I worked in a record shop in downtown Brooklyn in the 1960's. We sold a lot of jazz. If you've listened to Miles Davis and never really "gotten it", it's probably because you listened to his later releases after he switched from the Prestige label to the Columbia label. Miles Davis was true to himself when he recorded for Prestige. Not so when he went over to Columbia.
Want to hear the real Miles Davis? Listen to this...
Great stuff. I’ve got those first quintet Prestige records- Cookin’, Relaxin’, Workin’, Steamin’- as a CD box set. Love ‘em.
I like Miles and I possibly hold some of the Columbia stuff in higher esteem than yourself. Miles is an all-time great, even though he lost me in the 70’s and beyond. I think when it comes to assessing the GOAT in any endeavour, there comes a point when you select your favourite from a core of viable candidates based on how their personality/style/journey etc resonates with you. Some prefer the flashy, brash fighter, others favour the silent assassin type.
And so it is with music. Coltrane speaks to me as being on a slightly higher level than the others- not based on anything objective- but on how his life and example speaks to me.
Would love to hear more stories from the record shop days from you, Michael.
".....and I possibly hold some of the Columbia stuff in higher esteem than yourself...."
The thing about jazz back then (not sure if this is true today) was that there was a major divide between what white folks bought and what black folks bought. We rarely, and I mean rarely, sold Miles Davis' Columbia recordings to our black customers.
I’ve always felt that Miles going electric was his attempt to win (back?) the black audience. I could be wrong, but that was always the impression I got.
I really enjoyed this. I know little about jazz music but I’ve always enjoyed casually listening to it. I’m going to go check out Coltrane a bit more and report back.
As I said elsewhere, start chronological. If you start with the fully out-there later stuff it’ll just sound like noise and chaos, and not in a good way.
Fascinating. Many famous great musicians have interesting stories and, sadly, die too early. I had listened to his few recordings before reading this but the story nudged me to dive deeper. Thanks, Tom!
With Coltrane you can start chronologically. It start with good straight-ahead tuneful bebop, then gets more free while still keeping a tight rhythm and then it gets more and more out there. Towards the end he loses a lot of people, but you if it’s for you then some people never go back. Happy exploring, John.
I felt shivers from the beginning to the end of reading this. This essay is a masterpiece about a masterpiece.
I worked in a record shop in downtown Brooklyn in the 1960's. We sold a lot of jazz. If you've listened to Miles Davis and never really "gotten it", it's probably because you listened to his later releases after he switched from the Prestige label to the Columbia label. Miles Davis was true to himself when he recorded for Prestige. Not so when he went over to Columbia.
Want to hear the real Miles Davis? Listen to this...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36wafFjFdYs
Great stuff. I’ve got those first quintet Prestige records- Cookin’, Relaxin’, Workin’, Steamin’- as a CD box set. Love ‘em.
I like Miles and I possibly hold some of the Columbia stuff in higher esteem than yourself. Miles is an all-time great, even though he lost me in the 70’s and beyond. I think when it comes to assessing the GOAT in any endeavour, there comes a point when you select your favourite from a core of viable candidates based on how their personality/style/journey etc resonates with you. Some prefer the flashy, brash fighter, others favour the silent assassin type.
And so it is with music. Coltrane speaks to me as being on a slightly higher level than the others- not based on anything objective- but on how his life and example speaks to me.
Would love to hear more stories from the record shop days from you, Michael.
Thanks.
".....and I possibly hold some of the Columbia stuff in higher esteem than yourself...."
The thing about jazz back then (not sure if this is true today) was that there was a major divide between what white folks bought and what black folks bought. We rarely, and I mean rarely, sold Miles Davis' Columbia recordings to our black customers.
I’ve always felt that Miles going electric was his attempt to win (back?) the black audience. I could be wrong, but that was always the impression I got.
Another story from my record shop days.
We're playing "A Love Supreme" in the store and a customer turns to me and says "You know he's saying Allah Supreme, don't you?"
Mind blown.
I really enjoyed this. I know little about jazz music but I’ve always enjoyed casually listening to it. I’m going to go check out Coltrane a bit more and report back.
As I said elsewhere, start chronological. If you start with the fully out-there later stuff it’ll just sound like noise and chaos, and not in a good way.
Fascinating. Many famous great musicians have interesting stories and, sadly, die too early. I had listened to his few recordings before reading this but the story nudged me to dive deeper. Thanks, Tom!
With Coltrane you can start chronologically. It start with good straight-ahead tuneful bebop, then gets more free while still keeping a tight rhythm and then it gets more and more out there. Towards the end he loses a lot of people, but you if it’s for you then some people never go back. Happy exploring, John.
Lovely stuff. You can see why Coltrane appeals to me. Great comment,
Thanks!