Ruminating Musically

There is a unanswerable debate that occurs within my mind as to who is my favorite jazz artist: John Coltrane or Miles Davis. Not that you asked. But since this is my forum, you can either read on or hit the small "x" in the upper right corner.

Instead of rehashing the perpetual argument, I'll focus my thoughts on two cd's that are my favorite from each artist. Both are completely different in style and represent two entirely different moods. But Davis' and Coltrane's careers and life stories are virtually parallel and something I'd like to learn more about.

First Davis, since that is who I'm listening to now. Kind of Blue was released in 1957. At this point in his life, Davis was just making a comeback, personally and professionally. His career came to a temporary halt as he struggled to kick a destructive heroin habit that sapped much of his creativity and energy to record. His comeback began two years earlier at the Newport Jazz Festival; it was his signal that he was ready to return to making great music.

Kind of Blue is seminal in that it jettisoned the era of improvisational jazz. This album is perhaps the best selling jazz album in history; it simultaneously serves as a great primer to somebody wanting an introduction to Fifties jazz (or just jazz in general) but also serves as a great refesher to somebody who has been familiar with jazz for an entire lifetime. The overall mood of the album is one of pensiveness in a melancholy way; the title was very apropos of my mood today.

The impovising nature of the cd is what draws me to it. Much of my life feels like it's improvisation; while I have an idea of the overall product, I don't always know the exact path. Plus, not being musically talented in the slightest, I find it amazing that musicians of this caliber are able to draw off the talents of each other without overshadowing each other or ending up overshadowed themselves. Especially considering who is on tenor sax: Coltrane.

Coltrane became popular several years after Davis and arguably owes much of his rise to fame to him. Coltrane played with Davis in the early Fifties but was asked to leave the group because of his own heroin habit. Coltrane kicked his habit and also began playing his own style of jazz. While he collaborated with Davis during his career, his style of music was his own.

Whereas Davis turned to other recreational drugs in his later years, Coltrane found religion. His most renowned album is A Love Supreme, recorded in 1964. It is his spiritual opus (much like Handel's Messiah) that took all of one day to record.

A Love Supreme is a very optimistic and ambitious album. It represents all that is good with mankind, the struggle between good and evil. While the album only consists of four suites, there is an obvious but gradual path the album takes that is reflective of Coltrane's own spiritual path: "Acknowledgement", "Resolution", "Pursuance", and "Psalm".

And I think that's why these two artists continually compete for my personal top billing - both are of virtually the same background and talent. But each took a different life path that only he himself could take.

So on the days where the lonely path through the valley seems proper, I'll listen to Kind of Blue. But on those days where soaring with angels seems fitting, I'll sing my praises with Coltane.