Out of Notes

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Out of Notes: Signification, Interpretation, and the Problem of Miles DavisAuthor(s): Robert WalserSource: The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 77, No. 2 (Summer, 1993), pp. 343-365Published by: Oxford University Press

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Primaryources

OutofNotes:

Signification,nterpretation,andthe roblemfMilesDavis

Robert alser

I played My FunnyValentine" or longtime-and didn't ike t-and all of a sud-den it meant omething.MilesDavis1

A flurryfposthumousributesoMilesDavis almostmanagedtoconceal the fact hat azzcritics nd historiansaveneverknown

how to explain hepower ndappealof hisplaying.2 fcourse, herehas been no lackofwritingboutDavis,and no shortagefpraise orhisaccomplishments.orexample,Musicianmagazine,which oversjazzbut s notprimarilyevoted o it, aunched cover tory ith heextraordinarytatement,In the entire ecordingge,no onehasmeantmore o music hanMilesDavis."3 But historiesf azz,biogra-phiesofDavis,and azz ournalismften egthequestion fwhy eought o be so highly egarded:here s a curiousbsence fengage-mentwithDavis'smusic, nd

especiallyithhis

trumpetlaying.MilesDavis hasalways een difficulto deal with ritically:longwithhiscontroversialersonalife, ndhis evenmore ontroversialdecision o "goelectric"round 969,Davis has longbeeninfamousformissingmorenotes han nyothermajor rumpetlayer.Whilenearly veryonecknowledgesishistoricalmportances a band-leader nd a musical nnovator,nd for ecades, arge udiencesflockedo hisconcerts,ritics avealways een madeuncomfortablebyhis"mistakes,"he cracked nd missed otes ommon nhisper-

formances.The problemf Miles Davis" is theproblem avispre-sents o bothcriticsndhistorians: ow areweto account or uchglaringefectsn theperformancesf someonewho s indisputablyone ofthemost mportant usiciansnthehistoryf azz?

Often, riticsimplygnore hemistakes.n hishistoryf azz,Frank irrodelicatelyvoided nymention fthecontroversies

343








344 TheMusicaluarterly

surroundingavis,whether issedotes, rug se,orelectricnstru-ments. oachimerendtn hisTheJazz ook egretfullyentionsDavis's clams,"ut uicklyasses n,andthewidelysedazz ppre-ciation ext yMarkGridley,ike hat fDonaldD. MegillndRich-ard . Demory,imilarlyhitewashesavis's areer.4 henHowardBrofskyndBillColeindependentlyranscribedndpublishedhetrumpetoloofDavis's 964recordingf MyFunny alentine,"othchose o eave ut he racks,lips,nd pleeahs,nablinghemoproduceice, lean extsndto avoidmanyroblematicspectsf

theperformance.5Criticsometimespologizeor avis's lawsrtryxplainhemaway. illColeacknowledgeshat avishadwhat ecalls mechani-calproblems,"ut ssertshat avis used hemwell ohis dvan-tage," uilding styleutofhisweaknesses,orginghismistakesntoa positiveesult."6aryGiddinsimilarlyredits aviswitha thor-oughlyriginaltyleuilt nthe cknowledgmentf echnicalimita-tions."Giddinsomments,By he ime fMyFunnyalentine,'

whichontainsne of hemost otoriousluffsver eleased,negotthefeelinghat is veryracklend plutteras o be embracedsevidencefhis pontaneousoul."7 utGiddins imselfoesnot eemconvincedy his rgument,ndheremainsnable itheroembracethefluffsr toexcuse hem. he best hat an be said fMilesDavisinthisights that e was goodmusicianut badtrumpetlayer.

Jamesincoln ollier,susual,s bolderhanmost therritics:

But fhis nfluenceasprofound,he ltimatealue fhisworksanother

matter. iles avis snot, ncomparisonith thermen fmajornfluencenjazz, greatmprovisor.is ines re ftenomposedfunrelatedragmentsandgenerallyack oherence.issounds nteresting,ut oooftent s weak-enedbythepetulantwhine f hishalf-valving.e has never roducedhemelodicines f ParkerrBeiderbecke,rthedramatictructurefArm-strongrEllington. nd althoughertainlyn adequatenstrumentalist-weshould ot verstressis echnicalnadequacies-hesnot greatne.Perhapsmore mportant,e has notreally een the nnovatore issometimesreditedwith eing.Most f he reshonceptseincorporatednto ismusicrigi-natedwith thermen,ronically,n view fhisblackmilitancy,anyf hem

white. .. He hasto be seen, then,not as an innovator,ut as a popularizerofnew deas.8

Collier'somplaints thatDavis acks riginality,ormalegularity,timbralurityndconsistency,nd technical acility.utwouldDa-vis'splaying eally e betterfhis soundweremore ure nduniform,or hisphrasesmore egular?y claiminghatDavisfailed omeasureuptopresumablybjectivemusical tandards,ollier uggestshatDaviswasnota goodtrumpetlayer r a goodmusician, espite he








TheProblemfMiles avis 345

popularityndrespecte has earnedrom ans ndmusicians.hough

he is more luntn hisdenunciationfDavis han remost therazzcritics,ollier's ssessments notunique. utwhen riticaludgmentsbecomeo outof ynch ith heaotual eceptionf hemusicheyaddress,tmay etime oreexamineome asicpremises.erhapsthere reothermethodsndcriteriao use nanalyzingndevaluatingjazz;perhapsheresa way f heorizingavis's layinghatwouldaccountor tspowero affecteeplymanyisteners.

MilesDavis sperhapshemostmportantndchallengingigureforazz riticismt thepresent omentecause ecannot edenieda place n the anon fgreatazzmusicians,et he cceptedriteriafor reatnessonotfit imwell. ThecomplexityfDukeEllington'sscoringr thevirtuosityfCharlie arker'smprovisation,or xam-ple, eem o be much asieroexplainnd egitimatehanDavis'sperformances.)heuneasiness anyriticsisplayoward ilesDa-vis's mistakes,"ndtheir ailureoexplainhepowerfhisplaying,suggesthat herere mportantapsntheparadigmsfmusicalnal-ysisnd nterpretationhat ominateazz tudies. nderstandinga-

vis'smissedotes nd ccountingor is uccess s a performerayrequireethinkingome four ssumptionsboutwhat ndhowmusicmeans.

Someuseful ays fdoingo are mplicitnthe heoryf ignifi-cation resentedyHenryouisGates,Jr.,nhisbookThe ignifyingMonkey: TheoryfAfrican-Americaniteraryriticism.I amnot hefirstonotice hat his ookhasmuch o offer usiccholars;ohn .MurphyasdrawnponGates'sworkn hisdiscussionfdialogue

amongazz mprovisers,aryomlinsonasusedGates'sdeas n his

excellentssayn azz anonsndMilesDavis's usioneriod,ndSamuel loyd asdeployedates's heorynhis nsightfulnalysisfthedialoguefrhythmicelationshipsndformalonventionsnJellyRollMorton'sBlack ottomtomp."o10ut will rguehatGates'stheoryf ignifyingightet eappliedt a finerevel fmusicalanalysiso lluminatehe ignificancef pecific usical etailsndtherhetoricfperformance.

