Monthly Archives: March 2012

Ron Carter Talks About Miles Davis

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ron carter 202x300 Ron Carter Talks About Miles Davis Excellent Q&A with bass legend Ron Carter from the Hartford Courant.

A snippet:

Q: What did you learn from Miles?

A: I learned that every night is a great night to play some wonderful music.

Q: What about the negative stories about Miles in the media, about his mercurial, critical temperament, his being difficult to work with, etc.?

A: I read those stories like everyone else, but I never saw that view of him. For the five years or so I was with him, he never told me what note to play, never told me I was playing out of tune, never told me I didn’t know the musical form.

He trusted my musical judgment. If we were playing a tune that kind of got out of control, more or less, and I decided that we were going to play the bridge and play it right now, he and everybody else said, ‘Well, this must be the bridge.’ So he instilled confidence in me that if I thought I was right to make my point known and go with it in the moment.

Bassist Ron Carter Talks About Miles Davis, Milestones And Musical Judgment – LINK

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Miles Davis & The ’80s: A Reevaluation

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star people Miles Davis & The 80s: A Reevaluation I highly recommend Phil Freeman’s new article, “Miles Davis In The ’80s”, over at the arts and culture journal Burning Ambulance.

The text is actually part of a paper Freeman delivered at the 2012 EMP Pop Conference in New York last week, under the title “From the Corner to Carnegie Hall and Beyond: The Urbanization of Miles Davis 1972-1991.”

Here is a snippet:

When Miles reappeared in 1981, having stayed out of sight for the majority of the disco era and fusion’s darkest days, he must have been keeping an eye on the street from his window, because his music had changed to suit the times.

The sprawling, jamming funk-metal band he’d fronted from ’73 to ’75 was gone, replaced by a swaggering five-man squad of players half his age. The only returning member was Al Foster, and the music was taut, melodic funk that sounded like it could have been hip-hop backing tracks.

Definitely check out Phil Freeman’s article, “Miles Davis In The ’80s”, by clicking HERE.

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Miles Davis Part Of New Legacy Recordings App On Spotify

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Miles Davis Part Of New Legacy Recordings App On Spotify I have already written about the need for some type of Miles Davis App – in 2009! -, so this news between Legacy and Spotify is good to see. I still believe there needs to be an official Miles Davis App for the iPhone and other mobile devices, but the Legacy/Spotify deal is a nice start.

An artist-centric app, “The Legacy Of” reveals the depth and breadth of catalog and influence of some of history’s most transformative musicians through curated playlists, handpicked album selections, biographies, photos and more.

The first set of featured artists on “The Legacy Of” app are Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Daryl Hall & John Oates. New artists will be announced and added regularly.

“There is so much music and information available on Spotify and one of the biggest challenges is making people aware of the depth of content available at their fingertips. Spotify’s app technology allowed us to create ‘The Legacy Of,’ an engaging and useful experience for fans who want to delve as deeply as possible into the music they love,” said Adam Block, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Legacy Recordings.

“The Legacy Of” provides a way to explore an artist’s catalog through curated content and playlist areas: Top Albums, Top Tracks, Covers, Influencers, Followers and others. Editorial content includes bios, photos, discographies and more.

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Here’s Hoping New Season Of Mad Men Features A Miles Davis Song (Or Two) (UPDATED)

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mandm Heres Hoping New Season Of Mad Men Features A Miles Davis Song (Or Two) (UPDATED)

The award-winning Mad Men returns for its fifth season, which begins Sunday night after a 17-month-long hiatus.

In its long-awaited fifth season, “Mad Men” picks up the story in 1966 and is likely to move forward into ’67, a time of major change in the U.S.

As we excitedly prepare for the return of Mad Men, we wonder: will the music of Miles Davis be making an appearance at some point during the new season?

Season one (set in 1960) featured two Miles Davis tracks: In Episode 5 (5G) we hear “Blue in Green,” and Episode 8 (The Hobo Code) is highlighted by “Concierto De Aranjuez (Adagio).”

