OK…time to stop messing around. Let’s get to the real deal: Miles Dewey Davis III, May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991, and John William Coltrane, September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967. This diary is a beginning. I will not try to deal with either Miles or Trane in just one diary. In addition, this is a diary about William “Red” Garland, May 13, 1923 – April 23, 1984, Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers, Jr. (aka PC), April 22, 1935 – January 4, 1969, and Joseph Rudolph “Philly Joe” Jones, July 15, 1923 – August 30, 1985. This is a diary about the first great Quintet of Miles Davis and I will not go past 1957.
It’s worth noting that Don Cheadle is writing/directing and starring in a movie about the life of Miles Davis titled “Kill the Trumpet Player.” I enjoy Mr Cheadle and I hope the film turns out well. It is a challenging thing to make a bio pic about a jazz musician, there isn’t enough time to properly hear all of the music (there are 2 hours, 6 minutes and 39 seconds of music in this diary alone, and I stop in 1957). Miles was colorful, so there will be things to show. I imagine a bio pic of Coltrane would be very boring, half of the film would have him sitting in his room practicing. I know this film is a labor of love for Mr Cheadle, so I’ll reserve judgment and wish him luck. I can imagine Miles’ reaction to the movie, his trademark gravely voice saying “It’s about fucking time”.
One fact about this film should be recognized. Mr Cheadle and the studio will most likely earn more money from Jazz through this film than the vast majority of Jazz musicians will have earned in their lifetimes.
Onward through the orange door to the land of cool
Miles Davis was involved with most major developments in Jazz since, and including, Charlie Parker. In fact, Miles led many movements in Jazz and its stylistic changes. Miles never stood still. Neither did Coltrane. Miles is cool and slick. He has style. Coltrane is hard work. Coltrane is sacrifice and integrity. To some, Coltrane is one step removed from the Voice of God. And there others for whom Coltrane is one step removed from nothing. Now is not the time to get too philosophical about Trane. This is the beginning. This is how the world begins, not with a whimper, but with a bang,
And it wasn’t just miles. A young Red Garland also got to perform with Bird in 1953.
But for Miles, he began to become close with composer/arranger Gil Evans. I think the best way I can describe it is that at Gil’s place, a hang developed. Miles would come over as well as other musicians and they would talk shit and probably drink and stuff and listen to music…and out of this grew the notion that a nonet with a French horn and a tuba would be a great idea. And from this comes the ground breaking recordings eventually collectively called The Birth of the Cool.
Recorded in 1948 and 49, these recordings were released on 78 rpm 10 inch at first. The style is noticeably different from Bird and be bop and part of the idea was to play less frenetically than Bird or Dizzy. No one cared much about the music at the time, though eventuall (1957) they all get released on one album. But stylistically, these recordings set up the "Cool jazz" sound which eventually becomes the "West Coast Jazz" sound. Miles does not quite go in this direction, but John Lewis, Gerry Mulligan and Lee Konitz--all featured on these recordings--go on to further the "Cool jazz" style...which will also include Chet Baker, though he is not on any of these recordings.
Miles career takes a turn at this point. His personal relationships go sour. The critics don’t care for him. And this is when he starts to do heroin.
His heroin years are about 1951 through 1954. When he recovers, he feels a little let down by his friends and can’t get them to record and such with him. And it’s not like they are offering him any gigs either. He starts to put a band together and Red Garland is one of the first pieces. Red had been playing alot around NYC, but was still largely unknown at this point. Sonny Rollins is the first saxophone player in Mile's first quintet.
Miles liked boxing quite a bit. Red was a boxer in the army. Miles and Red bond over this athletic interest.
Sonny does not stay with Miles, I think its 55 or 56 that Sonny goes with Clifford Brown and Max Roach. Miles adds Philly Joe and Paul Chambers and also a tenor player he met who lived down in Philly, originally from North Carolina, named John Coltrane. If I'm not mistaken, Coltrane was “running the bar” at a club in Philly when Miles offered him the gig. That meant that Coltrane would walk across the bar honking and squealing on his saxophone and begging for tips. In a story like Coltrane's, it seems fitting that it should start at a place of such humiliation.
Miles was also offered a recording contract with Columbia records based on some stellar performances he gave in 55. The problem was that he was still under contract to Prestige. In two legendary recording sessions, Miles took his new quintet into the studio and record four albums worth of material. Largely it was band’s live repertoire. The four albums that were produced are largely the text books on how to play in the hard bop style of the mid 1950s.