At the ore fhis heorysGates's elineationf wodifferent

waysf hinkingbout owmeaningsreproduced.ates istin-guishesetweenwo ulturalraditions,hitesignifying"ndblack"Signifyin(g)"I findhe atter ratherreciousndunwieldylter-ationofthevernacularerm,ndI willrefer o these s "signification"and"signifyin',"espectively).11he twomodes ontrastharply.Significations logical,rational,imited; rom hisperspective, ean-ings redenotative,ixed, xact,and exclusive. ignifyin',onversely,works hrougheference,esture,nddialogue osuggestmultiple









meaningshroughssociation.f

ignificationssumeshat

meaningscanbeabsolute,ermanent,ndobjectivelypecified,ignifyin'respectsontingency,mprovisation,elativity--theocial roductionandnegotiationfmeanings. emightompareheway dictionaryprescribeseaningsith hewaysnwhichwordsonstantlyhangemeaningn actual sage y ommunitiesf anguagesers. he differ-ence s ike hat etweenemanticsndrhetoric:ignificationssumesthatmeaninganbecommunicatedbstractlynd ndividually,partfromhe ircumstancesf xchange;ignifyin'elebrateserformance

anddialogic ngagement.AsGateshimselfnsists,ignifyin'snot xclusiveoAfrican-Americanulture,hought s nthat ulturehat ignifyin'asbeenmost ullyrticulatedheoretically,otonly y cholarsut lso nfolklorend ong yrics.nfact,he onceptould ecomparedoliteraryriticMikhail akhtin'sdeas bout ialoguenthenovel, rtoa varietyfotherwentieth-centuryhilosophicalnterrogationsfthenaturef anguagendmeaning,romWittgensteino theAmeri-

canpragmatistso theFrenchoststructuralists.12utGates,whilecertainlynfluencedy hese riticsndtheorists,eans o lluminateAfrican-Americaniteraturey akingeriouslyhemodesf ignifyin'developed ithin lack ernacularraditions.

Gates s not he nlyAfrican-Americaniteraryheoristo drawattentiono the mportancef ignifyin',rtoattempto definet.Houston . Baker, r., ecentlyquated ignifyin'ith econstruc-tion, ndRalph llison adearlier efinedignifyin's "rhetoricalunderstatement"nhisbook hadowndAct.13Both efinitionsigh-lightherichnessnd lipperinessf ignifyin'sa culturalraditionand rhetoricaltrategy.ikeGates,Baker ndEllison oint oper-formance,egotiation,nddialogue ith ast ndpresents featuresof hismode f rtisticctivity.

Clearly, ates's heoryf ignifyin'sopposedotheperspectiveofmodernism.or hemodernists,he rtwork adto be autonomousfrom ass ulturendeverydayife;twas he xpressionf purelyindividualonsciousness,ithoutocial ontent;uch rtwas up-

posed obeself-referential,xploringhemediumtself. odernistaestheticheoryas ong ominatedcademictudyf he rts,ndconsequentlyt has eemedttractiveomanyazz riticsnd cholarsasa route oacademicrestigend egitimation.t a recentympo-sium n jazztheoryndcriticism,unther chuller onderedhequestion fhowto udge azz, coming pwith characteristicallymodernistual answer. n theonehand,he says,wemustudge azzperformancesrrecordingsn their wnmerits,asedon thecompos-









er's ndmusicians'ntentionsnd tudyf hework. n the ther

hand,we canrely pon ertaintandardsfperformanceualityndauthenticity,he atterncompassingechnicalccuracy,ppropriate-ness o the tyle,ndoriginality.'4hat s,art anbeunderstoodsintentional,tsmeaningswned y he rtist,ut t can alsobe heldaccountableoa setof riticaltandardshat re ssumedotranscendparticulartatementsr artifacts.

In a responseoSchuller'sommentsublishednNewPerspec-tives nJazz, llyWilson ointedut hatmusicalechniques,tyles,

andproceduresreneverutonomous;heyreorganizedt a concep-tual evel, level f ulturalrioritiesndmodes f hought,hichmust eaddressedy riticism.5Amiriarakarguedn the amevolumehat he riticmust nderstandow heworkmeans;n aes-thetic, epointedut, sexpressivef worldview,subjective,etreflectivefobjectiveoliticalndeconomicxistence."'6notherwords,eactionso art eel ersonal,ut hey onethelesseflecthewaysn which ven urmost ersonaleelingsre ociallyonstituted.

Someazz ritics,hen,

esisthemodernistttitudeshat re oantitheticalosignifyin';uch riticsredissatisfiedithnalyticalmethodshat adicallyeducemusicalctivitiesoformalbstractionsthat ftenhed ittleightn howmusicsexperienced.ut verall,academicsand omeazzmusicians)eemncreasinglyrawn owhatI will all"classicizing"trategiesoregitimatingazz.Now, t seemsnaturalnoughhat eoplewho re ryingowinmore espector hemusicheyove hould o sobymakingomparisonsith hemostprestigioususicround,lassicalmusic. ut heprice f lassicisms

alwaysoss f pecificity,ust s ithasbeen heprice fthe anoniccoherencefEuropeanoncert usicthedisparateounds fmanycenturies,any eoples,manyunctions,anymeaningsllhomoge-nized ndmadenterchangeablygreat"). oooften,azz ducationand cholarshipimic he litistmoralrusadehat reatedhe anonofclassicalmusicnthe asthalf f henineteenthentury.17udi-ences re ssumedobepassive,he ontentf azz srarelyiscussed,itsrelevanceopeople'sives ever xamined.ist issimplyresumed

that ncreasedxposureo azz ssomehowood or eople,nd ppre-ciationakes heplace funderstanding.oreover,istorys distortedwhen evotees ork oseparateazzfromherest fpopular usic,movethat s meant oputthem n therightideof the mass ulture/modernismivide."19

The classicizationf azzhas even facilitated nationalist is-tortion f azzin theUnitedStates.Accordingo suchprominentspokespeopleorazzas BillyTaylor,WyntonMarsalis, nd Gunther









Schuller,azz

s"America'slassicalmusic" r "America'snetrulyindigenoususicalrtform.'"20t"developedteadilyromsingle

expressionf he onsciousnessfblackeoplento national usicthat xpressesmericandeals nd ttitudeso Americansndtopeople romtherulturesll around heworld." or hem,ll azzmakes single ind fpoliticaltatement:ina typicalazzperfor-mance ach ndividualerformerontributesisorherpersonal usi-calperspectivendtherebyraphicallyemonstrateshedemocraticprocesstwork.'"21azzdealizesthe onceptf ndividualree-

dom."22But haracterizingazz nthisway ffacesoth ts omplexul-

tural istory,ncludinghemyriadffectsfracismndelitismn themusic ndthepeoplewhohavemadet, ndthedialoguehat s atthevery eart f hemusic. aylorraisedndividualism.utwhat fcollaboration--inollectivemprovisation,ncomposition,ntheongoingollectiveransformationf hediscoursef azz?What f hewaysn whichmusicians,sthey lay, onverse ith neanother,

with heirudiences, ith heir orebears?aylorelebrateshefactthatazzhasgottenubstantialupportromheUnited tates tateDepartmentndthatthasbeen eaturedn VoiceofAmerica adiobroadcastsithoutonsideringhyhismighte so. Theanswersthat he ort freadingf azz rticulatedyTaylor, hichmphasizesindividualismatherhan ollectivism,utonomoustatementsatherthan ialoguendcollaboration,elpednable heuseof azz spro-pagandaor apitalismydistortinghenature f hemusic,yblur-ringtsvarietynd tsdebt o the ollectivetrugglesfAfrican-

