Davis, Miles. (1926–1991)

"The Ghetto Walk" - Music Manuscript with Original Drawing

Autograph Musical Manuscript in scribal hand, 4 pp, on 2 bifoliate leaves of staff paper totaling 60 bars of melody, titled "Walk" at upper margin by Davis and additionally annotated by him with sketch of profile in ink, some creasing and thumbing. Together with 5 pp photocopy of score featuring 60 bars of melody and chord changes.

One of the tracks recorded for the groundbreaking "In A Silent Way," not released until the issue in 2001 of the "Complete In a Silent Way Sessions" box set from Columbia Records. "'In A Silent Way' was an astonishing step further towards a fusion of jazz and rock for Miles Davis, and for jazz in general, when it was released in 1969... It was a clarion call to forward-minded players and fans, a firm indication that the new music could indeed be successfully combined with the old. The following year Miles, in similar company, would issue the landmark Bitches Brew and forever change the jazz landscape....The three discs in this set contain sessions from a six-month period (September ’68 to February ’69) when Miles was experimenting heavily with electronic instrumentation in a jazz context....Disc 3 holds two special treasures. It opens with a long, blues-inflected stroll called “The Ghetto Walk” that’s worth the price of this set in itself. While the band perhaps doesn’t venture out very far, this extended jam gives everyone a chance to shine and explore the blues to the very depths of their imaginations. It’s fabulous as an exercise in tension and release alone, not to mention the excellent solos by McLaughlin and Shorter before the pace slows down at about nine minutes. The snail’s-pace sections, wherein Davis is especially featured, are rather reminiscent of Mingus’ 'Goodbye Porkpie Hat'." (Todd S. Jenkins, AllAbouJazz.com review, 6/1/2001)

Miles Davis was one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, a master of bebop, hard bop, cool jazz and fusion. Davis' long career spanned from the 1940s, when he played bebop with Charlie Parker, to the 1980s when he frequently played with British new wave bands and emerging hip hop artists. The Smithsonian Institute has a printed score of Summertime with small pencil annotations in Davis' hand, but actual musical manuscripts of Davis are exceedingly rare. (8062)

Manuscript Music Jazz