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Miles Davis — The Pan Piper
Album: Sketches Of Spain
Avg rating:
7.3

Your rating:
Total ratings: 2128









Released: 1960
Length: 3:49
Plays (last 30 days): 1
(Instrumental)
Comments (204)add comment
I am noticing a bit more jazz on RP recently - thanks William!
 xc.farmer.antoine486 wrote:

Not proclaiming to be a vinyl snob, but this album on its original format is sublime and transcendent. 
What Miles achieves on the horn ๐ŸŽบ is what Hendrix achieved with his guitar ๐ŸŽธ what Charlie Park achieved on the alto sax ๐ŸŽท 


I do not care for the fidelity limitations of vinyl,  otherwise, I agree with everything else that you said!
Not proclaiming to be a vinyl snob, but this album on its original format is sublime and transcendent. 
What Miles achieves on the horn ๐ŸŽบ is what Hendrix achieved with his guitar ๐ŸŽธ what Charlie Parker achieved on the alto sax ๐ŸŽท 
My father passed away a few months ago.  The morning of his celebration of life I was listening to RP.  My favorite Talk Talk song (RIP Mark Hollis), The Rainbow, came on, I turned it up, and told my boys to listen because they'd never hear that song on commercial radio.  Immediately following was Miles Davis...I don't remember which Miles Davis song, but I knew it was Miles immediately.   My dad was a huge Miles Davis fan.  

I don't believe in life after death.  I wasn't looking for a "sign" that he was still with us.  But maybe he was still with us in song, channeled in hope and spirit through music and memories.   Long live RP too.
 unclehud wrote:

It IS just noise coming from a horn ... but Led Zeppelin and Mozart and Johnny Cash are just noises, too.

"Music" is when those noises combine within your brain to create pleasant or (happy, or sad, or exciting, or interesting) sensations. To me, this is a truly exotic blend of noises that create a vision of faraway places.

Sorry you don't like it. I've rated it 10.

Anytime i hear miles davis it gets a 10
 icuski2 wrote:

Should this even be called music? Just sounds like noise coming from a horn.


It IS just noise coming from a horn ... but Led Zeppelin and Mozart and Johnny Cash are just noises, too.

"Music" is when those noises combine within your brain to create pleasant or (happy, or sad, or exciting, or interesting) sensations. To me, this is a truly exotic blend of noises that create a vision of faraway places.

Sorry you don't like it. I've rated it 10.
 huib wrote:

Even though the trumpet is one of my favorite instruments, I can't stand the shrillness of this recording either. But my ears are still quite sensitive to high pitched sounds (I'm always the only one hearing extremely high pitched sounds devices make, and for example these speakers sometimes used to scare away youngsters from hanging around, even though I'm almost 40)




GREAT MUSIC!!!  Questionable recording. It sounds as if the engineer was "learning" how to use a Neumann condenser microphone on Miles' trumpet! ...Too bright!  ...It should have been positioned further away!
Even though the trumpet is one of my favorite instruments, I can't stand the shrillness of this recording either. But my ears are still quite sensitive to high pitched sounds (I'm always the only one hearing extremely high pitched sounds devices make, and for example these speakers sometimes used to scare away youngsters from hanging around, even though I'm almost 40)
 PinkSo wrote:


Me too ... I stop to hit "PSD" ;-)
Never did get Miles Davis, or jazz in general :'(



Everybody has their own tastes!  I LOVE jazz!!
When does the tune start?
10! All the way!
GODLIKE!!!! ICONIC!!!!
 jbuhl wrote:
{#Idea} dude always brings me to a stop from what ever I am doing.


Me too ... I stop to hit "PSD" ;-)
Never did get Miles Davis, or jazz in general :'(
Regarding the Tom Petty "Pirate's Cove" rip-off comment of Peter Green's "Slabo Day" - when I went to check the similarity on Spotify  the Miles Davis "Pan Piper" tune started and mixed eerily well with "Slabo Day". Kudos to Radio Paradise for the trippy coincidence - or logarithmic magic.
Miles' album "Kind of Blue" was the first record I ever bought back in 1958. I still have it and still enjoy it. I bought "Sketches of Spain" for the Rodrigo Guitar Concert which is out of this world, surely the only other interpretation to consider outside of the Romeros. Do I like Miles Davis, yes. Can I explain his appeal to non-believers, no.๐Ÿจ
 siriuss wrote:
the sound is awful.
 
