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Music for
Grown-Ups Newsletter
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03/12/2003 Miles Davis' and Gil Evans' Porgy and Bess - a modern jazz classic
BBC Radio 2 is a rather schizophrenic station. Much of its output is middlebrow poprock pap targeted at the lazy-minded middle aged. But some of the evening output, especially the occasional series of built programmes, has a wider remit, and is frequently outstanding. Praiseworthy series in recent years have included an exhaustive ten-parter, The Bob Dylan Story, and an appropriately respectful six-part series, Miles Davis - Ten Years On, fronted by Ravi Coltrane. A new series, Modern Jazz Classics, narrated by Branford Marsalis, which started last night, will also gather lots of accolades. The first programme was an in-depth study of Miles Davis' and Gil Evans' 1958 interpretation of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. In a 2001 survey of some of his keenest fans, ranking the favourite Miles Davis albums, Porgy and Bess only managed a lowly seventeenth place, indicating that its orchestral jazz style is more popular in crossover than hardcore circles. With a tight script, a couple of well-informed contributors and some judicious musical extracts, Modern Jazz Classics explained just why Porgy and Bess is not only a best-seller, but also a critically important landmark for both of its headliners. The 30-minute broadcast was also a reminder that Miles played all the solo voices in the suite. And that, while the orchestra of 19 was mainly composed of classical musicians, it also included a trio of jazzers who were about to make history with Miles on an even more successful album - Canonball Adderley (tenor), Paul Chambers (bass) and Jimmy Cobb (drums). Marsalis' guest - a participant in the six recording sessions - reported how the project was so demanding that it made Miles' lips bleed. He also confided that Evans, "a poor conductor", would have preferred an extra session to iron out the kinks on the recording - Gone, in particular, has "some raggedy rhythmic moments". Miles's exploration of the harmonic palette, to convey the drama, passion, loss and tragedy of the piece, as well as its prayer-like invocation, was analysed in some depth. Many of those who heard this rewarding study of Porgy and Bess will now listen to the album anew, with increased receptivity. Like the best programmes in this genre, it made you eager to re-explore and re-evaluate the music. Subsequent programmes, to be aired at 9.30 pm on Tuesdays in December, apply the same treatment to seminal albums by Roland Kirk, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Wynton Marsalis.
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