Music Monday: Sketches of Spain By Miles Davis

Miles Davis, one of the greatest artists of the 20th Century (if not the greatest artist of the 20th Century) was always on the cutting edge. Between 1950 and 1975, Miles Davis defined the directions of jazz and yes, even rock music. Unlike many, he didn't just bust out a great album every couple years or so, he recorded multiple masterpieces every year of his career. 1959 was one of those years. He dropped two of the greatest jazz recordings in history, Kind of Blue, the definitive jazz ensemble album and Sketches of Spain, a work that seamlessly combines classical and jazz music. Miles had been recording with collaborator, Gil Evans off and on for ten years at the time of Sketches of Spain. Every time these two geniuses unite, something magical and innovative happens. Their first work, The Birth of Cool, was simply put, the birth of cool. Sketches of Spain fuses the tight compositions of classical with the looseness of jazz in a way that had never been done before and has never been done again.

It opens with Joaquín Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez (Adagio)" a soothing yet intensely gorgeous work which shows off the great power of their jazz orchestra and Gil Evan's arranging. Evans had the great challenge of getting an orchestra to play a classical piece with a jazz feel and he succeeded well. Even without Miles Davis's haunting signature tone, the arrangements alone would leave this as a great work. The true star of record is still Miles Davis. Sketches of Spain features some of the most beautiful playing of his career. From the crying lament for a lost lover on "Saeta" to the charging flamenco of "Solea" Miles shows just how diverse and versitile he can be. This is an essential album for both jazz and classical lovers. Very few artist have ever produced a piece of this quality and it is truly scary think that Sketches of Spain may be only the second best album he recorded that year.