Americans,ndby ffacinghefact hatazzhas ong lourishedoutside fthe UnitedStates.23

Themost bviousailingf hemovemento classicizeazz,however,sthatthasnever een bletodo usticeothemusic;orexample,tofferso means f ccountingorwhyMilesDavismissesnotes, reven funderstandinghat e isreally oingherest f hetime. his s npart ecausehemusicologicalreatmentsf azzhavealsobeen hieflyevotedo egitimation,hemain rgumentaving

been hatazz s worthwhileecauseven ts mprovisedolos emon-straterganicnityndmotivicoherence.24he twowriters ostoftenreditedstheforemostusicalnalystsf azz,Andre odeirandGuntherchuller,ppliedhevocabularyf cademicmusicalanalysiso azz, abellinghords nd motiveswithouteriouslyues-tioningheappropriatenessfsuchwholesalemethodologicalransfer-ence. Hodeir's llegiance o theEuropean anonallowedhimonlysingleyardstickgainstwhich o measureverymusical bject,regard-









less f tshistory,tsdiscursiveremises,r tsvalues.25ndeventhoughchulleraswrittenn excellentxplanationf he edi-mented fricanrioritiesn azz, ransformedyAfrican-Americansintheir ew ontexts,ehas also cceptedrom usicologyhe deathatWesternrtmusicperatesnanautonomousomain; iswrit-ings n azz recoloredyhisdesireoprovehatazz sequallyautonomousndthus qually orthyfrespect.26

BothHodeir ndSchullerftenefero the mportancef"objectivity"--aommonrioritymonghosewhopreferot o

interrogateheirremises.chullerelebratedreal ualityndmusi-cal talent" ithoutny eflectionn how hose ategoriesome obecreatedndunderstoodyvariousocial roups;ndeed, esearchedforpurely usicalualities,"eliberatelytrippingway he histori-caland ocial rappings"hat nable oundso bemeaningfulopeo-ple.27nhisfamousnalysisfSonny ollins'sBlue7,"Schullerconsistentlyvoidedommentingnrhetoricraffect,ndreducedtheforce fRollins'smprovisationo the rticulationfunityndorder.

hought s clear hat

chuller,longwith

veryonelse,hears

muchmore han hatn this ecording,ispreciseabellingfmusicaldetails ndpersuasiveegitimationf azz ccordingo ongstandingmusicologicalriteriaausedmanyriticsohailthis rticles a sin-gularriticalriumph.28ll itreallyells s aboutRollins, owever,sthat is mprovisationsre oherent;tsays othingboutwhywemightalue hat oherence,hywefindtmeaningful,rhow hissolodiffersromny f millionther oherentieces fmusic.

Theprice f uch lassicizingormalismsalwayshe oss f

affectndhistory;ostazz nalystsndmanyriticsavebeenmod-ernists illingo make he rade. utMilesDavis, nsuch erms,would ave obecalled ostmodern.e refusedo beconstrainedygenre oundaries;ismusicmbracedndexploredontradictions;edismisseduestionsf uthenticityrpurity;ewasunwillingosepa-rate rt, ife, ndpolitics.hese rethe raitshat edStanleyrouchtoplace heblame or ontemporaryazz,which esees sbeingnacolossalmess,quarelynDavis;he referso "themireMilesDavis

pushedazz nto."29 owever,s Robertalmerrgues,uch olemicssignalulturalontestationfgreatmport:Criticsndmusicianswho are still ryingo hold the ineagainst his ultural emocratiza-tion,mostlyrom heclassical nd azzcamps, re classist igots ight-ing a losingbattle with musical and social realities. . . Davis had aparticularnackfor ettingnder hesepurists'kins."'3As wewillsee,Davis'sconsistentnddeliberate se ofriskyechniquesnd con-stant ransgressionfgenre oundariesre antitheticalo "classicism"








350 The MusicalQuarterly

andcannot eexplainedyformalism,or, romhat erspective,unusualontentooksike lawedorm. hat swhyomanyriticshaverespondedo Davis'smusicwith uzzlement,ostility,ranuneasyilence.

HenryouisGates, r.'s, heorysusefulreciselyecause isgoalwas o createhemeans odealwith ulturalifferencen itsown erms,san antidoteo theoreticalssimilationymore resti-gious rojects. ates oesnot hy way romuestionsfvalue ndanalysis,ethiswork nmaskshe hallownessf ttemptsoshow

thatAfricaniteraturesworthyf tudyecause t sfundamentallythe ame sEuropeaniterature,r thatazz sworthyf tudyecauseit s ust ike lassicalmusic.31ates's otionf ignifyin'odifiessetof deas bout rocessesf ignification,nd ntheprocessfferssa bagofnew onceptualools ormusicalnalysis,hallengings torethinkotonly he actics,ut lsothegoals f uchwork. want oillustrateheproductiveotentialf hese deas hroughdetailedanalysisfMilesDavis's 964 ecordingf MyFunny alentine."

But ince udiences earDavis's ecordingp against longhistoryofother erformancesfthe ong, willbeginwith he ssue f nter-textuality.

Considerpopvocalist'sreatmentfthe ong,uch sTonyBennett's959recording.32ennett'soice swarm, ith onstantvibratohroughout;ikemanyingers,euses ibratosa componentof hevocal ound, atherhan s anornament,o that tprojectssincerityndexpressivityvenlyver he ourse fthe ntireong.Bennettollowshe riginalrintedersionf he ong losely,uthe

oftenlightlyltersherhythmf hemelodyo make isdeliveryfthe ext eemmore aturalnd ntimate;e alsochangesnotehereandthere osuggestvenmore ersonalarnestness.few eftappoggiaturaserve o underlineiscasual ontrolf hemusic ndtocompleteismodestustomizing.ennett's arm aritoneresentsthe ingersanostensiblyenevolentatriarch,orwhen he ongssung y man oa womanthe ppositef he riginalontextntheBroadwayusical abesnArms),he ext's numerationffaults

("Isyour igureess hanGreek?syourmouth little eak?")becomesomewhatondescendingnd nsulting,oweverellmaskedby he ender usic. hepianist'sodto"Greensleeves"ttheveryendcompleteshe tmospherefpoignantincerityennettasworked o create.