As in "inspiring awe"? Definitely
And don't forget the cool album cover art. 

 crogers wrote:
Hey ... I still have a pair of those lovely AR2ax speakers!  I fire them up from time-to-time for fun โ€” a distinctive sound that just fits sooo right with certain tracks.  I prefer my AR3a's generally, but they're quietly awaiting a much needed restoration, so I'm forced to use some newer gear as my "daily drivers".  Thanks for sharing those memories!
 
mgoldman wrote:
My intro to Miles was when I was 6 years old.  My dad put this on his Empire turntable, playing through AR2ax speakers in our family room in 1961 and then he took out his horn and played along with Miles.  I was hooked forever and still consider this one of the greatest albums ever recorded.  Still think of my dad, who died in 1990, every time I hear this.

 
I rebuilt a pair of AR 3a's I picked up at a thrift store (Parts Express and the
Electronic Barn)  even veneered them...What I especially like to listen to tho'
are my Dynaco A25's...Two per side driven by a  Phase Linear 400 Amp.
The turntable is a Micro Seiki with a Black Widow tonearm.

Tony in NJ
W.A.S.T.E.

 


     

    

        

     

               

 

 Chi_Editrix wrote:
This just could not have come at a better time. It's healing me.
 

Me too.
 lizardking wrote:

Agreed, although I'd do it in the other order myself....heck I was just ripping the KoB CD to .flac just this morning.  And still I miss the vinyl version my dad had and I "learned to hear Jazz" with....sad all those records ended up where? 


 
Thank (insert deity or other noun) for *.flac, eh?
An average rating of 7.3? Would Beethoven ever get a 7.3? 10 minimum
 unclehud wrote:
Miles is incredible. 

Who else would ever think of playing these notes?  Who else would compose the background against which he plays?
 
Miles was (is) the man, and his collaborations with composer/ arranger Gil Evans are ours to enjoy.

This is what Gil said about how Sketches of Spain came to be:

[We] hadn't intended to make a Spanish album. We were just going to do the Concierto de Aranjuez. A friend of Miles gave him the only album in existence with that piece. He brought it back to New York and I copied the music off the record because there was no score. By the time we did that, we began to listen to other folk music, music played in clubs in Spain... So we learned a lot from that and it ended up being a Spanish album. The Rodrigo, the melody is so beautiful. It's such a strong song. I was so thrilled with that.

After Louis Armstrong, Miles has to be considered as doing more for Jazz Trumpeting than anyone else....LLRP!!
Totally support RP playing this.  You can't please all the people all the time.  But t his is just hellish.
This just could not have come at a better time. It's healing me.
Miles is incredible. 

Who else would ever think of playing these notes?  Who else would compose the background against which he plays?
 icuski2 wrote:
Should this even be called music? Just sounds like noise coming from a horn. 
 
Well...at least your 'noise' comment let me copy/paste an earlier reply from this same track....

   Normally I'd suggest giving the entire album a listening before making your decision,      though with the "the sound is awful" comment I don't think that would do any good.          I'll   keep my 9 rating on this MASTERPIECE and hope you found something good via          PSD.

Long Live RP!!
Should this even be called music? Just sounds like noise coming from a horn. 
Boring
 siriuss wrote:
the sound is awful.
 
Normally I'd suggest giving the entire album a listening before making your decision, though with the "the sound is awful" comment I don't think that would do any good.  I'll keep my 9 rating on this MASTERPIECE and hope you found something good via PSD. 

Long Live RP!!
the sound is awful.
 sheeelaaa wrote:
this song gives me the creeps.
 
heh, yeah.  During and interview Davis was asked why he like to play with a mute and Davis hisses out "because it sounds like......sounds like a voice".
terrible dissonance sound of the miles trumpet
interesting period for Miles. experimenting beyond the cool and before the bitches
PURE GENIUS
this song gives me the creeps.
From Sketches of Spain liner notes:
 
"The Pan Piper is a folk melody Gil (arranger and conductor) heard on an ethnic recording. It's a morning song and is probably sung in festival time as well as in ordinary diurnal circumstances. On the recording, the melody was played on the penny whistle by the local pig castrator who was whistling up business. Listen to the Joseph's coat of colors behind Miles. As Max Harrison wrote in Jazz Monthly: "One might have thought that comparatively few instrumental combinations remained to be 'discovered,' but Evans seems able to hit on endless mixtures of sound that are not only new to jazz writing but to all orchestral music. Indeed, while the listener may at first be preoccupied by orchestral virtuosity and harmonic individuality, it is the imaginative freshness that suffuses almost literally every detail of the orchestral fabric that implements so powerfully the beauty and originality of the whole." Or, as Miles puts it, "He made that orchestra sound like one big guitar."
 idiot_wind wrote:
WHOA!

