Oxford University Press has released a new book by CU-Boulder Associate Professor of Music Theory听Keith Waters.听 Entitled听The Studio Recordings of the Miles Davis Quintet, 1965-68, the book details the music of the 鈥淪econd Quintet鈥� 鈥� the Miles Davis Quintet of the mid-1960s 鈥� and one of the most innovative and influential groups in the history of the genre.听 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.听 Waters鈥� book听concentrates instead on the music itself, as written, performed, and recorded.
Reviews
鈥淪ession by session, composition by composition, what was once a profound mystery destined for eternal analytical purgatory has been freed鈥ithin this text are the keys to immediate and future musicological discoveries and exciting individual artistic developmental possibilities.鈥� 鈥揃ob Belden, composer and producer
鈥淎 major book. For serious listeners, it鈥檚 a gold mine of information and analysis concerning one of the most important musical ensembles of the 20th century.鈥� 鈥揃ill Kirchner, musician, producer, historian, educator, and editor of The Oxford Companion to Jazz
鈥淲aters鈥� writing is impeccably clear and avoids needless jargon鈥his title is part of Oxford University Press鈥� new series of book-length discussions of classic jazz albums (another is Brian Harker鈥檚 Louis Armstrong鈥檚 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.鈥� 鈥揇ownbeat
About the Author
Keith Waters听is Associate Professor of Music Theory and Composition at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and author of听Jazz: The First Hundred Years, co-authored with Henry Martin (Schirmer, 2001; Second edition 2006);听Essential Jazz: The First Hundred Years, co-authored with Henry Martin (Schirmer, 2005; Second edition 2008); and,听Rhythmic and Contrapuntal Structures in the Music of Arthur Honegger听(Ashgate, 2002).
