Miles Davis
Sketches Of Spain

Traveling along the endless straight roads of Andalusia or La Mancha, one may encounter, strategically placed atop barren hills, enormous silhouettes of black bulls. From a distance, they seem like mirages, but at the end of the straight road, a reassuring yet somewhat disappointing reality awaits: they are just advertising billboards for a Spanish brandy, albeit an excellent one. If, however, you happen to glimpse on the horizon, right in front of the silhouette of a bull, the lanky yet rotund figure of a little man playing the trumpet unflinchingly, then it's likely you're under the powerful spell of listening to "Sketches Of Spain," a true miracle of balance between jazz and Spanish, classical and popular music. The great protagonist of this marvel is the incomparable trumpet of Miles Davis, so versatile it can assume the agility and fluidity of a flamenco guitar, but it cannot be denied that a large portion of the credit for this masterpiece goes to Gil Evans, capable of creating a rich tapestry of orchestral sounds balancing between jazz and classical, the perfect foundation on which the soloist can unleash his astonishing technique and limitless imagination. Furthermore, he adeptly adapts some splendid melodies to this "sound," drawn from both the repertoire of "scholarly" composers and the vast reservoir of popular themes.

Although the entire album travels at very high altitudes, the prized piece is the jazz version (though not too much) of the Adagio from "Concierto de Aranjuez" by Joaquin Rodrigo, a blind composer and, as is often the case, hypersensitive, to the point of transforming the simple sensation of rustling leaves in the park of the Palacio Real in Aranjuez into an immortal motif, well-known in the form of a concerto for guitar and orchestra, even to those who aren't classical music aficionados. How Americans Miles Davis and Gil Evans managed to delve so deeply into the melancholic passion, entirely Latin, that permeates this splendid theme is a mystery that will remain so, but at the same time, it is a clear sign of great open-mindedness towards every kind of suggestion, including those provided by music far removed from jazz, the foundation of their training. The result is simply spine-chilling: certain piercing tones of the trumpet are a true cry of pain, felt repeatedly, always accompanied by the rich but never intrusive sound of a not-extremely-large orchestra. Another fundamental stop on this journey through Spain is the "Danza ritual del fuego" by Manuel de Falla, another important 20th-century composer, from the impressionist school. Here the piece is called "Will O' The Wisp", and despite its brevity, it manages to capture the mysterious magic of Andalusian gypsy dances, once again with a surprising capacity for assimilation by both the soloist and the orchestra.

The other pieces are also very interesting, thanks to Gil Evans' prowess in translating into splendid orchestral constructions impressions gathered here and there from listening to Spanish ethnic music: this is the case with "The Pan Piper," with its seemingly static rhythm that leaves ample space for Miles Davis' phenomenal improvisation, and "Saeta," with its martial, band-like progression, originally music intended for processions, here a solid rhythmic foundation upon which Miles Davis frolics, providing a clear example of sound clarity. But among these non-classical pieces, "Solea," stands out, derived from an Andalusian dance, transformed by Gil Evans into a dark, obsessive, African-like backdrop, pierced by the sharp and relentless lament of a trumpet once again perfect. Perfect, as throughout the album, also complemented (as a CD) by highly interesting comparative "bonus tracks." As hard as it may be to believe, this authentic lesson in cross-genre contamination is dated 1959, but it's known that Miles Davis always had a keen eye for the future, and he probably had already sensed the potential contained in various ethnic music. Certainly, Gil Evans had the same intuition, and the result of the meeting of these two open minds, both in a state of grace, is this jazz classic, which has the gift of pushing even a bit beyond jazz.