Guy Berger Posted November 5, 2004 Report Share Posted November 5, 2004 I've been listening to some of Booker Little's playing recently and it sounds like a bridge between more conventional hard bop trumpet playing and Miles's mid-late 60s playing. Any thoughts on whether Miles was listening to Booker (and Don Cherry) in the 60s and this influenced his style? Or maybe Booker had been incorporating Miles's sound with more advanced ideas that Miles ended up adopting, and that's where the similarity comes from? Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted November 6, 2004 Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 (edited) I've always felt that Booker ploughed very much his own furough. Obviously heavily influenced by Clifford Brown, Coltrane and (especially) Dolphy. A questing spirit that must owe quite a bit to the encouragements of Max Roach and a melancholy underlying all of his music which seems (sadly) very much his own. Edited November 6, 2004 by sidewinder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted November 6, 2004 Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 Well said! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mortsabite Posted November 6, 2004 Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 Ian Carr's Biog of Miles suggests that he was aware of Booker and Cherry in the mid 60s...ref: The Plugged N. period...although not sure how much he was actually influenced. I've always loved Booker's playing - a perect mix of great technique, fire, taste and pensiveness - a lot of which (to me) stems from a Kenny Dorham influence as much as Clifford's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trumpet Guy Posted November 6, 2004 Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 Sure Miles knew their playing.I recall a blindfold test where Miles criticizes Booker Little's "just running 8th- notes style".I think he wanted more articulation and space. I think in "Jazz Rock", Miles praises Cherry. He was impressed that Don Cherry could play on rhythm changes and stop his solo at the bridge. Kind of funny! Myself--I think Don Cherry did influence Miles' mid 60's playing(Shapes,gestures,etc). I hear nothing in Booker that Miles ever used.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Wheel Posted November 6, 2004 Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 Yeah, in general I think Booker's music used modern harmonies in a way that Miles wasn't so interested in. My familiarity with early '60s Miles is not what it should be but I get the sense that for Miles it wasn't "about" the tunes and how interesting you can make them--it was more about getting a great, punchy sound out of the group, and then later (post-1963 or so) he started playing with form without spending his time dealing with Booker's kind of harmony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted November 6, 2004 Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 Myself--I think Don Cherry did influence Miles' mid 60's playing(Shapes,gestures,etc). I hear nothing in Booker that Miles ever used.... I definitely hear that Cherry influence on the 'Plugged Nickel' recording, in particular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trumpet Guy Posted November 6, 2004 Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 I definitely hear that Cherry influence on the 'Plugged Nickel' recording, in particular. I always thought of Cherry's influence on "Four and More". Don Cherry and Rollins--I bet Mlles was aware of that Quartet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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