MILES DAVIS — Miles Davis Quintet : Miles Smiles (review)

MILES DAVIS — Miles Davis Quintet : Miles Smiles album cover Album · 1967 · Post Bop Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
js
This is it, the other modern jazz. While Coltrane, Ornette and Ayler were attracting a lot of attention with their talk of 'freedom' while attempting to bring down Jericho with their horns, Miles and his crew charted a more disciplined course and ended up with a style that was more of an influence than the freedom gang in the long run. Miles makes it clear from the first notes on this album that he's not taking any shorts. ‘Orbits’ kicks things off with a brief abstract melody before Miles heads straight for the solo with a full aggressive brassy attack. If there is a standard repeating harmonic chord structure to this tune, it is really hard to tell. The soloists teeter on the edge of outside atonality, and then reel it in with the occasional hard bop riff.

‘Circle’ finds the band in a mellow mood and it is the only ballad on the whole album. Miles has the mute on for this one and Herbie’s playing is lush and classical in that way that he always is on the quintet’s slower numbers. ‘Footprints’ follows with an abstract post bop rhythm and simple bluesy harmonic changes that give the soloists any easy modal drone to go off on. This one leaves a lot of room for Tony Williams revolutionary approach to rhythmic subdivisions while he interacts with Herbie’s busy comping that borders on polyphony with the soloist. This whole band was incredibly talented, but it was Tony and Herbie that really pushed them to the abstract extremes and a whole new language in jazz.

Side two picks up where the album opener left off with three more high energy semi-free post bop numbers that seem to carry some cross-influence with Ornette’s semi-bluesy approach to the new freedom in jazz. This is a great album, Miles plays hard throughout like he means business and the rest of the band members follow with rhythmic and harmonic inventions that would become the hallmark of the post bop sound for generations to come.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
Matt wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Wonderful album but not enough stars John. We should have a meter blowing rating for this one

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Cecil Taylor Unit : Live At Fat Tuesdays, February 9, 1980 First Visit Avant-Garde Jazz
CECIL TAYLOR
Buy this album from MMA partners
Solo Bern 1984 - First Visit Avant-Garde Jazz
ANTHONY BRAXTON
Buy this album from MMA partners
Ernesto Rodrigues, Bruno Parrinha & Johannes von Buttlar : Whispers and Reveries Jazz Related Improv/Composition
ERNESTO RODRIGUES
Buy this album from MMA partners
Ernesto Rodrigues, Nuno Torres & Johannes von Buttlar : Cosmic Collision Jazz Related Improv/Composition
ERNESTO RODRIGUES
Buy this album from MMA partners
Ernesto Rodrigues, Carlos Bechegas, João Madeira & Monsieur Trinité : Free to Open Jazz Related Improv/Composition
ERNESTO RODRIGUES
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Songs My Mom Liked EPK - Anthony Branker
ANTHONY BRANKER
js· 1 day ago
“INFLUENCES” by Jared Hall, trumpeter & composer
JARED HALL
js· 1 day ago
Jean-Pierre (feat. Darryl Jones)
BILL EVANS (SAX)
snobb· 1 day ago
Magic Box
CHRISTOPHE MARGUET
snobb· 1 day ago
The Peacocks
ANTOINE DRYE
js· 1 day ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed