2005-1-2
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VOICE ONE:
Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA, in VOA Special English. I'm Steve
Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Gwen Outen. If one album had to explain jazz, a strong
candidate would be "Kind of Blue," by the trumpet player and
bandleader Miles Davis.
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VOICE ONE:
"Kind of Blue" has influenced musicians for more than forty
years. It is also a favorite of listeners. The Recording Industry
Association of America marked the sale of three million copies in
the United States as of two thousand two.
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Like many other albums, "Kind of Blue" was made in two recording
sessions. These took place for Columbia Records in New York City in
March and April of nineteen fifty-nine.
VOICE TWO:
Stories about the making of "Kind
of Blue" say there was nothing unusual about the project. When the
musicians arrived, Miles Davis gave them some short, simple
descriptions of the music they would play. He is said to have
written these notes just a few hours earlier. His piano player, Bill
Evans, helped him write some of the music that would get the
musicians started.
Miles Davis did not want to tell them too much about what to
play. He wanted the music to flow naturally. Such improvisation was
nothing new for musicians. Yet the five songs on "Kind of Blue"
represented a perfect mix of improvisational talent and musical
experimentation.
The first song is called "So What."
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VOICE ONE:
Miles Davis played trumpet and led the group. Julian "Cannonball"
Adderley played alto saxophone; John Coltrane played tenor
saxophone. Paul Chambers was on the bass, and James Cobb played
drums.
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Miles Davis had a talent for bringing together great musicians.
But it also meant that he had to form new bands again and again.
Band members would become successful enough as individuals to form
their own groups. The band that Miles Davis put together for "Kind
of Blue" was no different.
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VOICE TWO:
This song is called "Freddie Freeloader." On this song, Wynton
Kelly plays the piano; he replaced Bill Evans.
Listen to how the band works as a
team, but also how the musicians play individually over the music.
Listen especially to the competing saxophones of John Coltrane and
Cannonball Adderley.
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VOICE ONE:
Miles Davis and his band were experimenting with a new kind of
sound on "Kind of Blue." This is the sound of a traditional jazz
chord progression:
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But Miles Davis designed the music on "Kind of Blue" around a
modal form. This kind of system permitted the musicians more
freedom. After "Kind of Blue," jazz musicians used the modal form
more and more.
Here is another song from "Kind of Blue." This one is called
"Blue in Green."
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VOICE TWO:
Miles Davis and his band were not the only artists testing new
ways to do things. There was, for example, the painter Jackson
Pollack. His experiments in form and color were playful but went
against tradition, just like "Kind of Blue."
Pianist Bill Evans himself saw similarities between the music and
a form of Japanese art. Some compared the album to the ideas of Zen
Buddhism. At that time, a lot of Americans were becoming interested
in Asian spirituality.
This song is called "All Blues." Listen how naturally the music
appears to develop from one point in the song to the next.
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VOICE ONE:
Miles Davis was born into a wealthy family in Illinois in
nineteen twenty-six. He received a trumpet for his thirteenth
birthday and began jazz lessons.
In nineteen forty-four, he moved to New York. He entered the
Julliard School of Music. But he left the school the next year to
work with great musicians like Billy Eckstine and Charlie Parker.
In nineteen forty-nine Miles Davis
released "Birth of the Cool." This recording also had a big
influence on jazz. At that time, listeners were used to the often
forceful, fast-moving beats of Louis Armstrong and others.
Cool jazz became especially popular on the West Coast.
VOICE TWO:
In the nineteen fifties and sixties, the civil rights movement
grew in the Untied States. Here was a tall, talented, good looking
-- and very strong-willed - African American man. He wore Italian
suits and drove European cars. There were many women in his life,
although he was violent with women.
Still, many people saw Miles Davis as someone who stood up to a
system that often kept African Americans from economic success.
VOICE ONE:
Miles Davis died in nineteen ninety-one in California, at the age
of sixty-five. He is remembered most as one of the best trumpet
players ever. Miles Davis played more softly than many of those who
came before him. He also did not work as hard to hit as many high
notes or low notes. He found his unmistakable sound somewhere in the
middle. There was also his sense of timing and the use of silence in
his music.
Miles Davis had a talent especially for sad love songs. This one
is called "Flamenco Sketches," the final song on "Kind of Blue."
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VOICE TWO:
Our program was written by Robert Brumfield. Caty Weaver was our
producer. I'm Gwen Outen.
VOICE ONE:
And I'm Steve Ember. We go out on "Freddie Freeloader," which
will become the new theme music for our program starting next week.
We hope you join us again for THIS IS AMERICA, in VOA Special
English.
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