Monday, June 13, 2016

Welcome to the course on jazz trumpeter Miles Davis


Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane recording the landmark album Kind of Blue in 1959


      Course Description

                Open a window into jazz by exploring the work of one of its most innovative, 
        influential, and acclaimed instrumentalists and band leaders.  Trumpeter Miles Davis 
        began his career as a sideman to bebop titan Charlie Parker in the 1940s.  By the mid-
        1970s he had pioneered the cool, hard bop, modal, free jazz and electric jazz-fusion 
        genres.  Davis' collaborations with many legendary jazzmen including John Coltrane, 
        Thelonius Monk, Bill Evans, Gil Evans, Herbie Hancock, and Chick Corea make the 
        course not only an introduction to Davis' music but also to this exciting three decade 
        period in jazz history.  

                Audio recordings and videos of live performances compliment instructor present-
        ations and your discussions.  Resources for further exploring Davis' music are included.  
        Your curiosity about jazz is the only requirement for this course.  



Course Syllabus

          Session 1:   Beginnings: From the roots of jazz to the beginnings of hard bop

          Session 2:   The First Great Quintet, 1956-1958
                             (John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones)

          Session 3:   Kind of Blue  
                             (Cannonball Adderly, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb)

          Session 4:   Miles & Gil Evans: The Large Group Works, 1958-1960

          Session 5:   The Second Great Quintet, 1965-1968
                             (Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Tony Williams)

          Session 6:   The Electric "Fusion" Turn: 
                             Filles de Kilimanjaro, In A Silent Way, and Bitches Brew.



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