St Paul's Music

Miles Davis: All Blues

 

Background

All blues is piece of jazz music by Miles Davis. It was released in 1959 on the the album "Kind of blue". it classed as modal jazz as it uses the G mixolydian mode.

 

Stylistic features

Improvisation, syncopation, irregular time signatures, extended harmony (7th chords), brushed drums, saxophones, trumpet

 

Instruments

Frontline: Trumpet, Alto Sax, Tenor sax

Backline: Piano, bass, drums

 

Structure

Based around a 12 bar blues

Head, trumpet solo 4 times, alto sax solo 4 times, tenor sax solo 4 times, piano 2 times, head/outro. Between each solo the head is replayed by the piano.

 

Harmony/Chords

12 bar blues in G, using altered chords.

G7///|////|////|////|

C7///|////|G7///|////|

D7///|Eb7#9///|G7///|////|    Bar 10 is altered from a chord of C

Saxophones play an interval of a third during the head (alto plays DEFE, tenor plays BCDC)

Piano plays a technique called "comping" which plays different voicings/loosely around the chords

 

Tonality

Modal=G mixolydian - GABCDEF

 

Time signature/Metre

6/4

 

Rhythm

Syncopated, swung

 

Texture

Homophonic

Melody and accompaniment (Piano plays a technique called "comping" which plays different voicings/loosely around the chords

 

Dynamics

The dynamics don’t vary much but as each solo progresses the dynamics tend to get a bit louder.

 

Melody

Head: Trumpet playing D and B. During each solo the solo instrument is the melody,it is improvised.

Within each solo the movement of melody is varied, some parts are in steps, some in leaps.