Weekly Schedule

Week 1: March 31

Discuss Miles Davis’ obsession with changing the style of his music. Examine the musical climate of the mid-sixties when Miles Davis was one of the most significant conceptualists in Jazz. Discuss the repertoire that shifted from Jazz standards to compositions written by Davis and other members of the Quintet. Examine the improvisational environment of his second great Quintet that included Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams, and the way in which this ensemble challenged itself to the extreme during every performance and recording. Begin discussing Davis’ early transitional recordings in the realm of Electric Music.  The class will also examine sections of the DVD “The Miles Davis Story”.

Homework

1. Read Miles Beyond, pp. 6-80.
2. Read It’s About That Time, Miles Davis On and Off Record, pp. 175-226.
3. Begin studying listening list.

Week 2: April 7

Discuss the dreamy ambient tone poems on Davis’ “In A Silent Way” and his groundbreaking follow-up, “Bitches Brew”. Examine Davis’ movement from the Jazz/Classical domain into the blues based experimentalism of Jimi Hendrix recordings, the then recent groove funk contributions of Sly Stone and the U.S. Funk meets West African hypnotic repetitions in the music of James Brown.

Homework

1. Read Miles Beyond pp. 81-128.
2. Read It’s About That Time, Miles Davis On and Off Record, pp. 227-244.
3. Continue studying the listening list.

Week 3: April 14

Discuss Davis’ live CD, “Live at Fillmore” which was recorded between June 17-20th 1970. These performances embrace new approaches to form, incorporate Free Jazz (for the first time in Davis’ music) and provide the pathway for a great degree of experimentalism in his future recordings. This lecture will also discuss his recording Live-Evil which incorporates the music of Brazilian Master Composer, Hermeto Pascoal and we will view the DVD “Electric Miles: a different kind of blue” which features Davis’ performance at the Isle of Wight in August 1970. In addition this class will cover Davis’ rock-orientated film score, Jack Johnson.

Homework

1. Read Miles Beyond pp. 129-176.
2. Read It’s About That Time, Miles Davis On and Off Record, pp. 245-261.
3. Continue studying the listening list.

 

Week 4: April 21

This lecture will cover Davis’ recordings from On The Corner (1972) up to his six-year hiatus from live performance. On The Corner, Pangaea, Agartha, Dark Magus and Get Up With It show Davis’ continued obsession with Jimi Hendrix’ blues-based psychedelic explorations on Band of Gypsies, Electric Ladyland and First Rays Of The New Rising Sun, street rhythms and new ideas learned from the compositions of German Avant-Garde Composer Karlheinz Stockhausen- Gruppen, Telemusik and Mixture. This class will also examine why these pre-hiatus recordings are among Davis’ most controversial and why they have influenced many of today’s experimental artists.

Homework

1. Read Miles Beyond pp. 177-191.
2. Continue studying the listening list.

Week 5: April 28

Examine the all-encompassing influence of Davis’ recordings during this period. This class will also discuss groups formed by Davis’ sidemen, which subsequently dominated the direction of Jazz. These groups include, Weather Report, Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi and Head Hunters, Tony Williams’ Lifetime, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return To Forever, Circle, The Keith Jarrett Quartet and others. There will also be a Midterm review.

Homework

1. Midterm review.

Week 6: May 5

*Midterm: Will cover all of the material presented in class through the fifth week and listening list number one.

Homework

1. Read Miles Beyond pp. 192-227.
2. Read It’s About That Time, Miles Davis On and Off Record, pp. 263-292.
3. Work on papers and listening list.

 

Week 7: May 12

The class will discuss Davis’ difficult period form 1975-1981 where many assumed that his days as a performing artist were over. We will examine his return to performance and recording with the release of The Man With The Horn in 1981 and the recordings that followed, We Want Miles, Star People, Decoy, You’re Under Arrest and Aura.

Homework

1. Read Miles Beyond pp. 228-246.
2. Read It’s About That Time, Miles Davis On and Off Record, pp. 293-303.
3. Work on papers and listening list.

 

Week 8: May 19

Examine Miles Davis’ return to stellar form with his groundbreaking collaborations with producer, electric bassist, soprano saxophonist, bass clarinetist, keyboardist, and percussionist, Marcus Miller. Miller devised a highly innovative system using the computer as a conduit to all of the chronological eras of Davis’ career. Their collaborations Tutu, Amandla and the film soundtrack Siesta, forged a new path for incorporating composition, improvisation, orchestration and production.

Homework

1. Read Miles Beyond pp. 247-271.
2. Read It’s About That Time, Miles Davis On and Off Record, pp. 305-327.
3. Work on papers and listening list.

 

Week 9: March 26 Memorial Day Holiday

 

Week 10:  June 2

The concluding discussion will look at the remixes of Davis’ music produced by Bill Laswell and a group of drum ‘n’ bass DJs. and the recently completed Miles….From India featuring the music of Davis performed by many of his former sidemen and a stellar group of Carnatic and Hindustani musicians. The final review, will cover material from the sixth through the tenth weeks.

Homework
a) Work on paper and listening list.

 

Final Exam Schedule: Will be distributed on the first day of class.