I believe Episode 8 (Souvenir) from season 3 also featured a Miles Davis tune. It’s 1963 and that means there are plenty of Davis albums Pete Campbell could be listening to, notably Kind of Blue, Miles Ahead and Sketches of Spain.

The show could use a Miles tune from any previous year if they like, which would be great, but in ’66-’67 Miles released Miles Smiles and Sorcerer. Bitches Brew is still a few more years away.

I have already plead my case for show creator Matthew Weiner to actually write Miles Davis into the show for an episode.

The scene: Miles Davis strolls into a bar with a few friends one evening – only to encounter Don Draper. They end up talking about life and love, and then Miles imparts some heavy advice, which helps Don in whatever personal disarray he’s likely to be in.

That’s TV gold, people!

We’re totally jazzed about the new season of Mad Men, and here’s hoping we’ll hear some classic, Miles Davis tunes as Don Draper, Roger Sterling, Pete Campbell, Peggy Olson, and the rest of the gang continue their very stylish adventures in advertising.

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Miles Davis At Peacock Alley & 1953 Interview

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miles 4 Miles Davis At Peacock Alley & 1953 Interview This is from an old post, but a post I love because of the photos and the awesome, and quite rare, 1953 audio interview with Miles Davis in St. Louis.

Miles stopped by radio station KXLW to visit with DJ Harry Frost and his Fresh Air program.

Click HERE to listen to the interview at Lockwood and Summit!

They also have an incredible photo archive, which includes Miles Davis. Here is a link to photos taken by Bernie Thrasher from the infamous Peacock Alley gigs. One is a close up of Miles (above), and the others, found HERE, are a) Philly Joe Jones, b) Miles and Paul Chambers and c) Coltrane with Chambers, Miles and Red Garland in the background.

Miles In St. Louis – 1953 Interview Part One

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Miles Davis | Around The Web

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miles davis during a record Miles Davis | Around The Web A Weekly Round-Up Of Miles Davis News & Notes

1. Spring Forecast

Daniel Humm and Will Guidara consider Miles Davis the creative muse behind Eleven Madison Park; for their first hotel project—the posher, pricier stepsister of the nearby Ace—they’ve cited the “studied” and “deliberate” chaos of the Rolling Stones. [nymag.com]

2. A nostalgic and polished tribute to the magic of Miles

Miles Davis sustained an enormous influence in jazz as a player and stylist across four decades. In 1948, he formed a nine-piece band with gifted arranger Gil Evans, launching the “cool school” with their 1949 recording Birth of The Cool. Paul Grabowsky’s Adelaide Festival presentation began with three numbers from that groundbreaking album: Move, Boplicity and Moon Dreams. [The Australian]

3. Miles Davis Septet in Berliner Jazztage

As far as I know, this Miles Davis concert from 1983, in Berlin, has never been released before in any format, or never been digitally available on the internet. I also remember sharing it with just one certain collector of Miles at one point, but now it is here for all of you, dear readers. 90 minutes of some exciting music. [Take The "A" Train]

4. Classic Album – Miles Davis: Relaxin’ with The Miles Davis Quintet

With its accent on bright tempos, from medium-bounce to crisply up, Relaxin’ remains one of Davis’s sunniest outings, a prime example of one of the outstanding ensembles of the 20th century reaching the summit of their artistry.[All Things Music Plus+]

5. Don Cheadle: George Clooney pranked me

“It was a note that Brad [Pitt] was going to be producing the Miles Davis movie and Jamie Foxx was going to be starring in the movie,” Cheadle said on “CBS This Morning. “Was I interested in playing Charlie Parker in the film?” [cbsnews.com]

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The Miles Davis Movie: Kevin Navayne Is Still Playing Marcus Miller

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miles davis 45 The Miles Davis Movie: Kevin Navayne Is Still Playing Marcus Miller With the exception of a few bursts of good information from Don Cheadle, details about the Miles Davis Movie continue to be scant. Then again there might not be too much to divulge anyway, should radio silence ever be lifted. But one inexplicable aspect of the story of how this project is making its long, slow journey to production is that actor Kevin Navayne has been listed as a cast member since October 2010.

