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Miles Davis

Most music critics will agree that Miles Davis stands as one of the most significant geniuses in music history. Davis was a pioneer and an innovator, and the music he produced was consistently evolving and outstanding. He forever changed the face of jazz and music in general. In the essay “Miles: Ever Changing, Ever Perplexing,” R.J. DeLuke attacks the accusation that Davis’s moves were deliberately commercial. Many critics believed that he was socially irrelevant and that he played up to white audiences. DeLuke asks: does it matter? Davis’s music in all periods is extraordinary, which is all that is truly important. In “Miles Davis and the development of improvisation in jazz music,” the author discusses Davis’s impact on the course of jazz improvisation. His methods were very different from than other jazz trumpeters of his time, which is why he had such a profound influence. By soloing in the middle register, he was able to create solos that were tuneful. Even though trumpeters such as Dizzy Gillespie possessed greater technical prowess, Davis was one of the most musical and creative improvisers to ever pick up a horn. As DeLuke’s essay is also a book review, much of what he claims are rebuttals to points that are made by other music critics. He also aims to give reinterpretations of the statements of others. Instead of simply praising Davis, he gives an honest and experienced take on the trumpet master. In the second essay, the author uses facts and musical examples to prove his point. The author repeatedly, and appropriately,
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labels Davis as legendary, influential, and groundbreaking. Through the transcriptions of two of Davis’s greatest solos, he shows exactly what sets Davis apart from other soloists. But what was it really that made Miles Davis stand out among so many phenomenal musicians of his time? In the course of his forty-year career, Davis managed to establish himself as a stellar trumpet player and a successful musician in many...