cotton Club in Los Angeles, along with Lionel Hampton on drums. Hollywood could still afford a rich nightlife.  Moreover, radio recordings were made of all the performances. Later, Armstrong developed problems with his fingers and lips, and signed contracts to play in films more often.

1940s

After many years on the road, in 1943 Armstrong settled in Queens NYC with his then fourth wife. Again, many big bands had to stop performing because expenditure became too high. At the same time, interest in small ensembles was increasing, which suited Armstrong. Armstrong’s new group was called ‘Louis Armstrong and His All Stars’. In 1948, he recorded the English-language version of Suzy Delair’s song ‘C’est si bon’ which became a world hit. You can hear and see him play and sing on this 1962 recording:

1950s

Over the last 30 years, Armstrong has written over 50 songs, averaged over 300 performances a year, made many recordings and appeared in 30 films. His best-known film is ‘High Society’ with Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Celeste Holm.  Listen to the duet with Crosby:

In the 1950s, Armstrong was a beloved American icon. However, at that time a generation gap emerged between him and the younger generation of jazz musicians, such as Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins, who scorned Armstrong’s ‘vaudeville style’. In turn, Armstrong called their bebop style ‘Chinese music’.

During those years, he recorded two albums that were considered masterpieces: ‘Louis Armstrong plays W.C. Handy‘ (1954) and Satch Plays Fats (songs by Fats Waller). 

1960s

In 1963, he appears in Dave Brubeck’s jazz musical ‘The Real Ambassadors’ in which he performs ‘Summer Song’, one of his most popular vocal performances up to then. You can listen to it below

During these years, Armstrong toured Egypt, Ghana and Nigeria. However, he suffered a heart attack and had to rest for quite some time. It was not until 1964 that he set foot in the studio again and recorded his international hit ‘Hello Dolly’. The song reached number one on the Hot 100 and dethroned the Beatles. You can watch and listen to a recording from 1968 here.

Armstrong starts another world tour, but he breaks it off for health reasons as well. 

In 1968, he made the last recordings with his trumpet on the album ‘Disney Songs the Satchmo Way’ and scored another hit ‘What a Wonderful World’. You can hear and see that one now:

Armstrong dies in his sleep of a heart attack on 6 July 1971.