Other than Cheadle handling Miles Davis duties, I am unaware of anyone being cast to play any roles in the film – other than Navayne. The handsome, Jamaican-born actor is a relative newcomer, having worked primarily in TV, but he has not only the Miles Davis movie upcoming, but also the Bob Marley Biopic, 42, about Jackie Robinson, and the HBO series Da Brick.

But here he is, all set to play Marcus Miller, the talented bassist/producer who worked with Miles from 1985 until the jazz legend’s death in 1991.

I have no clue if Navayne is friendly with Cheadle, or someone in the Davis family, but it seems odd that such a role would have already been locked down. But clearly someone is adamant that Navayne play Marcus Miller.

Hey, I wish we had more casting news to discuss. One thing I have loved writing about, here and over at The Miles Davis Movie, is the assembling of the cast and who should play what parts in the film. It’s fun guesswork!

But for now it looks like we have Don Cheadle still set to portray Miles Davis, and Kevin Navayne locked in to the role of Marcus Miller.

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The Miles Davis Online Interview: Joshua Budich

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JoshuaBudich Miles PREVIEW milesdavisonline.com The Miles Davis Online Interview: Joshua Budich

(Artist Series Volume 19)

Once I stumbled upon the new Miles Davis screenprint from talented artist Joshua Budich, I knew I had to share this terrific, artistic homage to the jazz legend. I was also quick to sign up Budich as our latest interviewee in our ongoing Artist Series.

All it takes is one look through the print archive on Budich’s official website to get an instant sense of his unique creativity, adding blasts of color and design twists into cool screenprints that feature some of pop culture’s most well-known actors, musicians, and films.

Budich’s most recent work is The Cool (Miles Davis) – shown above. It’s an 18″x24″, 2-color screenprint (inc. Metallic-Red), on natural-cream paper.

It is awesome, it is in limited-edition, and I think I need to get one. Budich was nice enough to answer a few questions about his work recently.

Miles Davis Online: Why Miles Davis? What about the jazz legend makes you want to feature him as a subject for your artwork?
Joshua Budich: Why not Miles Davis! Miles Davis is an uncompromising artist who’s work will live on forever. Miles is an absolutely perfect addition to my “THE…” series, as his spirit and body of work are the stuff of legends. Miles Davis captures a time, an idea, a way of being, that I can only hope to contain just a small part of in my homage-portrait of him.

Miles Davis Online: Did you play around with a variety of images/designs of Miles before finally settling on the one we see in the final print?
Joshua Budich: I did a lot of research to find just the right image to capture the essence of the artist. I wanted to specifically show the intense relationship between the artist and his tool; the trumpet as an extension of his body. As well as, capture the spirit of “coolness” that I associate with Miles Davis.

Miles Davis Online: Give us an idea of how a screen print like The Cool comes together.
Joshua Budich: I do a lot of research into the artist, to try to find some definitive characteristic that I can portray in the portrait. Often I’ll sketch out the pose and composition I’m aiming for on paper first. I then finalize the pieces digitally. My “THE…” series have all been done with this method.

Miles Davis Online: Who are some of the past or contemporary artists who influence you?
Joshua Budich: Classical; I like Michelangelo and Da Vinci. Slightly more contemporary; Warhol and Lichtenstein. Contemporary (print designers); Martin Ansin, Aaron Horkey, Chuck Sperry, Tim Doyle.

Miles Davis Online: Will you revisit Miles Davis again?
Joshua Budich: I may. But I definitely have plans to revisit jazz!

Miles Davis Online: Favorite Miles Davis album?
Joshua Budich: I would have to go with the obvious, “Birth of the Cool”, or “Bitches Brew”.

© 2012, Joshua Budich. All artwork, and images of artwork are property of Joshua Budich. All rights reserved.

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