Sketches of Greatness: The Miles Davis and Gil Evans Collaboration

Miles Davis and Gil Evans, or was it Gil Evans and Miles Davis, does it Matter?

I think history has been kind to Gil Evans actually. I do believe most people give Gil the credit he deserves regarding these collaborations.

One thing is certain: Miles was the perfect foil for these lush Gil Evans arrangements, his cracked and vulnerable tone is like a beacon calling out to the lonely people.

Whether it was Porgy and Bess, or Miles Ahead, Miles' romantic trumpet playing and Evans' arrangements meld together seamlessly. Hauntingly beautiful is the music, especially Sketches of Spain. Miles Davis actually met Gil Evans in 1948.

Davis and other like minded musicians, including Gerry Mulligan were meeting in Gil's basement/apartment. They began experimenting with new styles, similar to the work Evan's had done for the Claude Thornhill Orchestra.

The "Cool" recordings were not released until 1957 as Birth of the Cool on Capitol Records. It angered Miles that these sessions were not released until 1957, and white players like Dave Brubeck and Gerry Mulligan were getting all the credit for the invention of cool jazz.

These recordings are very important to jazz, as here, melody and nuance were more important than soloing and complex chord changes. The Birth of the Cool was definitely a move toward hard bop, but really a sign of what could happen beyond hard bop.

Miles Davis and Gil Evans, The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings 6 CD Box Set-

Admittedly these box sets, aren't the ideal way to be introduced to this music, but it was how I decided to digest most of Miles music the first time back in the late mid to late 90's.

With its chronological ordered style, Outtakes and studio chatter, It was interesting to me listening to this music as it was being perfected, piece by piece and splice by splice.

With the end result being just a wonderfully lush and fully realized music. I have since of course listened to the original albums as they were first released to the public.

That Box set really gives you a sense of being there during the creation process, and these types of box sets score big points in that regard.

The extremely well made liner notes are a historical lesson of not only the music being made but also the production process. Very interesting to say the least.

The Davis Evans music has stood the rest of time: 

Over the past 20 years, digging into orchestrated jazz and big band music like I have, I have really grown to appreciate just how good this music was.

The big 3, of "Sketches", Miles Ahead", and, "Porgy" have grown to equal even Kind of Blue if that's possible within the legacy of Miles Davis.

I've listened to almost every major work of Duke Ellington, and this music rivals, if not surpasses much of that music.

Perhaps that's a haughty statement, but certainly I return to these 3 orchestra works than anything within Ellington's discography, though I do tend to find a lot of stuff to savor in the 60's from Duke, like The Far East Suite, that one stands the test of time for me.

Photo used with permission via Amazon.com. Check out the 6 CD metal spine box yourself.