7 Miles Davis 7Free Jazz and Fusion
The early 1960s were transitional, less-innovative years
for Davis. He began forming another soon-to-be-classic
small group in late 1962 with bassist Ron Carter, pianist
Herbie Hancock, and teenage drummer Tony Williams;
tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter joined the lineup in
- Davis’s new quintet was characterized by a light, free
sound and a repertoire that extended from the blues to
avant-garde and free jazz. Compared with the innovations
of other modern jazz groups of the 1960s, the Davis quin-
tet’s experimentations in polyrhythm and polytonality
were more subtle but equally daring. Live at the Plugged
Nickel (1965), E.S.P. (1965), Miles Smiles (1966), and Nefertiti
(1967) were among the quintet’s timeless, influential
recordings. About the time of Miles in the Sky and Filles de
Kilimanjaro (both 1968), Davis began experimenting with
electronic instruments. With other musicians, including
keyboardists Chick Corea and Joe Zawinul and guitarist
John McLaughlin, Davis cut In a Silent Way (1969),
regarded as the seminal album of the jazz fusion move-
ment. It was considered by purists to be Davis’s last true
jazz album.
Davis won new fans and alienated old ones with the
release of Bitches Brew (1969), an album on which he
fully embraced the rhythms, electronic instrumenta-
tion, and studio effects of rock music. A cacophonous
kaleidoscope of layered sounds, rhythms, and textures,
the album’s influence was heard in such 1970s fusion
groups as Weather Report and Chick Corea’s Return to
Forever. Davis continued in this style for a few years,
with the album Live-Evil (1970) and the film sound track
A Tribute to Jack Johnson (1970) being particular
highlights.