"My FunnyValentine"wascomposed yRodgersnd Hart n1937.Bythe time fBennett'secording,avishadalready ecordedthesongtwicehimself,n 1956and 1958;his liverecording as made









fiveyears fter ennett's.Nowcan wesaythatDavis is signifyin'on-commenting n, indialoguewith,deconstructing-ennett'sversion? he questionsmade more omplex ythe dea that s aperformer,avis is signifyin'n all ofthe versions f thesonghe hasheard,but forhisaudience,Davis issignifyin'n all theversions achlistener as heard.What isplayed splayed p against avis's nter-textual xperience,nd what sheard sheardup against he isteners'experiences.Moreover, avis is no doubt ngaginghemanyBennett-likeperformancesf"MyFunnyValentine" e musthaveheard,but

he is also signifyin'n many azzversions,ncluding isownpastperformances.33his chain ofsignifyin'pins utindefinitely,houghmost undamentallyavis is indialoguewith hebasic featuresfthesong tself,s jazzmusicians ouldunderstandhem ndas listenerswouldrecognizehem.The wholepoint f a jazzmusician ike Davisplaying Tin PanAlleypop song an be understoods hisopportu-nity osignifyn the melodic ossibilities,ormalonventionssuchas the AABA planof the 32-measurehorus),harmonicotentials,and

previouslyerformedersionsf the

original ong.34Davis signifiesrom hevery eginningf his 1964performance;after erbieHancock'spianointroduction,avis understateshefirsttwophrases f themelodysee Ex. 1).35His tone s soft nd without

la C- C-A C-7 C-6 Abafree

a in time6 F-7 D G769 C-

in iC-

3 bbend

1 C-7 C-6 AV& F-7

3 3

Ab-6 B6769 EVa F-7 G-7 F-7

bend 3 3

Example1. Transcription:ilesDavis,solo on "My Funny alentine" 1964 recording).









EbVF-7 G-7 F-7

EbaG7 C-

Bb-7A7 Aba

19r

3

0-3-0false ingering

all

24 D G769 C- C-a C-7 C-6 5

A2X ScX X5' X

29 AbaD'

G769 C- Bb-7 A7 :Ab29A- L--06--

squeeze34 F-7 B67 Eb6 r D G769

Example1. continued

vibrato,ndhe hasclipped he ongnotesof thesong,making isstatementeem diosyncraticetrestrained. ithout constantvibratouchas Bennett ses,there s no warmurfaceohidebehind;Davis'sstatementeems tark ndvulnerable. fter achphrase, epauses, ndtheemptyime reates senseofdramaticngagements

wewaitfor hecontinuation eknowmust ccur.On thethirdphrasem. 5), Davis deceives s;he begins n theproper ote,butinstead fascendingofollow hemelody, e descends ntothe owestregisterf thetrumpeteforeeemingogainmomentumhat hootshimupto almost n octavehigherhanwherehe should e, ifhewere tillfollowinghe tune.The melody f"MyFunnyValentine"was so familiarohisaudience hatDavisdid notneedtostate tbeforeignifyin'n it;twobrief hraseserve o establish he tune.

The third hrase otonlydeceives, utcontrastsharply ith hefirsttwo mm.1 and3): duringhis ruption avisplays oudly or hefirstime, ndadds somevibratowhilehe holdsthe final ighnote.UnlikeTonyBennett, avis usesvibratoelectivelyo that tspres-ence orabsence ssignificant;erehe uses t to intensifyheend ofthisoutburstefore e retreatsacktoa soft ote n hismiddle ange.

That nextnote, nthe astmeasure fthe first sectionm. 8),is rich nsignifyin'.avisplays nA-flatn the normalway,with he









la

37 C- C-a C-7

40 C-6 AbV F-7 DvSh

3,-3 bend waver 3 3

a'

44 G769 C- C-a - 3---

C-6 Ab647 C-7 xxx x , --1

"ow3 3false ingering

Example . continued

trumpet'sirst alvedepressed.36e then lidesdownto a G withoutchanging alves.This is a techniquehat, n thetrumpet,sdifficult,risky,ndrelativelyare.Acoustically,hetrumpethouldnot be abletoplay nynotesbetweenA-flatndE-flatwith nly he first alve

depressed; avismust endthe notewithhislipswithoutettingtcrackdownto thenextharmonic. he results a fuzzyound,not

quite n tune.There sno conceivable ituationnclassical rumpetplayingwhere ucha soundwouldbe desirable. et,inthis olo,it isthe audible ign fDavis's effortndrisk, rticulatingmoment fstrain hat ontributeso the affect f his interpretation.fweexplainthismeasurenterms fquarterones r,as HowardBrofskyoes,transcribet as simplywonotes, nA-flatnda G, wegaina neaterdescriptionut miss hepoint f the music.Davisdeliberatelyiskscrackinghatnote because tis theonlyway o achieve hat enseof

strain.Here,he manages o holdonto thenote;at othermomentsnthesolo,suchwagersre not won.However,tiscrucial o appreciatetheextraordinaryengthsowhichDavisgoesto makeplayinghetrumpet ven more difficultnd risky han it already s, and to under-standthe musical results fhis doing so.

The trumpet,ikemost wind instruments,nderwent continual

processof "improvement" hroughout he nineteenthcentury nd, toa lesserextent,the twentieth. n particular, nstrumentmakers ought









b

50 F-7 Ab-6 B67b9 Eb F-7 G-7 F-7A i t K 'u-3--

.vLatinsqueeze bend -'w

55 Eb3 F-7 G-7 F-7 Ebt G7

5 splatter squeeze

A7

58 C- FB 7 r-37-

AbF DE G7G9

61 C-C-a C-7 C-6

Swing >

,,,, x x x x x

Example. continued

to adaptthetrumpeto theneedsoftheexpanding ineteenth-centuryrchestraystrivingor smooth, ventimbrecross hewholerange f the nstrument,ne thatwouldbe consistentt alldynamicevels. n contrast,heeighteenth-centuryrumpetarts fJ. . Bach makeuseof the nconsistenciesf the nstruments Bachknew t. On thetrumpetsf that ime, very otehada differenttimbre nda differentegree fstability;achcarefullyxploitedthese haracteristics,singweaker r fuzzierotes nharmonicallystrainedassages ndreturningo cadencewith hemost loriouslysolidnoteson the nstrument.layersfthe timedeveloped veryflexibleechniques well,practicing great arietyfarticulations,workingo make heir inesuneven ndmusicallyubtle."37ll ofthiswasundone n thenineteenthentury,s both nstrumentsndpeda-

gogy ecame tandardizedor heneedsofthesymphonyrchestra. sa consequence,azztrumpetlayersikeMilesDavishave hadto wres-tle with n instrumenthatwasliterally esignedo frustrateheirattemptsoproduce widevarietyftimbres.38

Throughouthesolo,Davisusesanother iskyechnique; ehalf-valves-depressesvalveonlypart f thewaydown,whichpro-ducesa split, nfocusedirstream-to reate varietyftimbresndeffects.n mm. 10 and 11,half-valvingscombinedwithdissonant