Everything that follows is pretty much in chronological order of the recording dates, not the release dates. In some cases, material recorded in 1956 was not released until 1961. So in terms of what was provided to the public as new material, things do not quite follow this order and some of the material comes out after Kind Of Blue. But this is the order in which they actually made the music.
“I’ll play it and tell you what it is later” Miles had some surgery and was told not to speak above a whisper for about two weeks, but just a few days into that, he got into a shouting match with someone and caused his throat permanent damage giving him his trademark sound to his speaking voice.
Miles stated many times over that Ahmad Jamal was his favorite and how Ahmad influenced him. Many people say this is most evident in Miles’ use of space. Miles certainly coerced Red to play a bit more like Ahmad. Just for reference, here is classic Ahmad Jamal.
Miles also now begins to emerge as the master balladeer.
And of course….Coltrane
It should be noted that while Miles is mostly sober at this point, everyone else in the band pretty much is not. I'm not sure how much booze and drugs affected Red or Philly Joe, but this is Trane’s time with heroin. Coltrane struggled with addiction from about 1946 until 1957. In 53 (54?) he was brought into Duke Ellington's band (on alto) as a temporary replacement for Johnny Hodges and got fired for his substance abuse. I'm not sure when the issues really begin for PC. Drugs and alcohol did not really kill John Coltrane, but they sure did ruin PC eventually.
Commitment to Prestige legally satisfied, the band then records for Columbia and produces a classic album which includes an iconic version of an even more iconic composition
But this is not a happy band. Miles is not happy with drunk or high band mates. Red walked out of one of the Round About Midnight sessions because Miles was acting like a dick. Miles thinks Coltrane plays too long. “Why you play so long?” Miles asks. “I don’t know how to stop,” replies Coltrane. “Take the damn horn out of your mouth” retorts Miles. There are stories about Miles punching Trane in the stomach. There are reasons why Miles has a reputation for being a bit of an asshole at times.
Thelonious Monk sees this and offers Coltrane a spot in his band. For all intents and purposes, Miles' quintet breaks up at the end of 1956 due to interpersonal conflicts and drug and alcohol abuse.
Coltrane gets clean in 1957. Coltrane has a spiritual epiphany. He begins to emerge as a major figure in Jazz with his sheets of sound approach.
Red, with Paul Chambers, begins to record as a leader. Art Taylor, April 6, 1929 – February 6, 1995, is his steady drummer, not Philly Joe. Today, April 6th, is Art's birthday.
And they continue to record with Coltrane as well.
Meanwhile Philly Joe is recording sessions with Hank Mobely and Elmo Hope and Sonny Rollins…and still with Trane, Red, and PC!
Notice, Paul Chambers is playing bass on almost all of these recordings. In 1957, PC appears on more recording dates than any of these guys. He even records a few as a leader in 1957. The musical success he achieves at such a young age is astounding. It’s horrifying what heroin can do to a person, but at this point PC still has a few amazing years left.
Please, please do note that many of the recordings made in 55 and 56 get released in 57 (and later). And so while the group itself may be (temporarily) disbanded, the public is hearing a stream of new music from them.
And what does Miles do in 1957? He makes the first of a series of recordings with Gil Evans.
And towards the year’s end, Coltrane records one album for blue note which essentially foreshadows a new phase he will enter in 1959. This fantastic album, Blue Trane, also features the great Lee Morgan and Curtis Fuller. 1957 shows Coltrane clearly beginning to come into his own.
And if they stopped there, they would still be Jazz legends today. But that was just first gear. What comes next is some of the greatest jazz recordings ever made. In 1958 Miles reforms the band and adds Cannonball Adderley. Art Taylor will replace Philly Joe and Wynton Kelly will replace Red. Bill Evans will emerge. Coltrane records Giant Steps in 1959 and then begins to record with McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones. Miles and Gil Evans create amazing works of art. Kind Of Blue is recorded in 1959. Paul Chambers will record on virtually every jazz record made in 1958 and 1959 (that’s an exaggeration of course). We’ll get to all of that in a few weeks...the plan is to do Miles and Trane 1958 through 1961-ish as part two and then diverge the two for the second quintet and for Coltrane on Impulse records, and then later Miles. Next week, though, I think it may be time to recognize how “Space is the place”.
Thanks for listening and thanks for the support! It’s hard to articulate what a transformative process this is for me personally, thank you. Please do not forget to support your local jazz musicians! Or blues musicians, or rock musicians, or country western musicians, or rappers, or zydeco, or gypsy swing, or….heck just support local live music!!!!!!!!!!!!