[Dixielandjazz] Miles Davis
Rob McCallum
rakmccallum@hotmail.com
Mon, 30 Dec 2002 03:04:55 -0500
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Hello all,
To add my 2 cents worth to this thread, Miles Davis has been put into =
the rather unfortunate position of a jazz figurehead. There seems to be =
a lot of baggage with that position as everyone and their brother has an =
opinion of who he was and what he was supposed to be and whether or not =
he succeeded or failed by whoever makes an armchair attempt at defining =
him. He's in a similar position that Satchmo was in. After =
establishing himself to an important position in jazz (and beyond), he =
is opened to an endless flood of interpretation and criticism. Satchmo =
had to deal with heavy criticism that he never progressed out of what he =
was doing in the 1920's (indeed, he took heat for playing the same solos =
over and over - whether true or not, he fell victim to this perception - =
and by this repetition would even remove him from some definitions of =
what jazz is). From one point of view, Satchmo was being criticized for =
being himself ("They're my solos" etc), but people who weren't Satchmo =
were making judgment calls as to what he should have been doing. =
Likewise, Miles Davis made significant contributions to jazz, especially =
in the 1950's and 60's (Miles Smiles is one of the most underrated and =
significant jazz albums ever produced, IMHO far more important than Kind =
of Blue). Does that mean that anyone can sit back and pass judgment =
when he goes off into electronics and repetitious funk beats? Has he =
failed as a jazz leader, and what the hell does that mean? I agree that =
Miles was a complex individual and, more than likely, someone I wouldn't =
necessarily enjoy sitting down to tea with, but that doesn't mean that I =
or anyone else can just sit back and say "He shouldn't have said this or =
that" or "He should've played this." I will say that much of Miles' =
persona (as Quincy Troupe, his biographer and friend, has attested to) =
was a sort of mask. Some of Miles impact in his early days revolved =
around his attitude towards whites (really anyone for that matter); he =
consciously adopted a persona in which people would perceive him as a =
self-indulgent artist, rather than as an "entertainer." This worked =
very well for him in building up a particular audience, especially among =
young black men. Quincy Troupe remarked that he saw Miles insult a =
white audience member who was only trying to say how much he enjoyed the =
performance. Troupe stated that he never heard a white man talked to =
like that before Miles, and it made an impression on him. In the early =
1950's in the U.S. this certainly would make an impression on a young =
black man. Again though, this was part of a persona that Miles was =
trying to portray (he admitted this), though it was, also, a part of who =
he was. He also battled drug addiction all of his life, as well as a =
dramatic up and down career. Am I excusing or apologizing for him? =
Certainly not. I'm just saying that he was a person, and a troubled =
person at that, and it's unfair to judge him for something that he may =
not have been. This seems to happen to most people who pass from =
musician or artist or whoever into some kind of cultural icon. For a =
non-musical example, we can look at Muhammad Ali (as Miles was a boxing =
fan we would've probably liked the comparison), Ali made his reputation =
by not only being an outstanding boxer, but by spewing a Crow Jim racism =
that endeared him to young black men all over the country. What's more =
important , the boxing or the persona, or the "cultural icon" status, =
and from what perspective are we going to make judgments??? I say, let =
the music stand for itself and use the biographical info to understand =
more about the person that created it as an individual, and Miles was =
certainly an individual.
For what it's worth,
Rob McCallum
www.solarjazz.com=20
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<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Hello all,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>To add my 2 cents worth to this thread, =
Miles Davis=20
has been put into the rather unfortunate position of a jazz =
figurehead. =20
There seems to be a lot of baggage with that position as everyone and =
their=20
brother has an opinion of who he was and what he was supposed to be and =
whether=20
or not he succeeded or failed by whoever makes an armchair attempt =
at=20
defining him. He's in a similar position that Satchmo was =
in. After=20
establishing himself to an important position in jazz (and beyond), =
he is=20
opened to an endless flood of interpretation and criticism. =
Satchmo had to=20
deal with heavy criticism that he never progressed out of what he was =
doing in=20
the 1920's (indeed, he took heat for playing the same solos over and =
over -=20
whether true or not, he fell victim to this perception - and by this =
repetition=20
would even remove him from some definitions of what jazz is). From =
one=20
point of view, Satchmo was being criticized for being himself ("They're =
my=20
solos" etc), but people who weren't Satchmo were making judgment calls =
as to=20
what he should have been doing. Likewise, Miles Davis made =
significant=20
contributions to jazz, especially in the 1950's and 60's (Miles Smiles =
is one of=20
the most underrated and significant jazz albums ever produced, IMHO far =
more=20
important than Kind of Blue). Does that mean that anyone can sit =
back and=20
pass judgment when he goes off into electronics and repetitious funk=20
beats? Has he failed as a jazz leader, and what the hell does that =
mean? I agree that Miles was a complex individual and, more than =
likely,=20
someone I wouldn't necessarily enjoy sitting down to tea with, but that =
doesn't=20
mean that I or anyone else can just sit back and say "He shouldn't have =
said=20
this or that" or "He should've played this." I will say that much =
of=20
Miles' persona (as Quincy Troupe, his biographer and friend, has =
attested to)=20
was a sort of mask. Some of Miles impact in his early days =
revolved around=20
his attitude towards whites (really anyone for that matter); he =
consciously=20
adopted a persona in which people would perceive him as a self-indulgent =
artist,=20
rather than as an "entertainer." This worked very well for him in =
building=20
up a particular audience, especially among young black men. Quincy =
Troupe=20
remarked that he saw Miles insult a white audience member who was only =
trying to=20
say how much he enjoyed the performance. Troupe stated that he =
never heard=20
a white man talked to like that before Miles, and it made an impression =
on=20
him. In the early 1950's in the U.S. this certainly would make an=20
impression on a young black man. Again though, this was part of a =
persona=20
that Miles was trying to portray (he admitted this), though it was, =
also, a part=20
of who he was. He also battled drug addiction all of his life, as =
well as=20
a dramatic up and down career. Am I excusing or apologizing for =
him? =20
Certainly not. I'm just saying that he was a person, and a =
troubled person=20
at that, and it's unfair to judge him for something that he may not have =
been. This seems to happen to most people who pass from musician =
or artist=20
or whoever into some kind of cultural icon. For a non-musical =
example, we can look at Muhammad Ali (as Miles was a boxing fan we=20
would</FONT><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>'ve probably liked the =
comparison), Ali made=20
his reputation by not only being an outstanding boxer, but by spewing a =
Crow Jim=20
racism that endeared him to young black men all over the country. =
What's=20
more important , the boxing or the persona, or the "cultural icon" =
status,=20
and from what perspective are we going to make judgments??? I =
say,=20
let the music stand for itself and use the biographical info to =
understand more=20
about the person that created it as an individual, and Miles =
was certainly=20
an individual.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>For what it's worth,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Rob McCallum</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><A=20
href=3D"http://www.solarjazz.com">www.solarjazz.com</A>=20
</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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