Miles form Sketches of Spain!! 

Nice to hear something other than Kind of Blue, Birth of Cool, Milestones.

How about some of the crazy stuff from Bitches Brew? 

 

 
Stuff from On The Corner  and Big Fun is even more out there than Bitches Brew.
 
Try this one out for size https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3FaQRVS0BI
 
 
 Sjaaks wrote:
Probably not considered a compliment, but the high flutes make me think of the earlier Star Wars soundtracks...
{#Doh}

I know.... Stupid, but i can't help it!!

 
Nah man, this song is very cinematic. Personally I get a "Conan riding a horse through the wilderness with his companions" vibe off a couple of his songs. *shrug*
 maineeclectic wrote:
If I suddenly had to rescue one album* from my entire vinyl collection, no hesitation: it would be "Sketches of Spain"...er, and if possible, I'd grab Kind of Blue at the same time. 

 
Agreed, although I'd do it in the other order myself....heck I was just ripping the KoB CD to .flac just this morning.  And still I miss the vinyl version my dad had and I "learned to hear Jazz" with....sad all those records ended up where? 


If I suddenly had to rescue one album* from my entire vinyl collection, no hesitation: it would be "Sketches of Spain"...er, and if possible, I'd grab Kind of Blue at the same time. 
I've been listening to jazz for a very long time and RP always surprises me.  I never regretted doing either. This Miles album was unknown to me. Thanks RP, again !!!!
 idiot_wind wrote:
Be open minded about this.. but Miles pushed the trumpet at times to create a dissonance to wake up the listener and Dylan did the same thing a few years later with the harp on the Free Wheelin album.   

 
Exactly why I LOVE both artists as the pinnacle of expressionists in their field (jazz musician and song & dance man ;-) - Miles certainly did kick some cool butt, which I had been around back then.  At least we have good recordings and RP to help share the wealth!

And as much as I like Miles (and Pink Floyd) it really is the entire album I'm used to hearing, not just tracks.  It's hard to rate a track from an album that goes together.

Long Live RP!


9
I wasn't a fan of Jazz when I was a kid; but then Dr. Newby put on Miles Davis in Music Appreciation - and opened my ears to a whole new Genre. There's not much else I can thank the egotistical old blowhard for - but I guess that kind of balances scales. :-)
 mgoldman wrote:
My intro to Miles was when I was 6 years old.  My dad put this on his Empire turntable, playing through AR2ax speakers in our family room in 1961 and then he took out his horn and played along with Miles.  I was hooked forever and still consider this one of the greatest albums ever recorded.  Still think of my dad, who died in 1990, every time I hear this.

 
wow man 

that is a special kind of cool : ) 
 idiot_wind wrote:
. . . How about some of the crazy stuff from Bitches Brew?
 
Seconded!
This album and Kind of Blue are essentials for any jazz aficionado. Great for a rainy Sunday morning in September.
 idiot_wind wrote:
WHOA!

Miles form Sketches of Spain!! 

Nice to hear something other than Kind of Blue, Birth of Cool, Milestones.

How about some of the crazy stuff from Bitches Brew? 

 

 
"Bitches Brew" wouldn't fit into the Adult Contemporary format here
A side of "In A Silent Way" would also be nice but wouldn't fit the format
  thewiseking wrote:
Nice selections this morning. Def outta the box. Much appreciated.
Could Eric Dolphy be next?
Not sure how it will go over with the Pink Floyd fans though 

  
I'm a PF fan - and I gave this a '9'.

RCinSoCal wrote:

Ditto.

 
double ditto!  on to massive attack...(sweet)
 Stratocaster wrote:

I'm a PF fan - and I gave this a '9'.

