Though I began the fall semester with little knowledge of Jazz or Jazz musicians, I was inspired by it’s incredibly rich history. From its humble roots in work songs and field hollers, to the tunes of the Contemporary era, we are all moved by the genius of artists who helped the genre evolve into the musical juggernaut it is today. Miles Davis is one such artist. Though Miles played numerous styles throughout his career, I was particularly enticed by his album “Kind of Blue”, which utilizes what is known as Modal Jazz. It is a rather unique type of improvisation which utilizes a musical scale or “mode” rather than a chord progression. The album is also distinguished by its use of generally unexpected scales, rather than the more common major and minor scales. I will be discussing this album because it contains what I, and countless others believe to be, one of the greatest Jazz albums ever produced. To this day, it remains one of the highest selling Jazz albums ever released. The first song, “So What”, is in my opinion, the best song in the album. It has a form of AABA, The first two A sections feature a long, and relentlessly unchanging D harmony. The B section transitions into an Eb harmony, and then the track returns to A section playing the original harmony. The song’s simple melody …show more content…
While there are few chords, it has a circular form. After Miles’s slow trumpet performance, we see the main reason why this song stands out: the solos of Bill Evans and John Coltrane. They played the piano and the tenor saxophone, respectively. The chords double in speed during those solos. Most of the chords are only played for two beats, however the tempo does not change. They later get fast again, so that every chord gets only one beat under a short piano solo. Like all other songs in the album, this track has a very calm feel. This track specifically sound like the background track of an old spy