atty1chgo
685 posts
Aug 14, 2013
6:06 PM
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I listen to a lot of jazz music, mostly older stuff. In listening to the three Miles Davis recordings below, I realized....."like a diamond bullet in the middle of my forehead" (Thank you, Marlon Brando).... that there are MANY riffs and phrases to be potentially mined from the three recordings I am posting below - for use with blues harp.
For some reason, these jumped out at me in that respect. There are probably many other recordings by many other artists, of course.
Does anyone see what I mean?
Last Edited by atty1chgo on Aug 14, 2013 6:07 PM
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The Iceman
1099 posts
Aug 14, 2013
7:10 PM
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Hello and welcome to the world of Inspiration.
Miles was inspired by the blues, as were those that came from East St. Louis.
He always wanted to bring the simple aspect of the blues into his playing.
Each of his three "comeback" periods was catapulted by blues tunes....."Walkin'" after he cleaned himself up from heroine addiction, "All Blues" in which he took jazz in a new direction, and "Star People" when he came back after 5 years of isolation in his NY townhouse.
Listen to the sound of his horn and you will learn everything you need to know about music (in a sense).
There is something great from all periods of his life...some may take more time to sink in than others, but the journey is worth the effort.
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The Iceman
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CWinter
38 posts
Aug 14, 2013
7:30 PM
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So, after reading your post, Atty1chgo, I've been working out the first 25 seconds of Miles' solo on So What, starting at about 1:29.....
I've got the sheet music for Kind of Blue, so I'm looking at a great transcription of all these solos, by Miles, Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley. Fortunately, Miles plays nice and slow, so his is the only solo I'm about to attempt....
@Iceman, how would you go about learning Miles' horn part, etc.? Have you already worked out some or all of this masterpiece?
Thanks!!!
Last Edited by CWinter on Aug 22, 2013 6:29 PM
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The Iceman
1100 posts
Aug 15, 2013
6:01 AM
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CWinter....
My ability to hear and transcribe has become extremely accelerated over the years, so I can hear the notes he plays and translate them to harmonica instantly.
At this point, I don't memorize complete solos, but use them as learning tools to help me understand good note choices.
Early on, I would play sections of the solo over and over while "hunting" for the notes. Most important is to get that solo or idea firmly inside your head first and then move to understand it on the harmonica.
It would wear down my old records as I picked the needle up and moved it back a few grooves time and time again.
Today there are much more efficient digital ways to do this.
To go a step further w/Miles, try to find the live version of "Bye Bye Blackbird" on his live at the Blackhawk recording in order to understand a very powerful approach to using the listener's ears and expectations to finish a musical line when you inject silence.
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The Iceman
Last Edited by The Iceman on Aug 15, 2013 6:03 AM
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Frank
2620 posts
Aug 15, 2013
6:51 AM
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I've always wanted the hear a great horn player make a CD of famous harmonica instrumentals - bet that would sell like hotcakes to harp players :)
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Tuckster
1327 posts
Aug 15, 2013
7:52 AM
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Miles rarely played fast but always played with great tone and feeling. That makes it very friendly for harpers to cop.
I know Adam plays the head from "Moanin'". I can do that,but my elusive holy grail is Lee Morgan's trumpet solo. When(if ever) I can get that,I'll have something.
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The Iceman
1101 posts
Aug 15, 2013
10:48 AM
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Miles' least understood period may well be his last electric phase.....However, he had the BADDEST band in the land.
There's a compilation CD called Miles Live Around the World that showcases this series of groups.
He sounded best when Ricki Wellman joined as drummer. Ricki brought the Washington DC go-go groove to the band (created by Charles Brown in the late 80's early 90's).
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The Iceman
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atty1chgo
686 posts
Aug 15, 2013
1:12 PM
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I play along to his playing on "It's Ain't Necessarily So" often, in the car with a C harp. I can nail some parts decently. It's tough though. Love the high register phrases.
Last Edited by atty1chgo on Aug 15, 2013 1:13 PM
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The Iceman
1105 posts
Aug 16, 2013
7:43 AM
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atty1....
"Love the high register phrases"
bingo. If one pays attention to Miles' phrases, one can discover so many ideas that are accessible and don't lead one to play the harmonica in that "harmonicky" style (not saying that it's not a good style, just that sometimes its nice to bring something new to the table).
Listen to a lot of Miles. Don't try to transcribe all of his solo...just find a phrase that sounds new and fresh and study that. Miles was one who could find a perfect note and its placement...even within a phrase that starts out sounding somewhat generic.
He was one of the only artists that would take another's composition and change one or two notes of the melody and have the original composer compliment him on the change by saying "wish I had thought of it that way".
btw, if you want to experience some of Miles' strongest and clearest playing, listen to "Tribute to Jack Johnson"...soundtrack to the film.
Apparently, John McLaughlin started jamming during set up and sound check for this session. Michael Henderson and Billy Cobham joined in. Tapes were always rolling at a Miles session. He was in the control room listening and after about 2 1/2 minutes, grabbed his horn, ran into the studio and just started playing. This became one of the tracks (edited by Teo Macero) for the recording.
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The Iceman
Last Edited by The Iceman on Aug 16, 2013 8:27 AM
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