 
Ditto.
WHOA!

Miles form Sketches of Spain!! 

Nice to hear something other than Kind of Blue, Birth of Cool, Milestones.

How about some of the crazy stuff from Bitches Brew? 

 
{#Idea} dude always brings me to a stop from what ever I am doing.
{#Hearteyes}
Simply beautiful
 Skydog wrote:

i think some of Miles' best trumpet play is on this album
but  i don't like Gil Evans' score

Miles from mid-50's to early 60's is my favorite
 

 
I'm falling asleep.  This is NOT Friday music!


 joetekubi wrote:
I've spent many thousands of hours listening to MD - but I've gotta admit, 
not a fan of "Sketches".  How about some "Fillmore" or "Live - Evil" ? 

 
i think some of Miles' best trumpet play is on this album
but  i don't like Gil Evans' score

Miles from mid-50's to early 60's is my favorite
 
 thewiseking wrote:
Nice selections this morning. Def outta the box. Much appreciated.
Could Eric Dolphy be next?
Not sure how it will go over with the Pink Floyd fans though 

 
I'm a PF fan - and I gave this a '9'.
I've spent many thousands of hours listening to MD - but I've gotta admit, 
not a fan of "Sketches".  How about some "Fillmore" or "Live - Evil" ? 
Sublime 
Hey ... I still have a pair of those lovely AR2ax speakers!  I fire them up from time-to-time for fun — a distinctive sound that just fits sooo right with certain tracks.  I prefer my AR3a's generally, but they're quietly awaiting a much needed restoration, so I'm forced to use some newer gear as my "daily drivers".  Thanks for sharing those memories!
 
mgoldman wrote:
My intro to Miles was when I was 6 years old.  My dad put this on his Empire turntable, playing through AR2ax speakers in our family room in 1961 and then he took out his horn and played along with Miles.  I was hooked forever and still consider this one of the greatest albums ever recorded.  Still think of my dad, who died in 1990, every time I hear this.

 

Nice selections this morning. Def outta the box. Much appreciated.
Could Eric Dolphy be next?
Not sure how it will go over with the Pink Floyd fans though 
An almost decent record from MD's squeaky horn.
 
Really enjoying your fine selection of music this morning Bill, thanks
Amazing, beautiful, groundbreaking.
There are few sounds in life as sweet as Miles' trumpet, with or without the mute.
 gigikent wrote:
I have to say that trumpet pretty much succeeds in making the ears bleed on headphones...

 
There aren't many sounds more abrasive and annoying than a muted trumpet.
Be open minded about this.. but Miles pushed the trumpet at times to create a dissonance to wake up the listener and Dylan did the same thing a few years later with the harp on the Free Wheelin album.   
seamless segue!  (from Talk Talk - The Rainbow)    whoops - looks like I'm not the first to notice....
i was going to step out for lunch but decided to hang back and listen... glad i did.
 gigikent wrote:
I have to say that trumpet pretty much succeeds in making the ears bleed on headphones...

 
I heard thats what Miles was going for!  ;-)
wow...i finally get to hear one of the seminal albums of all time.

thanks radio paradise! 
I have to say that trumpet pretty much succeeds in making the ears bleed on headphones...
{#Sunny}
 zoopmama wrote:
Flawless segue from Talk Talk's 'The Rainbow'. Not being familiar with Davis, for a minute I thought it was an alternate Talk Talk outtake!

 
The same today. You are such a joker, Bill !
 zoopmama wrote:
Flawless segue from Talk Talk's 'The Rainbow'. Not being familiar with Davis, for a minute I thought it was an alternate Talk Talk outtake!

 
Flawless segue indeed - what an amazing set of music Bill has for us tonight
Flawless segue from Talk Talk's 'The Rainbow'. Not being familiar with Davis, for a minute I thought it was an alternate Talk Talk outtake!
 crockydile wrote:
This is considered great because? Ugh. Sounds like a 7th chair trumpet in B band warming up. {#Stop}

 

Are ALL Perryland folk, IDIOTS ?
Not a bad track on this album, which I first encountered thru the "Concerto de Aranjuez" tune... Glad to hear a different track.
Stunning.  Miles was one of a kind.
my rough morning is suddenly irrelevant. aaaahhhhhh
marvelous music...  love it...
Makes it hard to work.
I just wants to shut mine eyes and float away.....
my FAVORITE transition I've EVER heard, EVER!!!!    {#Clap}

 
Pedro1874 wrote:

Brilliant Bill!  I was thinking Talk Talk's trumpeter was awfully similar to Miles and then started to realise it was NOT the end of their track! {#Notworthy}
 


 aspicer wrote:
Amazing transition from Talk Talk's "The Rainbow" - VERY NICE segue!!!
 