65 A

bD

~

0G7 79 C-

B?-7 A768 X Ab6 F-7 Bb7

V> -

MIla

71 E6 D G769 C-atin Swing 3 x

sca e23-3-23x x x x x x x x

scramblex - halfvalvednote

- swallowed, urbled,rornamentedote

Example. continued

pitchesndhalting,ragmentedhythmshat reate temporaryenseofdislocation.nother alf-valvedlide lurs hebeginningf ref-erence o the riginal elodyn m.12. Afterisunnervingilenceduringhemajoreventhhordnthenextmeasure-anmportantpoint f rrivalnthe ong-Davisusesa grace ote nd slightalf-valveo make hehigh oint f hephraseeem elicatelyirtuosicm. 14).A quick eprisef heriskybend inishesff hephrase,ndwe must ait lmost womeasures

for nothertterancerom avis.When tcomes,henext hraseontrastsharplyith heprevi-ous tatement,or ts limb s oud ndbrash,eaturingo fewerhanthree racked otesn twomeasures.suspecthat he ast f hesewasdonedeliberatelyomake he ther wo eem hematicnretro-spect. his s notuncommonmongazzmusicians,ho refree osignifyn themusichey'velayedust econdsefore,.mproviserscan commentn what hey ave ust layedy pontaneouslyepeat-

ing, mbellishing,nddevelopingheir estdeas.But azzmusicianscanalsoengage ith heirmost nfelicitoushrases;lthoughheycannot eunplayed,heyan be resituatedndreinterpretedy ubse-quent tatements.helonious onkwasparticularlydept tusingmusical ccidents s material or evelopmentnd elaboration. ut,ofcourse,azzmusicians ary reatlyn their ttitudesbout uchthings.Many bhor echnicalmperfectionsnd strive o avoiduncontrollednoises.Some,like MonkorDavis,play nways hat reate uch









unforeseenounds,hough

onk eemedofind hemascinatingwhile avis implycceptedhem sconsequencesf heway e

played.I do notmean osuggesthat aviswantedomakemistakes,r

that e wasnotbotheredy hem. e had bsorbed dislike f ech-nicalfailingsrom anyources,ncludingisfirstrumpetero,Harryames, howasfamousor is tylishhrasingndflawlesstechnique.ndwhen avishadto choosemong ariousakes fterrecordingession,e is said o have nvariablyickedhe ne with

thefewest istakes.39et,Davishasalsobeen uotedssaying,"When heymake ecordsith ll themistakesn,as well s therest,then hey'll eallymakeazzrecords.fthemistakesren'there,oo,it ain'tnone fyou."40Despite isdislike ffailure,avis onstantlyandconsistentlyuthimselftriskn his rumpetlayingyusingloose, lexiblembouchurehat elped im oproducegreat arietyoftone olorsnd rticulations,y trivingor ramaticesturesratherhan onsistentemonstrationfmastery,ndby xperiment-

ingwith nconventionalechniques.deally,ewouldlwayslay nthe dge ndnevermiss;npractice,eplayedloserothe dgethan nyonelse nd implycceptedhe nevitable issteps,everretreatingo a safer, oreonsistenterformingtyle.

Afterheglaringclams" fmm.17and18,Davisreturnsitha soft odtothe riginal elodyf MyFunny alentine"nthefollowingwomeasures.he next ick gain oes eyondhe lassicalboundariesf rumpetechniqueyusingnalternateingeringoproduce differentimbrend lightlyowpitch. avisplays lazytripletfD's,thefirstnd astwith henormalingeringpen, utthemiddle newithhe hirdalve.Anotherurt odto themelodysets pa tremendousilence, chargedapof lmost hree ullmea-sures. enryouisGates,Jr.,none ofhisfewxplicitommentsnAfrican-Americanusic,xplainsow uch pause an be under-stood ssignifyin':

[A] greatmusicianften ries o makemusical hraseshat reelastic.in heirformalroperties.hese elastic hrasestretchheform ather han rticulate

the form. ecause he formsself-evidentothemusician, othhe and hiswell-trainedudience replayingnd istening ith xpectation. ignifyin(g)disappointshese xpectations;aesuras,rbreaks,chieve hesamefunction.Thisform fdisappointmentreates dialogue etweenwhat he istenerexpects nd what he artist lays.Whereasyounger,essmaturemusiciansaccentuate hebeat,more ccomplished usicianso nothavetodo so. Theyfeelfree o implyt.4'

To create pauseofsuch ength uringne ofthe most ensehar-monicmoments f thesong s,

amongther

hings,avis's confident









assertionfhis taturesa soloist.Would naudience ait agerly

throughuch pause or lessermusician? ould lessermusiciandare ofind ut?Davis ndulgesn that ort fmanipulationhatstheprerogativef hevirtuosond tthe ame ime llustratesisfreedomromavingo articulatell of he hords;ather,he hordsare heresa fieldponwhich esignifies.

Ina deviationromhe tandard2-measureorm,odgersndHart xtendedhefinal sectionf MyFunny alentine" ithnextra ourmeasuresbeyondheusual ight).ntheninthmeasurefthis ectionm. 33),we can hearDavis ignal, ith single air fnotes, doublingf he empo, hichs mmediatelyicked pbythe thermusicians. high ip, olidlyn thedownbeat,ets heirattention,ndthe ubtlewingftwo ight-notesn the econd eatisenougho cuetheband o shiftempo. heeighth-notesre ig-nifin'n theprevioushythmiceel ndcannot e contained ithinit,thus romptinghe hange.42y tartinghenew hythmiceelfourmeasureseforehe tart f new horus,avis uts gainstheregularityfthe ong's ormallan,building omentumt what

should e themost redictableointnthe ong, he urnaroundntothenext horus, herehemelodyelaxes. hathesucceedsnspark-ing ncreasedngagementith he udiences clear romheirponta-neous pplause ere,nthemiddle fhis olo.

Davisbeginshe econd horusfhis olowith strikingon-trast, splatteredigh ote ollowedy ne thatsneatlyndpre-cisely lacedm. 37). Thefirstote omescrosss a scream,particularlyince t son the ense inth egreeD over minor);

the econd otenot

onlyesolves

armonicallyo the

onic,ut lso

resolveshegesturefwildnessith demonstrationf ontrol.re-ciseplacementf venmore issonantotesnthefollowingeasureemphasizeavis'swillfulnessnd trength,sheclashes eliberatelywithheharmonicontext.

The thirdmeasurefthis horusm. 39) isa mess. lear, is-tinctlyitchedotes re lmost hollybsent.Whatwehear saraucous,omplexscendingesture.aviskeeps is mbouchureeryloose nduses reathccents n thehigherotes oshape he ine.

What esultssindeterminatenpitch ut hetoricallylear. t isachaotic,lmostrantic,limb hat rieflyhootsast he onic otheflat inth egree, hen pinsback to thetonic nddown n octavebywayofa deft lipntobluesier errain. gain,Davis is less nterestedinarticulatingitches han nsignifyin';he twohalvesof thisphraseare ndialogue, hemessycramble pwardnsweredythecasual,simple eturn. heir uxtapositionurthersursenseofDavis'splayful,adventurous, ultifaceted,ometimestrained,utultimatelyapable









character.43avisdoesnotpresent

is udiences ithproduct,polishednd nvitingdmiration;e hear nstead dramaticrocess

ofcreationromavis s fromew thers. nd s we isten, ecanexperiencehese eelingsfplayfulness,omplexity,truggle,ndcompetences our wn.

