Miles Davis and Avant-garde

1. Miles Davis and Avant-garde The Third Stream

2. Third Stream and Avant-garde • Hard to distinguish between jazz and classical • Mutually influencing • A merger of classical music and jazz • Jazz adopted classical forms and applied modern European harmony to its improvisations

3. The Major Elements of Third Stream • It combines jazz and classical composition procedures • Modern classical is angular and dissonant • “atonal” style appeared when jazz bands turned to classically trained arrangers such as Gil Evans • Serial or 12-tone techniques invades jazz through the 1950s and 1960s • 12-tone compositions sound dissonant because they do not obey traditional melodic or harmonic rules

4. The Major Elements of Third Stream • It uses orchestral instruments • White bands first used strings and classical wind instruments to introduce a new sound into traditional jazz ensembles • Many jazz composers were eager to use traditional classical timbres

5. The Major Elements of Third Stream • It imitates classical music • Avant-garde jazz assimilated the classical sound of the late Romantic and 20th century composers and even quoted Bach and Beethoven • Jazz composers borrowed the musical forms of the baroque and classical periods • Mirage, by Pete Rugolo, composed for the Stan Kenton Orchestra, sounds like a classical composition

6. Third Stream • Third Stream is now called “free” or “avant-garde” • In the 1950s and 1960s it was associated with cool or West Coast Jazz • Summertime, arranged by Gil Evans, is called “cool” because it was recorded when the term was in vogue • Gil Evans used orchestral instruments • Flutes, bass clarinet, French horn

7. Gil Evans, arranger Muted trumpet - Miles Davis Trumpets - John Coles, Bernie Glow, Ernie Royal, Louis Mucci Trombones - Joe Bennett, Frank Rehak, Jimmy Cleveland Bass trombone - Dick Hixon French horns - Willie Ruff, Julius Watkins, Gunther Schuller Tuba - Bill Barber Alto sax - “Cannonball” Adderley Flutes - Phil Bodner, Romeo Penque Bass clarinet - Danny Bank Bass - Paul Chambers Drums - “Philly Joe” Jones 0.00 No formal intro 0.27 Riff stops, unison line in background 0.32 Riff returns, ride cymbal 0.35 Improvised solo - Miles Davis 1.02 Unison line returns 1.11 High flutes added 1.37 Unison line 1.43 Tutti 2.13 Unison line w/solo 2.25 Tuba fills 3.00 Ending w/tuba fills 3.16 End Summertime - George Gershwin

8. Combining Elements • Many compositions from the 1960s and later contained one or more third stream elements • The term “Third Stream” became meaningless as it was applied to everything • Jazz-rock compositions by Chick Corea and Joe Zawinul showed the classical influence • A new term emerged to accommodate the differences: the ECLECTIC PERIOD

9. Eclectic • Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, and the Modern Jazz Quartet illustrate how jazz becameCOOL ORCHESTRAL THIRD STREAMECLECTIC

10. Miles Davis 1926-1991 • Jazz takes a new direction in the 1940s • Miles changed the sound of jazz several times - he either led the way or inspired others to strike out • Miles development appears to take three paths: • Cool (194901964) • Modal (1959-1968) • Electric (after 1968)

11. The Move to Cool • A reaction to bop • Many musical elements were intellectualized • Cool musicians wished to be considered the equals of classical musicians • Miles Davis (performer) and Gil Evans (arranger) were at the inception of these concepts • Cool jazz in the 1950s was largely the work of Miles Dsavis, Lennie Tristano, Lee Konitz, Gerry Mulligan and Stan Getz • Evans blended bop elements with classical concepts • Melodies became slower and instruments were voiced in the middle ranges • Arrangements sounded organized

12. Boplicity (1949) • The instrumentation reflects the move toward third stream • Use of French horn and tuba • Bop virtuosity becomes secondary • Emphasis is on the following • Subtle • Low-key • Understated COOL • Intellectual • unemotional

13. Trumpet - Miles Davis Trombone - J.J. Johnson French horn - Sandy Siegelstein Tuba - Bill Barber Alto sax - Lee Konitz Bari sax - Gerry Mulligan Piano - John Lewis Bass - Nelson Boyd Drums - Kenny Clarke 0.00 - first melodic statement, trp leads, walking bass 0.15 - repeat 0.27 - B section - alto sax leads 0.42 - repeat of A trp leads 0.57 - bari sax solo, accmpt in pno, bass, drums 1.24 - solo ends, lead shifts to sax section 1.35 - short trp solo 1.43 - lead shifts between alto sax and trp 2.00 - trp solo, accmpt horns 2.09 - bebop figure in solo 2.24 - pno solo, walking bass, light drums 2.38 - ensemble returns to A 2.52 - very short ending BOPLICITY by “Cleo Henry” (Miles Davis) Arr. Gil Evans

