Jazz by Miles Davis and Reflection

Miles Davis and the Jazz Mentality

The Miles Davis Autobiography documents the life of an extraordinary individual revered not only for his development of jazz in some of the most innovative styles but also for his presence as a preeminent black artist and member of the black community. Therefore the ideas he touches on throughout his work reverberate further than musical and historiographical significance, they provide a basis from which to process and imbue the idea of black voice and tradition in the creation of a crucial aspect of American culture.  One of the important themes emphasized by Miles Davis then in his autobiography is his perception and his experience with the issues of race surrounding jazz and the black music community. His views pertaining to the effects of race on jazz music and musicians offer an in-depth perspective that I myself have not had previously in my experience with jazz music, and therefore embodies for me an education in an increased exposure to a more sophisticated dialogue about jazz music and black culture.

Throughout my life I have been interested and exposed to jazz music, from the time of when I was a child and my mother played John Coltrane and Miles Davis jazz in the house during the evenings, to when I began playing jazz in a small middle school combo, and up until now as I have continued playing jazz and become more versed in the vernacular of the jazz idiom and style. However, I had not yet had any experience or exposure to the racial themes that are strongly interwoven into the jazz story. While I had some historical knowledge of the musical styles and performers, I lacked the racial and cultural perspective from which to observe it. My preconceived notions on jazz were somewhat comprised of naiveté, as I had assumed that jazz was an art and a process free from racial prejudices and tension, while still maintaining a rich racial heritage. Therefore the education I have received from this class, epitomized in Miles’ thoughts on race, allowed me to overcome this line of thought and realize the integral nature race and race identity play in jazz, and understand the cultural weight and beauty jazz truly carries.

In his work, Miles references race relations and conceptions of jazz several times. One of these is his experience at the Juilliard school, where he went to study music while trying to embark upon the jazz scene with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. His experience at Juilliard reinforced his desires to pursue black music with “Bird” and “Diz” rather than the white music at Juilliard, “At Juilliard, after it was all over, all I was going to know was a bunch of white styles; nothing new. And I was just getting mad and embarrassed with their prejudice and shit” (Miles, 59). Miles makes a clear distinction between white and black music as non-homogenous styles, and also clearly realizes the uninformed prejudice that made up the white world of music. However this distinction he makes is not completely true, as he himself even criticizes the dogma of separation later on, “It's like a ghetto mentality telling people that they aren't supposed to do certain things, that those things are only reserved for white people. When I would tell other musicians about all this, they would just kind of shine me on” (Miles, 61).  The two sides of this argument expressed by one person exemplifies the unclear and complicated nature of race in jazz, and overall induced me to reassess how I understand the music, the culture, and community.

Commented On: Alex Fuessel