For henext evenmeasures,avisworksrimarilyith hythm;hisphrasesre implendexquisitelywung,ndheplaces ubstantialpausesnbetweenhem o that herhythmectionanbeheardswingingnresponse.kippinghead,we hearhim oing omething

similart the tartf he astA sectionm.61),creatingspace ordialogueust efore e ascendsnto series f tratosphericcreechesthatmust ave urprisedhose ritics hohave nsistedhat avis saweak rumpetlayer ith limitedange. he solo ndsm.74)witha series ffadinguarterotes nthebeat, itchednDavis'smid-range, dissonantritoneway romhe onic; nappoggiaturaothblurs ndemphasizesachnote,makinghe ndofhis olo eem nig-matic nd nconclusive.

Characterizingavis's tyles "pridefuloneliness,"at Hentoffhasarguedhat avis's owersa soloist asdueto his relentlessprobingf he ong, fhimselfndof heresourcesfhishorn.There s alsothe onstantrawingfmelodicndemotionalinesas taut spossibleeforehe ensionsreleasednly obuild pagain.Andtherestheunabashedensualityftone, ogetheriththe cute leasuref urprisingneselfnmusic."4Hentoff'som-mentsre ertainlyvocativefwhat have alled ignifyin'nDavis'smusic. ndBenSidran's ook bout ralitynAfrican-

American usicimilarlyirectsur ttentionowardhedialogicaspectsf azz, s doLeRoiJones'slues eoplendChristopherSmall'sMusic f he ommonongue:urvivalndCelebrationnAfro-Americanusic.45

Such rguments,owever,eem ot o havebeenverynfluen-tialuponazz cholarship;ithhe xceptionfHentoff,hesewritersarenotoftenited n azzbibliographies.46thinkhe eason or hishasbeen he ack f ttentionithinazz cholarshipndcriticismo

articulatinginksmonghe mpressionsf isteners,he echniquesfmusicians,ndthe ctual oundshat esult. illCole remarkedfthis olothat avis holds is isteners'nterestyplayingveryoteas if twere hemostmportantotehe would ver lay. tis thisintensityhat sso persuasivenhisplaying."'47hisarguments itselfpersuasive,uthowdo weactually earan abstractualityike"intensity"?aryTomlinson asnicely escribedthe technical evo-lution roughto thetrumpetyblackAmericans, revolutionhattoppled heprimArbanmethodsndmilitaryrecisionfVictorian









comet irtuososndbroke ide pen he xpressiveangef he

instrument."omlinsonoes n tosay pecificallyfMilesDavis,"thepowerfhisvisionwas uch hat ecouldmake venhisfamouscrackedndfluffedotes convincingxpressivespect f t."48 ikeGaryGiddins,omlinsonstryingovalorizespectsfDavis's erfor-mances hat scape onventionalccounts;ikeGiddins'sttempt,though,t hasabout t the irof nexcuse,nd tappealso a fairlymistyotion f vision." utmostmportant,one f hese om-mentsreverypecific usically;azz riticismas acked etailedanalysesf pecificerformanceshat rticulateinksmongeactions,theories,erformancehoices,ndtechnicaletails.

My nalysisf MyFunny alentine"scertainlyot xhaustive;itfocuseselectivelyncertainspectsfone solo norder omakenumberfmethodologicalnd nalyticaloints. havepresentedtas anexamplef kind f nalysishat akes s nto henotes utacknowledgeshe entralityfrhetoric,hat eads s nto he reesbut lso ees heforest.hevalue f theoryf ignifyin'sthattcanhelpdirect ur ttentionoaspectsf azzperformancendrecep-

tion hat avenotbeen ogentlyddressed,nd thelps rovidelanguageor oingo.Bygroundingis heorynAfrican-Americanpractices,utnot imitingts pplicabilityoAfrican-Americanul-ture, ateshelps sgain newperspectivenmany ifferentulturalpractices.

Prevalent ethodsf azz nalysis,orrowedromhe oolboxfmusicology,rovidexcellent eans oregitimatingazz nthe cad-emy. ut heyre learlynadequateo the ask fhelpingsto

understandazz ndtoaccountor tspowero affect anyeopledeeply--issueshat ughto becentralor riticalcholarshipf azz.They ffernly kind fmystified,historical,ext-basedegitimacywithin hich hetoricnd ignifyin're nvisible.uchmethodsan-not opewithheproblemfMilesDavis: hemissedotes,hechargedauses,he echnicalisk-taking,hewhole hallengefexplainingow his owerfulusic orksnd"how"tmeans.

Whymustt beexplained?ecausetwill e, somehow,navoid-ably.Artisticxperiencesrenever nmediatedy heoreticalssump-tions,whetherositivistrformalist,ystifyingrsignifyin'.ndhowwe thinkbout avis's oloon"MyFunny alentine"as mpli-cations ar eyond urresponseo thisparticularerformance.hework f Miles Davis seems orepudiateonventional otions f aes-thetic istance nd insists hatmusic s lessa thing han n activity;hismusic tself rovideshemost loquent rgumentor nalysis oopenitself p to issues fgesturendperformativity.he problemfMiles Davis is that ftechnical erfections assumed o be a universal









andprimaryoal,

hedeliberateffortsfmusiciansikeDavis o takechances re nvisible,ndtheiremioticuccessesre naudible.findividualityndoriginalityrefetishized,ignifyin's ost, ort sfundamentallyialogicnddepends pon he nteractionmongmusi-cians, heirudiences,ndthe xperiencesndtextsheyxchange.

For xample,ne ofDavis's iographersssertedhat he MyFunny alentine"olodemonstratesnoreadilypparentogic,"whileanother axednthusiasticbout ts dramaticnnerogic." achcritic oundt a powerfullyovingerformance,utbothacked n

analyticalocabularyhat ould o usticeo their erceptions.49Pianist hickCoreamuses,Miles' olos rereallynterestingo ookat on music aper, ecausehere'sothingothem. n a Trane oloorCharlie arkerolo,you anstringhenotes ut nd ee allthesephrasesndharmonicdeas, atterns,llkinds fthings. ilesdoesn't sepatterns.e doesn'ttringotes ut. t'sweird.Withoutthe xpression,ndwithouthefeelingeputsnto t,there'sothingthere."50orea's ommentsramatizeheproblemsf ccountingor

therhetoricalowerf spectsfDavis's erformanceshat scapeconventionalotationndtheorization.MilesDavis nce aid, Sometimesou un utofnotes. he

notesust isappearndyouhave oplay sound."51he title f hisessayakes s a motto avis's nsistencehatmusicalreativityeednotbe limitedy bstractionsuch snotes,nd tsignals call forcriticsnd cholars ot o allow uch onceptsoconstrainheirork.Musicalnalystseed oconfronthe hallengesf ignifyin',hereal-lifeialogicluxfmeaning,ever roundablena foundational-ist pistemology,ut lwaysroundedna web f ocial ractices,histories,nddesires. odernismndclassicismannot ake s ntonotes,where hoices nddetailsignify,or utofnotes, nto hatriskyhetoricalerrain ilesDavisnevertoppedxploring.

