Fyffe, Jamie Robert (2017) Kind of Blue and the Signifyin(g) Voice of Miles Davis. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/8066/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten:Theses http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Kind of Blue and the Signifyin(g) Voice of Miles Davis Jamie Robert Fyffe Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Culture and Creative Arts College of Arts University of Glasgow October 2016 Abstract Kind of Blue remains one of the most influential and successful jazz albums ever recorded, yet we know surprisingly few details concerning how it was written and the creative roles played by its participants. Previous studies in the literature emphasise modal and blues content within the album, overlooking the creative principle that underpins Kind of Blue – repetition and variation. Davis composed his album by Signifyin(g), transforming and recombining musical items of interest adopted from recent recordings of the period. This thesis employs an interdisciplinary framework that combines note-based observations with intertextual theory. It maps out the intertextual associations of each piece on Kind of Blue, illuminating Davis’s creative practice and more generally, Signifyin(g) in jazz. The study presents a more rounded account of the trumpeter, identifying Significations that possess a transformative power indicative of his idiosyncratic voice. This derives from the trumpeter’s skill in recognising the musical potential implicit in each borrowed item. Davis employed varied modes of revision in response to each insight, which nevertheless exhibit common traits – simplicity/neatness of approach, economical use of materials and revisional instinct. The study catches Davis in the act of revising musical tradition, as the trumpeter renegotiates African-American traditional forms using contemporary jazz devices. Some tracks exhibit “indirection” by saying one thing but meaning another. Thus, while the bluesy vamps of “All Blues” appear to affirm the blues tradition, a series of intertextual readings reveal a hidden dialogue concerning the mutability of style, as musical items traverse stylistic boundaries with ease courtesy of Davis’s Signifyin(g) voice. 1 Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................... 1 Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. 2 List of Diagrams ................................................................................................................ 5 List of Figures ................................................................................................................... 6 List of Tables .................................................................................................................... 8 Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... 9 Author’s Declaration ...................................................................................................... 10 Chapter One: Introduction .............................................................................................. 11 Miles Davis, Signifyin(g) and Kind of Blue ............................................................................ 12 Situating the Study within Recent Literature ................................................................... 13 Antecedent of the Study .................................................................................................. 18 Signifyin(g) in Jazz ............................................................................................................. 19 Structure of the Thesis ......................................................................................................... 21 Chapter Two: Literature Review...................................................................................... 23 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 23 Part One: Musical Analysis and Kind of Blue ........................................................................ 25 Melodic Coherence and Modality .................................................................................... 26 Transformed Blues Language ........................................................................................... 31 Part Two: Alternative Forms of Evidence ............................................................................. 36 Non-Critical Use of Testimony .......................................................................................... 37 Recording Outtakes and Sketches .................................................................................... 39 Jazz Myth and New Jazz Studies ....................................................................................... 41 Part Three: Intertextual Theory and Davis ........................................................................... 43 The Monkey Tales ............................................................................................................. 44 Signifyin(g) and the Music of Davis .................................................................................. 47 The Intertextual Theory of Gates ..................................................................................... 51 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 61 Chapter Three: Methodology .......................................................................................... 63 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 63 2 Research Questions .............................................................................................................. 64 Identifying Potential Predecessors ....................................................................................... 65 Existing Intertextual Accounts .......................................................................................... 65 Contemporaries of Davis .................................................................................................. 67 Compositions by Davis and Evans .................................................................................... 69 Transcribing and Notating Excerpts ..................................................................................... 73 The Value of Transcription ............................................................................................... 73 Equipment and Techniques .............................................................................................. 74 Key Issues Faced ............................................................................................................... 76 Analytical Approach and the Role of Theory ....................................................................... 79 Transcription-Comparison ................................................................................................ 79 Learning from Existing Analyses ....................................................................................... 81 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 84 Chapter Four: The Blues in Kind of Blue ........................................................................... 86 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 86 Transcription-Comparison 1: “Milestones” ......................................................................... 87 Trombone Backing-Figures ............................................................................................... 88 Triadic Horn-Voicings........................................................................................................ 90 Transcription-Comparison 2: “All Blues” .............................................................................. 96 Boogie-woogie Piano ........................................................................................................ 97 Signifyin(g) the Blues ...................................................................................................... 103 Chapter Five: Modal Compositions ............................................................................... 107 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 107 Transcription-Comparison 3: “So What” ............................................................................ 108 Beyond Modality ...........................................................................................................