All Blues - Miles Davis

All Blues - Miles Davis

1. Rhythmic devices

   • Swung rhythms
   • Syncopation
   • Time signature is 6/4
   • 156bpm
   • The feel is laid back because the bars are split into 2 slow beats

2. Performers

   • Miles Davis - Trumpet
   • Cannonball Adderley - Alto Sax
   • John Coltrane - Tenor Sax
   • Bill Evans - Piano
   • Paul Chambers - Double Bass
   • Jimmy Cobb - Drums

3. Melody

   • The head is the main melody and it is played by the trumpet
     • 2 saxophones play the riff in the head
   • The melody is modal
   • Chromatic notes are used in the melody

4. Dynamics

   • The intro is quite soft
   • In the head, the trumpet uses a mute to make it sound quieter
   • The first trumpet solo has lots of dynamic variety as he plays with expression
   • Usually the trumpet solo is quite loud

5. Style

   • Uses a 12 bar blues chord sequence
     • All chords have added notes, either 7th or 9th
   • The piece was recorded in one go so performers needed to know...
     • Basic structure
     • Chord sequence
     • Number of solo's
     • How long to improvise for
     • Which modes to play

6. Timbre and Texture

   • Melody and accompaniment
     • The rhythm section of drums, piano and bass
     • Alto sax, tenor sax, piano and trumpet have solo's

7. Structure

   • Intro (2x8 bars)
     • Intro 1 - piano
     • Intro 2 - Saxes
   • Head (32 bars)
     • Muted trumpet plays head
     • Saxes play main riff
   • Improvised solo's
     • Trumpet (48 bars)
     • Alto sax (48 bars)
     • Piano (24 bars)
     • Tenor sax (48 bars)
   • Head (32 bars)
   • Outro
     • Fades out
     • Saxes play main riff
     • Trumpet plays a main riff

8. Tonality and Harmony

   • The term 'changes' is the chord sequence in a jazz piece
   • Chords are extended, substitutes or substituted
   • Key of G