Notes

Earlier ersionsf thispaperwereperformeds lecture-demonstrationst the African-

AmericanMusicForum, niversityfMichigan,Apr.26, 1990;the ASPM confer-enceinNewOrleans,May1, 1990;McGillUniversity,an.31, 1992;andtheUniversityfCalifornia-Riverside,ar. 11, 1992. Thisarticle asbenefitedrom hecommentsndquestionsftheaudiences t thosepresentationsnd frommy orre-spondencewithKrinGabbard ndChristophermall. amgratefulor hecorrec-tions ndchallengesssued ytheanonymouseviewernd toJohn uterbaughorsettingmy ranscriptionfthe music.

1. Nat Hentoff,AnAfternoon ithMilesDavis," ned. Martin . Williams azzPanorama:romhe ages f he azz eviewNewYork: a Capo,1979),162.









2. ImportantributesppearednDown eatDec. 1991),MusicianDec. 1991),

andRollingtone14Nov.1991).3. MusicianDec. 1991): .

4. Frankirro, azz:A HistoryNewYork:W.W.Norton,977), 54.Tirro oesmentionusion,utwithoutnyhint hat t was ontroversialrthat twas nythingother han aturalvolution.oachim. Berendt,heJazz ook: rom agtimeoFusionndBeyondWestport,T: Lawrenceill,1982);Mark . Gridley,azzStyles: istoryndAnalysis,th d. (Englewoodliffs,J: rentice-Hall,991),219-51;DonaldD. Megill,ndRichard. Demory,ntroductionoJazz istory(Englewoodliffs,J: renticeall,1989),159-71.

5. MyFunnyalentine:iles avisnConcertColumbiaS 9106).This s a liverecordingf performancet Philharmonicall nNewYork ity, eb.12,1964.Davis erformedith eorge oleman, erbie ancock, onCarter,ndTonyWilliams.ee Howardrofsky,Miles avis ndMyFunnyalentine:heEvolutionof Solo,"BlackMusic esearchournal1983):23-34; ndBillCole,Miles avis:AMusicaliographyNewYork:William orrow,985), 39-41. anCarr'sranscrip-tion s much etternthis espect;ee anCarr,Miles avis:A Criticaliography(London: aladin, 982), 06-7.Whilemost riticsefero "missedotes"r"crackedotes,"rumpetlayershemselvesend oprefer oreolorful,nomato-

poeic erms,uch s"spleeah,"clam,"r frack."6. Cole, 127,129.

7. Gary iddins,hythm-a-ning:azz raditionnd nnovationnthe80s NewYork:Oxfordniversityress,985), 9,84.

8. Jamesincoln ollier, heMakingfJazz:A ComprehensiveistoryNewYork:Dell,1978), 35.

9. HenryouisGates, r., he ignifyingonkey: TheoryfAfrican-AmericanLiteraryriticismNewYork: xfordniversityress,988).

10. John . Murphy,Jazzmprovisation:heJoyf nfluence,"heBlack erspec-tivenMusic 8,nos.1-2 (1990):7-19.Gary omlinson,CulturalialogicsndJazz: White istorianignifies,"nDiscipliningusic:Musicologynd tsCanons,ed.KatherineergeronndPhilip . BohlmanChicago: niversityfChicagoPress,992), 4-94.Samuel . Floyd, r., Ring hout iterarytudies, istoricalStudies,ndBlackMusicnquiry,"lackMusic esearchournal1:2 Fall 1991),265-87.Floyd'sinessayctuallyppearedong ftertspublicationate,whenmyarticlead argelyeen ompleted.isreadingfGates ndhis nalyticalocusiffersomewhatrom ine, ut ur oals re uite imilar.ee alsoKrin abbard,Signify-in(g) hePhallus: o' Betterlues ndRepresentationsf heJazz rumpet,"inema

Journal2,no. 1 (Fall1992): 3-62.11. "Signification"lsohasthe dvantagefpreservinghe tatic,oundationalistcharacterf he heoriesfmeaningowhich ates efers,hilesignifyin'retainsthevernacularocus nagency.12. See Mikhail . Bakhtin,heDialogicmaginationAustin: niversityfTexasPress,981). tmight,eem hatemioticsould ehighlyelevantomusicaligni-fyin',ut cholarsorkingnthe rea fmusicalemioticsave ypicallyssumedthat heproductionfmusical eanings a matterf emantics,ollowinglder









modelsevelopedy tructuralistinguistics,rtheyemainied oa foundationalistepistemologyhat sunable ocopewith he ocial nd ontestedroductionfmean-ings. ee,forxample, ean-Jacquesattiez, usicndDiscourse:owardSemiologyofMusicPrinceton:rincetonniversityress,990).

13. Houston . Baker, r.,HandlingCrisis': reat ooks, apMusic,nd heEnd fWesternomogeneityReflectionsn theHumanitiesnAmerica),"allaloo13 Spring990):183;Ralph llison,hadowndActNewYork: andom ouse,1964), 49.

14. Guntherchuller,The nfluencefJazzntheHistoryndDevelopmentfConcert usic,"n NewPerspectivesnJazz,d. DavidN. BakerWashington:Smithsoniannstitutionress,990), -24.15. OilyWilson,The nfluencefJazzn theHistoryndDevelopmentfConcertMusicresponse],"nNewPerspectivesnJazz, 5-31.

16. Amiri araka,Jazzriticismnd tsEffectn theArt orm,"nNewPerspec-tivesnJazz, 0.

17. See Lawrence . Levine, ighbrow/Lowbrow:heEmergencefCulturalierar-chynAmericaCambridge:arvardniversityress,988).

18. Hasanyoneoticedhat heNewGroveictionaryfJazzed.Barryernfeld,

[New ork: rove's ictionariesfMusic, 988]) ontainso articlesnderny fthese eadings:Analysis,"History,"Historiography,"Criticism,"Audiences,""Fans," Concerts,"Africanusic,"r Afro-Americanusic"?

19. See Andreasuyssen,fterhe reat ivide: odernism,assCulture,ostmod-ernismBloomington:ndiana niversityress,986).

20. Schuller,0.See alsoGroverales,Jazz:America'slassical usicEnglewoodCliffs,J: renticeall,1984).

21. WilliamBilly" aylor,Jazz:merica'slassicalMusic," heBlack erspectiveinMusic 4,no. 1 (Winter 986): 1.

22. Taylor,Jazzn theContemporaryarketplace:rofessionalndThird-SectorEconomictrategiesor heBalance f heCentury,"nNewPerspectivesnJazz, 9.

23. As Martin. Williamsointsut, Jazzot nly xalts he ndividualindinghis sic]wnway,talsoplaces imna fundamental,ynamic,ndnecessaryco-operationith isfellows." artin. Williams,heJazz radition,ev. d.(Oxford:xfordniversityress,983), 56.Comparehe ndividualist,onologicunderstandingf azz nTedGioia,The mperfectrt:ReflectionsnJazzndModemrnCultureNewYork: xfordniversityress,988). ee also he riticaleviewfGioia's ook

yDavidHorn,n

Popularusic 0,no. 1 (1991):103-7.

