The Influence of Miles Davis and John Coltrane on Jazz
Introduction
In the period from the late 40s to the middle 50s, jazz experienced a rapid development after the end of the Second World War and development of different public movements that called for equality of all people. Musicians began to explore new forms, for example, hard and cool bop and modal jazz. Two musicians have defined the way of the genre development at the time: Miles Davis and John Coltrane. They combined the features of the hard and cool bop with modal jazz in their songs. The trumpeter, Miles Davis, was a good partner for the saxophonists, John Coltrane; together they explored new forms of jazz. “Kind of Blue” was the most notable album in their common career as it offered a unique combination of jazz and rock and made them known all over the world: Miles Davis and John Coltrane have been the major figures that defined the development of the music history for five years. Using their music as a tool for gathering people into one power, they contributed to the Civil Rights and free jazz movements.
Contribution of Miles Davis and John Coltrane
There were many musicians who shaped jazz in the period from the late 1940s to the middle of the 1950s. Nevertheless, Davis and Coltrane made the most considerable contribution. Davis appeared in the jazz music in 1948 when he created his own band. The nonet that included Gary Maligen, John Lewis, and Johnny Caris among others, recorded "Birth of Cool". This album marked the birth of the new style, called cool jazz. Davis was not the only musician who wanted to try to move traditional jazz forward; other musicians, including Mingus (minimal harmony), Brubeck, Russell (theoretical reinforcement), and avant-garde (rule violation) contributed a lot. The dependence on heroin became a serious obstacle to Davis’ career in 1949. He returned to the stage only in 1955 during a jazz festival in Newport. At the same, he created the quartet together with Joe Jones, Red Garland, and Paul Chambers. In a year, John Coltrane joined them; he had been a member of Davis’ groups (the quintet and sextet) up to the 60th. Davis’ quintet gave birth to the hard bop-jazz style, based on the modal structure meant for the freedom of empowerment. In the period from 1957 to 1960, together with Gil Evans, he extended the concept of jazz by adding new meditative mood. In 1959, “Kind of Blue” became the masterpiece which contained melodic improvisation instead of the traditional harmonic structure of bop. Owning to this twenty-year period, Davis introduced the concept of changing harmony, rhythm, and instruments, while his approach to trumpet part remained almost the same. During his career, he played in different bands and always tried to develop different forms of traditional jazz.
John Coltrane was another significant figure in developing cool or hard bop and modal jazz. The beginning of his musical career dates back to his participation in Davis’ quintet in the middle 50s. During these years, the group released a number of jazz albums, including “The New Miles Davis Quintet” and “Round about Midnight”. In 1957, he was fired by Davis because of his strong position against the founder’s addiction to heroin. The same year, he started his solo career. He had worked with Thelonious Monk for several months. Later, he had experience of a bandleader; his band releases such albums as “Soultrane” and “Blue Train”. During the later period, Coltrane was interested in avant-garde jazz, which was introduced by Albert Ayler and Sun Ra. Coltrane supported such free jazz musicians as Archie Shepp. Under his influence, he recorded the classic quartet “Impulse” in 1962, which was labeled the best achievement of his solo career. In 1965, Davis returned with the second quintet, and Coltrane released an album, “A Love Supreme.” At this time, Davis developed a modal jazz with the elements of the avant-garde into a post-bop genre, which was characterized by harmonious incertitude and weak rhythmical basis. In 1967, Coltrane died and left the heritage of avant-garde, which was used by his successors even after the end of the Civil Rights movement. Some people did not accept Coltrane because of his abandoning the music sequence, while others regarded him as the talented individual of the first magnitude. Throughout his life, he was expanding the limits and changing the harmonic basis of jazz. He releases approximately 50 albums as a solo saxophone artist and took part in recording a great number of others with Miles Davis and pianist Thelonious Monk.
Music during the Events of the Free Jazz and Civil Rights Movements
In the 60s, musicians developed the free-jazz. Avant-garde expressed the musicians’ protest against the political and racial discrimination in the United States. Free- jazz music was not prohibited and could freely communicate ideas of the Civil Right Movement. Miles Davis did not accept that movement as he was all in the traditional forms of jazz, while John Coltrane strongly supported that change. According to Henry, such recordings as John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” and Ornette Coleman’s “Free Jazz” transcended the renouncement of specific ideas and happenings . John Coltrane did not give birth to the free jazz, but he contributed to it a lot. Under the influence of free jazz, he wrote the single-track album, “Ascension.” That piece is characterized by intensity, which was not common for other authors. It includes elements of the diatonic motive solo and tutti section. In the period, he wrote a free-jazz ballad, which was framed with the traditions of a small group. It contradicted the lyrical direction.
The Civil Rights movement was the struggle of African Americans against the racial discrimination. During that movement, jazz was shadowed by the folk music and blues. John Coltrane took part in that movement by sharing his ideas with the political activist, Malcolm X, about the black consciousness and pan-African direction, which he advocated in his music. Wright-Mendoza asserts, “At the same time, huge cultural and political shifts were underway in the form of the civil rights movement, which sought to break down the existing social order.”. In 1963 he released “Alabama” in order to bring jazz to life; the album was considered a terror against the White. When the struggle moved to the north of the United States, he engages in the new music of clear improvisation with avant-garde jazz movement, which was an artistic revolution for such young followers as Archie Shepp. In that period, for Davis, jazz became something more than the favorite music; it was the source of power and inspiration for him to fight for his rights against the discrimination. He changed the style from classical to funk, and such alternations resulted in the release of a new album "Bitches Brew," which talked about African roots. He claimed, “I was getting interested in seeing black sound develop and that’s where my head was moving toward, more rhythmic stuff, more funk rather than white rock”. The Davis’ new musical approach demonstrated changes in the American reality by emphasizing the contrast between the old and new world, which was accepted by the new audience. “Young people were in awe because they were introduced to a new music that had never been heard before. The old jazz fans were actually angry…”.
Conclusion
The role of both musicians is remarkable in the music history. Being in a permanent search of new sounds, Miles Davis has changed the structure of the hard, cool bop, and modal jazz forever. Despite the decline and political discrimination, millions of people believe he is at the top of the musical history. His music became a driving force for many musicians and made him a symbol of the black power all over the world. In his turn, John Coltrane had a great influence on the world of music, as well. He made a revolution in jazz by his technic that demonstrated veneration to each sound. Even today, his music inspires many to experiment and try all chances to be happy, as well as devote the whole life for the beloved occupation. The debates about his music would never stop. However, because of them, he is known to everyone as a person who overcame all obstacles and became a legend. John Coltrane and Miles Davis developed new forms of jazz while participating in different bands and recording numerous albums. Their jazz heritage became a huge contribution to the development of the genre.
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