Miles Davis
‘All
Blues’
Miles Davis-All Blues
Miles Davis
• Born in 1926, Illinois, America.
• Died 1991
• Trumpet player, band leader & composer.
Miles Davis changed jazz
• He created modal jazz (jazz based on musical modes instead of chord
progressions).
• His music would be improvised using a tuneful melody rather than lots of
crazy runs.
• He played lyrically as though singing.
• His improvisations would be based on scales and an overall key signature.
• He would make the trumpet sound natural & pure (not forced & high
pitched).
• Miles often stayed in the lower register of the trumpet.
‘All Blues’ Instrumentation
•
•
•
•
•
•
Trumpet
Alto sax
Tenor sax
Piano
Bass
Drum kit
Miles Davis
Julian Adderley
John Coltrane
Bill Evans
Paul Chambers
Jimmy Cobb
‘All Blues’ Structure
• 12-bar blues chord pattern used.
• Chords are played underneath all the solos &
main melody (or head).
• The chords are a bit more complex than the
traditional 12-bar blues chords
• There is a 4-bar link between each section.
‘All Blues’ Intro
• Bass plays a riff which it then repeats
throughout the whole piece
• Piano trills help create an interesting texture
• Saxophones play a second riff (mainly in 3rds)
• Bars 5-8 of the intro are later used as a link
between each section.
‘All Blues’ 12-Bar Chords
BAR
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
1
2
Trad.
Blues
chords
I
I
I
I
IV IV
I
I
V
IV
I
I
‘All
Blues’
Chords
I7
I7
I7
I7
IV7 IV7
I7
I7
V7#9
VI7#9
I7
I7
V7#9
All blues uses a more complex progression than a traditional 12-bar blues.
Bars 9 and 10 make use of altered/extended chords which give a very ‘jazzy’
feel to the harmony.
All Blues
•
Pitch (instruments stick to middle/lower
range)
•
Timbre (very mellow, trumpet sometimes
uses a mute, ghost notes & rests)
•
Duration (11 & a half minutes long)
•
•
Dynamics (mostly mf with a few louder
trumpet bits)
•
Texture (simple, saxes play in 3rds & 4ths,
piano & double bass play a simple riff &
chords, drum keeps a steady beat).
Piano ‘comping’ during the instrumental
solos
•
Tempo (moderate pace)
•
Time signature (6/4)
•
Melody (tunes are often modal)
•
Structure (12 bar blues chord pattern in G
which gets repeated throughout the piece.
Pattern played underneath solos & main
melody. Chords are a bit fancier than
traditional 12 bar blues).
Listen to the following piece of
jazz.
Try to answer the questions in
front of you.