24. See,forxample,rankirro,ConstructivelementsnJazzmprovisation,"Journalf he mericanusicologicalociety7 Summer974): 85-305; ewis or-ter,Johnoltrane's Love upreme:azzmprovisationsComposition,"ournalfthe mericanusicologicalociety8 (1985):593-621; ndGuntherchuller,SonnyRollinsndtheChallengefThematicmprovisation,"nMusings:heMusicalWorldsfGuntherchullerNewYork: xfordniversityress,986), 6-97 orig.publ. n TheJazz eview,ov.1958).

25. Andre odeir,azz:tsEvolutionnd ssence,ev. d. NewYork: rove ress,1979), 2.Virtuallyhewhole raditionfmusicologicalnalysisf azz, rom in-









thropargeantn,hasbeen aughtetweenhe dmissionhatazz sdifferentromclassicalmusic

andprobablynferior)nd hedesire o

egitimateazz ccordingo

the riteriaommonlysed oanalyzelassical usic. azzcholarsave ongneglectedheirpportunitieso earnbout hedifferentremisesndvaluesmpha-sizedn African-Americanultureromcholarsndtheoristsf hat ulture.

26. See Guntherchuller,arly azz:tsRootsndMusicalevelopmentNewYork:Oxfordniversityress,968), h. 1.For noverviewfdiscussionsfAfricanretentionsn African-Americanusic,ee Portia . Maultsby,AfricanismsnAfrican-Americanusic,"nAfricanismsnAmericanulture,d.Joseph. Holloway(Bloomington:ndiana niversityress,990),185-210.

27.Schuller,

hewing

ra:TheDevelopmentfJazz,

930-1945New

York:Oxfordniversityress,989),199, 3,andpassim.hus,when chulleroastsflisteningoover 0,000 ecordingshilewritinghis ook, nemightsk, Butwhatwashe isteningor"

28. EvenJohn ennari, ho riticizeschullerortrippingwayhe ultural ean-ings f azz,nonethelessreditsimwith aving roducedomprehensivendpreciseanalysesf hemusic;eeJohn ennari,Jazzriticism:tsDevelopmentnd deolo-gies," lack mericaniteratureorum5(Fall 1991): 49-523.

29. Stanleyrouch,Jazzriticismnd tsEffectn theArt ormresponse],"nNew

PerspectivesnJazz,

6.

30. Robertalmer,TheManWhoChanged usic," ollingtone,4Nov.1991, 1.

31. Gates, x.

32. Firstssuedn ColumbiaS-8242, his ecordinglso ppearsnthe mithso-nianCollection mericanopularongSmithsoniannstitutionndCBS,RD-031).Most f he ommentshat ollowould pplyust s well oFrankinatra'secordingonSongsor oungoversCapitol, 954).

33. SeeBrofskyor comparisonf hree ifferenterformancesyDavis f My

Funnyalentine."

34. Wemightay hat he arly ebopmusiciansereignifyin'nTin PanAlleypopularongs henheytrippedwayhemelody,oubledhe empo,nd xploredtheharmonicossibilitiesheyoundn such unes s"I GotRhythm"nd Chero-kee."Butbebop ractice ould ave een ogive My unnyalentine"newmel-ody ndnot cknowledgehat he une ad ny onnectionith opularong. avis,when e used in PanAlleyongs,lwaysaid o,makinghe ignifyin'ess rivateand soteric, orexplicitndpopular.eeW.T. Lhamon,r., eliberatepeed: heOriginsf Culturaltylenthe merican950sWashington:mithsoniannstitutionPress,990),172-73.

35. My ranscriptionsprovidedsa guideo the nalysishat ollows.heanalysis,though,s based n the oundsf heperformance,ot he ightf he ranscription.It shouldeclear hat haveno illusionsbout he apacityfmusicalotationorepresentusicalerformancesompletelyr ccurately.have ried,owever,ofurnishtranscriptionhat cknowledgests wn imitations,nethat ecordsheexistencef spectsf heperformancehat renotnotatablerthatreusuallyver-lookedy nalysis.ven o,anenormousmountf mportantusicalnformationsleftut, speciallyuancesfpitchndtimbre.ote hekey ospecialymbolshatappearst the ndof he ranscription355).









36. Pitchesregivent concertitch,o asto matchhe ranscription.trumpetplayer ould hinkf his ote sa B-flat.37. See RobertWalser,MusicalmageryndPerformanceracticenJ. . Bach'sAriaswith rumpet,"nternationalrumpetuild ournal3,no. 1 (Sept.1988):62-77.

38. Davis scertainlyot he nly rumpetlayero wrestle ith he nstrumentnthisway. or xample,harleschlueter,rincipalrumpetf heBostonymphonyOrchestra,asthroughoutis areertruggledoproducegreat angef imbres.Schlueter'sxperimentsithquipmentndhisriskylayingechniquesnd nterpre-tations avemade im erhapshemost ontroversialrumpetlayernAmerican

orchestralircles.ikeDavis,he hasoftenmissed ore otes hanmanyhink eshould,uthisrisks ave lsopaid ffnunsurpassedlyichndbeautifulerfor-mances. n the ontroversiesurroundingchlueter,eeCarlA. Vigeland,nCon-cert: nstagendOffstageithhe ostonymphonyrchestraAmherst:niversityfMassachusettsress,991).

39. Berendtites nnamedrecordingirectors"ho green this oint84). OnDavis's dmirationor arry ames,eeMiles aviswith uincy roupe, iles: heAutobiographyNewYork: imonndSchuster,990), 2.

40. Ralph .Gleason,elebratinghe ukeBoston:ittle,rown,ndCo., 1975), 34.

41. Gates, 23.

42. It squite ossiblehat his empohange asplanned,rthat t was t east noptionhatmay avebeen hosennpreviouserformances,ut t s made ofeelspontaneous,o seemmusicallyued yDavis.

43. Krin abbardites his olo sa perfectxamplefhowDavis lternatedstronglyhallic esturesithmomentsfpost-phalliculnerability.eeGabbard,0.

44. Hentoff,Liner otes orMiles avis'sMyFunnyalentine"Columbia,964)."Pridefuloneliness"s fromentoff,azzs (NewYork: andom ouse, 976),141.

45. BenSidran, lack alkNewYork: a Capo,1983);LeRoiJones,lues eople(NewYork:William orrow,963);Christophermall,Music f he ommonTongue:urvivalndCelebrationnAfro-AmericanusicNewYork: iverrunress,1987). ee alsoAmiri arakaLeRoi ones],Miles avis:One of heGreatMotherFuckers,"nTheMusic: eflectionsnJazzndBlues,d. AmirindAmina araka(NewYork:William orrow,987), 90-301.

46. For xample, artinWilliams'sibliographyor he mithsonianollectionfClassic azz,evisedd. (1987) gnoresidranndJones,s does he ntryn"Jazz"in theNewGrove ictionaryfMusic ndMusicians1980).

47. Cole,156.

48. Tomlinson,0-91.

49. See EricNisenson,ound bout idnight:PortraitfMiles avisNewYork:DialPress,982),187; ndCarr, 75.TheothermportantiographyfDavis(besides ole's) sJack hambers'silestones:heMusicndTimesfMiles avis(NewYork: uill,1985), tremendousompilationffactsndquotes,ut bookthat ffersittlenalysisf hemusicnd tsmeanings.arryemfeld'sdderly,ol-








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