Profile on Miles Davis written by Tim Kirker.

1926 - 1991

"The musical legacy of Miles Davis seems too huge for one man. Especially since he was a vital part of nearly every important development of innovation and style in jazz after the Second World War. His protean approach put him at the forefront of bebop, cool, modal, hard bop, and fusion. From there his sound went on to influence many other forms of music including pop, soul, R&B, funk, and rap. Davis was the last of the great trumpet players, employing a lyrical, melodic style that was known for its minimalism as much as its introspection. Another talent was his ability to assemble great up-and-coming musicians and nurture their creativity within his many bands. Both the man and his music have come to symbolize everything that jazz represents - innovative, cool, complex, and unpredictable."

What's the "all time best" jazz album, what's your favorite? I try to stay away from those kinds of debates when it comes to music. Music is so personal, and each style so unique. I could never just name one, but we all, at sometime or another, get dragged into those "Desert Island" picks just to see where it will go. I keep changing the list. It seems that I can never stop at just ten. Ten becomes twenty, twenty becomes twenty five, and so on.

And so, if you're curious, you can see my "Desert Island" picks if you view my profile. One thing never changes. There are always some that make my list and coincidently, there are always some that seem to make everyone's list.

Kind of Blue isn't merely an artistic highlight for Miles Davis, it's an album that towers above its peers, a record generally considered as the definitive jazz album, a universally acknowledged standard of excellence." Read the full review by by Stephen Thomas Erlewine Here.

"It was a relative rarity among modern jazz albums, three - quarters of an hour of extraordinary music loved equally by listeners who wouldn't know a mode from a modem, and by musicians for whom it seemed to point the way toward a fresh way of playing. "Kind of Blue" remains among the most enduring of all jazz records - more than forty years after its release, it continues to sell several thousand copies a month."

"It must have been made in heaven." Jimmy Cobb said.

(Exerpts from Jazz, A History of America's Music by Geoffrey Ward & Ken Burns).

Labels: Bay Area Jazz, Cool Jazz, Desert Island Jazz, Jazz, Ken Burns, Kind of Blue, Miles Davis, San Francisco Jazz

There's an excellent tribute to John Coltrane in today's San Francisco Chronicle Datebook, written by Greg Tate.

"In an art form more celebrated for its sinners, John Coltrane, who somewhere over the rainbow will turn 80 on Saturday, held the honor of being the music's first saint." The article entitled, "Coltrane at 80 - a talent supreme" can be viewed HERE.

"Bar none, John Coltrane is the most influential tenor saxophonist in jazz history. Whether it's his patented "sheets of sound," his rapid-fire improvisations or his bold cathartic wails, no aspiring jazz saxophonist can afford to neglect the music of Coltrane." Jazz Profiles from NPR, John Dilberto.

Ballads - (No two lovers should be without this CD!!)

"John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" is one of the most compelling, spiritual testimonies in the history of jazz." - Rolling Stone Magazine Review.

"Without reservation, Blue Train can easily be considered in and among the most important and influential entries not only of John Coltrane's career, but of the entire genre of jazz music as well." - All Music Guide

This Page is a tribute to the greatest Tenor saxophonist of all time, John William Coltrane (Trane)

Labels: Bay Area Jazz, Desert Island Jazz, Jazz, John Coltrane, San Francisco Jazz, Sax

"Miles Davis kept forcing jazz in new directions, but his stark, lyrical trumpet sound was a constant, and it still seduces."

"He didn't play the trumpet like a trumpet, he played it like a voice. - Bobby Hutcherson

Jesse Hamlin wrote a great article in the Chronicle Datebook a couple of weeks back. What a great piece and with substance on an idol of mine who recorded what I will always consider the Jazz Classic.

"I play 'Kind of Blue' every day - it's my orange juice." - Quincy Jones


I am guilty. I couldn't hang with him at first during the "rock-jazz fusion that Davis began exploring in the late 60's when he started using electric instruments and dancing backbeat grooves." I'm even ashamed to admit that I walked out on one of his performances at the War Memorial in San Francisco.

However, whatever direction his music took, his influence and music stays with us forever.

"Miles was famous for not looking back or repeating himself. He plunged into whatever music grabbed him at the moment, made it his, then moved on, leaving legions to chew on what he'd done."

"When I hear jazz musicians today playing all those same licks we used to play so long ago, I feel sad for them. I mean, it's like going to bed with a real old person who even smells real old. Now, I'm not putting down old people because I'm getting older myself. But be honest, that's what it reminds me of....I have to always be on the cutting edge of things because that's just the way I am and have always been." Miles Davis from his 1989 autobiography, "Miles."

Labels: Bay Area Jazz, Desert Island Jazz, Jazz, KCSM, Ken Burns, Kind of Blue, Miles Davis, San Francisco Jazz

"Bar none, John Coltrane is the most influential tenor saxophonist in jazz history. Whether it's his patented "sheets of sound," his rapid-fire improvisations or his bold cathartic wails, no aspiring jazz saxophonist can afford to neglect the music of Coltrane." Jazz Profiles from NPR, John Dilberto.

Ballads - (No two lovers should be without this CD!!)

"When John Coltrane was asked, "Why a ballads album?", he said "Variety." Meaning a change of pace. And perhaps he wanted to apprise those who haven't discovered that he can be lyrical."

"John played the tunes straight, in the in-choruses, unless you count his lovely phrase endings as deviations from melody. When the development occurred, he made his musical points quickly and succinctly. I'd never heard him play this tightly."

- Gene Lees
(Excerpted from the original liner notes for Ballads)

This is a particularly fascinating album, one of my favorites. It's a strong recomendation to anyone's music collection and certainly has it's place on my own Desert Island Jazz list.

It is certainly a departure from some of his more well known works, such masterpieces as "A Love Supreme" or "Blue Trane."

"John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" is one of the most compelling, spiritual testimonies in the history of jazz." - Rolling Stone Magazine Review.

"Without reservation, Blue Train can easily be considered in and among the most important and influential entries not only of John Coltrane's career, but of the entire genre of jazz music as well." - All Music Guide

This Page is a tribute to the greatest Tenor saxophonist of all time, John William Coltrane (Trane)

Labels: Bay Area Jazz, Desert Island Jazz, Jazz, John Coltrane, San Francisco Jazz, Sax