Wayne Shorter (tenor sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), Herbie Hancock (piano), Ron Carter (bass) and Tony Williams (drums). From the album Nefertiti (1968).
In 1959, Davis recorded what was his best album, Kind of Blue, and he called Bill Evans, who was also familiar with George Russell’s theories on modal jazz, that uses musical modes rather than chord progressions as a harmonic framework. In this way he took a great leap towards a simpler, but open structure, which emphasised the melody. However, he appointed Wynton Kelly to play at “Freddie Freeloader”. As was common in Davis, they didn’t have rehearsal and the musicians didn’t know what they were going to record.
Miles Davis and Bill Evans recording Kind of Blue
He only gave the band sketches of scales and melodic lines to improvise. When Davis gathered the musicians together, he gave them brief instructions for each track and then the sextet began recording in the studio. The final results were excellent, full of interpretations overflowing with vitality. “So What” and “All Blues” became jazz standard. The album was an absolute success with a widespread radio broadcast and stays the best-selling jazz album of all time.
The theme starts very smoothly and then Davis gives it more intensity subtly accompanied by Shorter with Hancock making interesting contributions beneath. It’s long, like a fragile and lyrical poetry that surrounds the listener. Next Hancock comes in with a pleasant and charming melodic line while Shorter and Davis make a sound mattress underneath. Shorter follows him accompanied by Davis, that puts on the mute, and makes a solo with unexpected and surprising phrases always revolving around the melody of the theme, introducing a riff. After that, Carter arrives presenting a beautiful speech with the wind section playing that riff and he finishes the composition himself.
