Influenced by rock and vice versa
In the late '60s Miles found himself increasingly influenced by the sound and attitude of funk and rock music musicians such as Sly and the Family Stone, James Brown and Jimi Hendrix, as well as by modern composers such as Stockhausen. And, as well, Davis aspired to the money rock stars were obtaining. Davis and his band began increasingly to use electric instruments in performance and to use electronic effects, multi-tracking, and extensive editing on their recordings. By the time In A Silent Way was recorded in February 1969, Davis had replaced his acoustic quintet with an all-electric band, featuring such talents as Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett and the young John McLaughlin. That record, and its successor, Bitches Brew, saw the first truly successful amalgamations of jazz with rock music, laying the groundwork for the genre that would become known simply as fusion. These records, while groundbreaking, were not as great a commercial success. His new sound drove away many of his former fans, but the music, perhaps due to its great complexity, did not find a great following among the fans of progressive rock whom Davis had hoped to attract. Bitches Brew was sufficiently popular, however, to make it into the Billboard popular album charts.
1970 saw Davis contribute extensively to the soundtrack of a documentary about the great African-American boxer Jack Johnson. A devotee of boxing, Davis drew parallels between Johnson, whose career had been defined by the fruitless search for a Great White Hope to dethrone him, and Davis' own career, in which he felt the establishment had prevented him from receiving the acclaim and rewards that were due him. The resulting album, 1971's A Tribute to Jack Johnson, contained two long pieces that used the talents of many musicians, some of whom were not credited on the record itself. These included guitarists John McLaughlin and Sonny Sharrock. Working with producer Teo Macero, Davis created what many critics regard as his finest electric, rock-influenced album, and its use of editing and studio technology would be fully appreciated only upon the release of the five-CD The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions in 2003. Regardless, Davis refused to be confined by the expectation of his audience and continued to explore the possibilities of his new band. On The Corner (1972) showed a seemingly effortless grasp of funk without sacrificing the rhythmic, melodic and harmonic nuance that had been present throughout his entire career.
By the mid-'70s, his previous rate of production was falling. Get Up With It (1974) was a collection of outtakes and studio recording from the previous five years, which included "He Loved Him Madly," a fine tribute to Duke Ellington, as well as one of Davis' most lauded pieces from this era, "Calypso Frelimo." Contemporary critics complained that the album had rather too many underdeveloped ideas. However, Davis' '70s recordings have in recent years undergone a fairly radical reassessment, and are now seen by many as a significant body of work comparable to that of his earlier periods, and as an extremely interesting mixture of ideas gleaned from jazz, funk and rock music as well as from experimental, "process-oriented" European composers. Excluding an assortment of live recordings, including Agartha, commonly cited as among the richest works of this period, the mid-'70s saw Davis enter retirement. Troubled by chronic pain from years of physical abuse, a serious kidney complaint, diabetes, a renewed dependence on heroin and cocaine and again at odds with the law, Davis withdrew almost completely from the public eye.
While convalescing, Davis saw the fusion music that he had spearheaded over the past decade firmly entered the mainstream. Whether played by Davis' many protégés, including Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra, or bands such as Weather Report, Davis' influence could be heard everywhere, as it could after each of his previous revolutionary advances.
Davis absented himself from the music industry for five years. For much of the early part he was seriously ill, but by the beginning of the 1980s he was back in good health and ready to assemble a new band.
Return to performance
As ever, Miles assembled his bands from among the finest musicians available, including the saxophonist Bill Evans (no relation to the pianist) and a young bass player called Marcus Miller, who would become one of his most regular collaborators through the decade. The first studio album The Man With The Horn (1981) was relatively poorly received. The same year, Davis prepared to tour again and formed a touring band largely different from those who'd played on the album. In May they played two dates as part of the Newport Jazz Festival and the concerts, and the live recording We Want Miles from the ensuing tour, were well reviewed.
By the time of Star People (1983) his band included John Scofield on guitar, with whom Davis worked closely on both that record and 1984's Decoy, an underdeveloped, experimental mixture of soul music and electronica. Despite the mixed quality of much of his recorded output, live Davis was still capable of moments, and entire concerts, of great inspiration. With a seven piece band, including Scofield, Evans, drummer Al Foster and bassist Darryl Jones (later of The Rolling Stones), he played a series of European gigs to rapturous receptions. While in Europe he took part in the recording of Aura, a orchestral tribute to Davis composed by the Danish trumpeter Palle Mikkelborg.
Back in the studio, You're Under Arrest (1985) included another stylistic detour; interpretations of contemporary pop songs in Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" and Michael Jackson's "Human Nature," for which he would receive much criticism in the jazz press, although the record was otherwise well-reviewed. It would also be his final album for Columbia, due to the long-term deterioration of his relationship with the label.
Having first taken part in the Artists United Against Apartheid recording, Davis signed with Warner Brothers records, and reunited with Marcus Miller. The resulting record, 1986's Tutu, would be his first to feature modern studio tools -- programmed synthesisers, samples and drum loops -- to create an entirely new setting for Davis' playing. Ecstatically reviewed on its release, the album would frequently be described as a modern version of the classic Sketches Of Spain, and won a Grammy award in 1987.
He followed Tutu with the soundtracks to two movies, Street Smart and Siesta, with neither the films nor Davis' scores being particularly noteworthy (other than Morgan Freeman's celebrated turn as "Fast Black" in Street Smart), but he continued to tour with a band of constantly rotating personnel and his critical stock at a level higher than it had been for fifteen years.
Miles Davis continued to tour and perform regularly through the last years of his life, before succumbing to a stroke in February 1991. He is interred in the Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York.
Quotes
- In 1987 Davis attended a reception in honor of Ray Charles at Ronald Reagan's White House. A Washington society lady, seated next to him, asked him what he had done to be invited. "Well," Davis replied, "I've changed music four or five times. What have you done of any importance other than be white?"
External links
Recommended reading
- Milestones: The Music and Times of Miles Davis - Jack Chambers (ISBN 0-306-80849-8)
- Miles: The Autobiography with Quincy Trope (ISBN 0-671-63504-2)
- Miles Davis - Ian Carr. The definitive, exhaustively researched biography (ISBN 0006530265)
Other musicians who played with Miles Davis
Source | Copyright
Related categories
