miles apart

when a buzz begins to swirl in the art world, controversy is the frequent catalyst.  we recently hosted the touring blue note act The Miles Davis Experience: 1949-59, a veritable cornucopia of visual and aural stimuli selectively chronicling the life of the great jazz trumpeter.  this type of event is a slam dunk for the "get my annual jazz fix" attendee (whom, ironically enough, has pockets deep enough to sustain shows like this), and also draws the homebody jazz enthusiasts out of the woodwork.  central iowa showed up in full force, which means a modest house.  btw - where are these people for all of the shows by local musicians that are free?!?!

the lineup included ambrose akinmusire, whose trumpet star is rising as fast as they ever do, and his quintet; tenor saxophonist walter smith III, pianist sam harris, bassist harish raghavan, and drummer justin brown.  these guys are a working band, and it showed.  the interplay and trust and adventurous vibe was evident.  they played a handful of tunes from miles' rep - dear old stockholm, 'round midnight, walkin', flamenco sketches, airegin, and a solo drum version of so what (which was absolutely my favorite part of the show).  the quintet filled out the remainder of the gig with a nice sampling their own tunes.

i had a heads-up on what the show would entail.  my buddy and bassist karl checked it out earlier in the month and told me about the mix of literature.  he had also mentioned the historical stills that were projected upon three artistically hung screens and the audio clips of miles himself blended into the presentation.  the narration was handled by a beat poet (who got lukewarm reviews at best, but a thumbs-up from me).

here's the catch - this was advertised and heavily marketed as a blue note miles davis show.  hell - the miles davis experience.  when showcasing the '50s, three things pop into the foreground:  the first great quintet (trane, red, philly joe, pc), gil evans, and kind of blue.  the music that was chosen partly represented that era, sans ANY music that gil touched (huh!?!?).  the music that was performed did not resemble that period whatsoever.  no exact transcriptions or even reasonable facsimiles of those recordings.  no harmon mute.  is there truth in advertising?

trick question: name this trumpet player

i have fielded several contrasting opinions about the show while reserving my own.  most of my students really dug it. this may be one of their first big jazz shows to attend, especially with a specific theme being reiterated.  the playing was strong and certainly left a mark on my students. they also were familiar with the rep, thanks to an assignment i gave in their combo class.  some of my friends were disappointed that the melodies that miles made famous from this period were absent.  many of the people i met before & after the show felt hoodwinked, under the assumption that the band would at least play a popular tune verbatim.  

i spoke before the show, shedding some light on the ascent of ambrose and the career of miles.  i talked a lot about gil (which is hands-down my favorite shit from miles' discography).  i sat on a panel with the bassist and pianist after the show for a semi-formal q&a about the evening's events.  the musicians fought off the inquisitions into why they played what they played and how they played it, revealing their familiarity with this kind of heat.  

play something these hoes'll like, drive whips i know they like,
twista you told 'em right, i can make you a celebrity overnight

here's where i weigh in on all of this.  it's definitely good exposure for ambrose and his bandmates.  there's no way that this working ensemble (both in the studio and on the road) could book a big concert venue, charge $35 a pop, and expect to stay alive.  rolling out their talents under the cloak of miles' mystique is good business for blue note, albeit disingenuous.  dressing up ambrose to look like miles, blasting miles davis's name across the posters, and then allowing the guys to play whatever they want is really pushing the limits of trust with the lean legions of jazz fans.  i don't think the musicians needed to have played note-for-note versions of tunes from miles' blue note (and ironically enough; capitol, prestige, and columbia) discography. that directly comprises their artistic integrity, a principle that miles built his entire career around.  the powers that be should have looked at this project like a writer views a blogpost - who is my audience?  the last thing this great music needs is another obstacle to overcome - bad karma.