Oxford University Press has released a new book by CU-Boulder Associate Professor of Music Theory Keith Waters. Entitled The Studio Recordings of the Miles Davis Quintet, 1965-68, the book details the music of the “Second Quintet” — the Miles Davis Quintet of the mid-1960s — and one of the most innovative and influential groups in the history of the genre. The studio recordings released by this group made profound contributions to improvisational strategies, jazz composition, and mediation between mainstream and avant-garde jazz, yet most critical attention has focused instead on live performances or the socio-cultural context of the work. Waters’ book concentrates instead on the music itself, as written, performed, and recorded.
Reviews
“Session by session, composition by composition, what was once a profound mystery destined for eternal analytical purgatory has been freed…within this text are the keys to immediate and future musicological discoveries and exciting individual artistic developmental possibilities.” –Bob Belden, composer and producer
“A major book. For serious listeners, it’s a gold mine of information and analysis concerning one of the most important musical ensembles of the 20th century.” –Bill Kirchner, musician, producer, historian, educator, and editor of The Oxford Companion to Jazz
“Waters’ writing is impeccably clear and avoids needless jargon…This title is part of Oxford University Press’ new series of book-length discussions of classic jazz albums (another is Brian Harker’s Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings). In this era of audio downloads, such serious studies that dig into the significance of the records that have shaped our world are always welcome.” –Downbeat
About the Author
Keith Waters is Associate Professor of Music Theory and Composition at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and author of Jazz: The First Hundred Years, co-authored with Henry Martin (Schirmer, 2001; Second edition 2006); Essential Jazz: The First Hundred Years, co-authored with Henry Martin (Schirmer, 2005; Second edition 2008); and, Rhythmic and Contrapuntal Structures in the Music of Arthur Honegger (Ashgate, 2002).
