Miles Davis: The Creative Task: Miles Davis

The Creative Task Miles Davis went through a phase where he was no longer emotionally connected to, neither his audience nor his music. Since he was so efficient in his apprenticeship and journeyman phases, the music he would create on stage was still that of a master. The problem was, this loss of emotional connectivity cause his audiences to not like how he presented his masterly work. He would perform on stage with his back to the audience and even sometimes just stare at the audience, not caring what their reaction was. You could say he lost his personal self along his mastery journey, do to drugs, but at the same time was still able to exploit his mastery abilities of musicianship through his trumpet. It was an extension of who he still

He took a special approach when improvising. Miles was able to leave this “sense of consistency and familiarity”, and embark on a new path that no one was even thinking about at the present time. He was able to flex his mind and develop an alternative way of thinking that allowed his creative process to revert to a childlike state. In return, it allowed him to discover and invent a new means of thinking about music, which shaped jazz music from then on. In order for this process to come forth, he had to alter his perspective. (Greene, p.

In order to keep achieving, you need to continue to put yourself in uncomfortable positions, so that your brain is always working. According to Gioia (2011), “…Davis struggled in his attempts to define a personal style on the horn and attract an audience for his music.” That tension that is created allows for a release, which is normally resulted in the next step to reach your goal. After Miles broke out of his depression and drug addiction, “He was healthy, his musical ambitions were revitalized…” Previously, he had let not only himself down, but also his audience and peers. His turmoil threw him for a whirlwind off the path he was destined to go. He had the chance of being a “balladeer”, in 1952, but no one gave the performance any attention due to how bad his tone quality was, on his instrument. It wasn’t until 1955, when he performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, that the audience began to notice a new elevation in his music. His legendary performance of Thelonious Monk’s “Round Midnight” would be the version that musicians modeled their ballad playing afterwards. It was very emotional and ground breaking during this era, and this lead to Columbia Records signing him to a contract. At the time, they were the most powerful Record Company in the world. (Gioia, p.