Miles Davis and Gil Evans

Ever notice how Spike Lee uses jazz in his movies?

This composition is originally from Miles Davis' collaboration with Gil Evans called "Sketches of Spain" where the duo utilizes a Spanish theme throughout the album. Apparently jazz listeners and intellects thought it was not Jazz at all. Since the playing and instrumentation is not as improvisational it was lacking in one of the main tenets of Jazz at the time. For me, and other as well, it is undisputedly a Jazz Classic.




This song was used in Spike Lee's "She Hate Me", during the scene where Jack Armstrong(Anthony Mackie) was wandering about Times Square in the days after he was let go from his job. You know the film's synopsis, so I won't go any further. This scene just showed NYC and with visuals of people on the street, some locals, others tourists and how the area just gave off this...vibe of some sorts when placed within the context of the character's situation. This feeling was accentuated by the music created by Davis & Evans in this song.

See the rhythm of Elvin Jones' snare and the finger snaps, which are syncopated to sound like maracas, create a sound like some one is marching. Like a drone in an ant colony. It thus creates a hustle n bustle of some sorts similar to a bustling NYC street. When the horns come in, that's when you realize and pay attention to the traffic in the street. Both entities, sections of sound and rhythm, are working together but are seperate. Visually, at least, but the way Gil Evans arranged the music, they have to cooperate. All the while, the character of Jack Armstrong that is on the street but not going anywhere. Yet still having to find a rhythm, a place among those also in the street, is akin to Miles' trumpet playing. Just weaving in and out...

Thankfully, this scene reintroduced me to this wonderful album. I somehow had forgotten all about it in college because my peers were just discovering "Kind of Blue" or "Birth Of The Cool". I wasn't a stranger to Jazz or those records because my father had already introduced them to me. But as a young teenager, I sgruged it off and thought nothing of it. Years later and maturity somewhat developed, I realized the mistake that I made. I knew that Miles Davis and Gil Evans were one of the best collaborators in music. They are up there with Gilbert and Sullivan. Ridgers and Hammerstein. Bacharach and David. Timbaland and Twista. Along with "Birth of the Cool" and "Sketches of Spain", they also created for us their interpretation of "Porgy and Bess" and "Miles Ahead".