14. Modal Jazz • Miles began experimenting in 1959 • Davis introduced original tunes built on very few chords • Each chord was based on a scale similar to the minor scale • Melodies were allowed to be more linear and dissonant • The static effect of the harmony forced performers to be more creative rhythmically and use more forceful forward motion

15. So What • The rhythm section develops many ideas • The first 16 measures remain in one scale, the middle 8 move to a new scale, the final8 return to the original scale • Performers came to rely on melodic extensions - play any note of the scale over the slow moving harmonies and even flat or sharp to increase dissonance • Older musicians called them “wrong notes” • So What debuts two great soloists: John Coltrane and Bill Evans

16. Trumpet - Miles Davis Alto sax - “Cannonball” Adderley Tenor sax - John Coltrane Piano - Bill Evans Drums - James Cobb Bass - Paul Chambers The form for one chorus is (A) eight measures (A) eight measures (B) eight measures - new scale (Bridge) (A) eight measures - original scale So What - 1959 (from Kind of Blue)

17. So What • 0.00 Intro: call and response • 0.30 Melody stated by bass, pno answers each phrase, trp, alto sax, tenor sax join • 1.00 Harmony moves to another mode • 1.14 Return to original scale (mode) • 1.28 End of first chorus, beginning trp solo • 2.05 Trp ends on extensions • 2.20 trp continues, slow melody • 2.55 (B) section, new scale • 3.20 Tenor sax solo, extensions • 3.50 (B) section • 4.00 bebop bursts • 4.44 (B) section • 4.50 more bebop patterns • 5.05 alto sax solo • 5.33 bridge, new scale • 5.45 short blues-like quotation • 5.50 last (A) section of chorus • 5.55 Rhythmic interplay with drummer • 6.35 bebop melody with harsh extensions • 6.50 piano solo • 7.20 bridge, new scale • 7.45 horns stop two-chord motive, piano continues • 7.50 bass has short animated solo • 8.00 original melody repeated • 8.40 after (B) section chorus ends and fade-out begins

18. Electric Jazz • Miles Davis’ last style period • Radical change in instrumentation • Electric guitar (John McLaughlin) • Electric keyboards (Joe Zawinul, Chick Corea, and Larry Young) • Electric bass • Electrically amplified and altered trumpet • Band member’s roles also changed • Bass played continuous patterns • Other musicians built various textures • The intensity of the music varied in direct relation to the activity of the musicians • Traditional concepts of melody, harmony, and phrasing were replaced by repetition and hypnotic rhythms • The texture was the important aspect of the music

19. Electric Jazz • Short rhythmic ideas built on each other • Miles’ electric rhythm section identified his music with rock ‘n’ roll • Davis came to believe that true black jazz was rock-oriented • He said that traditional jazz and the word “jazz” was a product of white America

20. Rock style is evident Uses two electric pianos Tone clusters An endless vamp A repeated and seemingly directionless idea Trumpet - Miles Davis Soprano sax - Wayne Shorter Drums - Lenny White Bass clarinet - Bennie Maupin Electric pianos - Chick Corea, Larry Young Percussion - Jim Riley Drums - Jack de Johnette, Charles Alias Fender bass - Harvey Brook Bass - Dave Holland Electric Guitar - John McLaughlin Miles Runs the Voodoo Down1970 (from Bitches Brew)

21. 0.00 bass and drums begin 0.16 Guitar enters - bass clarinet 0.35 trp enters in lower register 1.45 trp plays over a large range, bass creates the pattern that establishes the tonal center 2.00 textural effects by trp 2.15 rock patterns intensify 2.30 melodic patterns built on wide intervals 2.58 long notes with changes in tone quality 3.28 bebop melodic lines 4.07 trp stops 4.10 piano and guitar dialogue 5.30 guitar solo 5.45 pno becomes soloistic 6.10 soprano sax solo, bass cl accmpt 7.15 collective improv 8.00 pno solos, distorted, angular 9.05 intensity increases, frantic texture 10.00 distortion increases 10.20 texture begins to thin out 10.30 trp re-enters 10.50 trp uses extensions 11.30 beginning of a musical climax 11.50 peak of climax 12.27 low range of trp 12.45 trp becomes a rhythmic element 13.10 trp in melodic role 13.20 trp stops 13.35 music fades Miles Runs the Voodoo Down