Brilliant Bill!  I was thinking Talk Talk's trumpeter was awfully similar to Miles and then started to realise it was NOT the end of their track! {#Notworthy}
Deffo 'smooth move' from Talk Talk's Rainbow.  

This is one of the amazing things that I LOVE about Radio Paradise.
The Rainbow had me stopped dead still to "feast my ears",   chasing it with Miles Davis just prolonged the pleasure !
(-:       
It's raining, and I'm making chocolate chip cookies ... perfect.
 bentonian wrote:
Unlistenable. Pointless, endless, but the seat of much thoughtful head-nodding and (un)knowing looks exchanged between the clueless yet self-appointed cognoscenti.
 
Sorry Bentonian, but this genuinely moves me an fascinates me. And I am no expert.
I flunked Jazz in college. 
Cunning little segue from TalkTalk's The Rainbow...oops, just saw aspicer's comment.
Weird, the start of this song reminds me a bit of Stravinsky
Amazing transition from Talk Talk's "The Rainbow" - VERY NICE segue!!!
Best listened to on your back deck with martini in hand, the contemplation of the world your only concern.

But, since I can't do that right now, I'll take listening to Miles over headphones in the office as second best. 
Ya' gotta' love a radio station that will throw something off 'Sketches of Spain' in there with all the rest. The reason I listen to and appreciate radio paradise.
My intro to Miles was when I was 6 years old.  My dad put this on his Empire turntable, playing through AR2ax speakers in our family room in 1961 and then he took out his horn and played along with Miles.  I was hooked forever and still consider this one of the greatest albums ever recorded.  Still think of my dad, who died in 1990, every time I hear this.
Unlistenable. Pointless, endless, but the seat of much thoughtful head-nodding and (un)knowing looks exchanged between the clueless yet self-appointed cognoscenti.
 jbjnr wrote:

I soon will move into my new house... and I will be able to set up my record player... and bust out all the Miles D Vinyl... 

Thank god you won't be living next door to me. Imagine having this over the garden fence every day - there ought to be some kind of injunction against it
 
Well, I'm pretty sure there'll be noise ordinances, but keep in mind that they apply to yappy dogs, loud parties, and fireworks, too. So - have fun with that.  I'll take Miles Davis over any of that other stuff any day!

 jbjnr wrote:

I soon will move into my new house... and I will be able to set up my record player... and bust out all the Miles D Vinyl... 

Thank god you won't be living next door to me. Imagine having this over the garden fence every day - there ought to be some kind of injunction against it
 

You're right, there's no accounting for taste - or the lack of it.

I soon will move into my new house... and I will be able to set up my record player... and bust out all the Miles D Vinyl... 

Thank god you won't be living next door to me. Imagine having this over the garden fence every day - there ought to be some kind of injunction against it


Probably not considered a compliment, but the high flutes make me think of the earlier Star Wars soundtracks...
{#Doh}

I know.... Stupid, but i can't help it!!
Look at them pupil?? Yikes
 


What is this, some kind of endurance contest? I think this is what they play on the loudspeakers at Guantanamo.
I soon will move into my new house... and I will be able to set up my record player... and bust out all the Miles D Vinyl...

Ohhhh I am looking forward to that! 
 chedak wrote:
 
Bloody hell! . . I want some of the drugs he is on!

I finally got this album. Heard the odd piece here and there (thanks youtube) but now it's mine. Can't wait for the postman, oops, sorry, postperson to arrive with my little parcel. This is a magnificent piece.

Thanks, Bill.

A Cuban In London
Oh this is good!  Very good in fact.
This one and Circle of the Round are my 2 fav Davis albums.

It's nice to hear this.
 betsyroks wrote:
has to be said: incredible

 
Yo.  I've heard more diverse MD on RP than from my own collection.  Funny how things work.

Best thing I have heard all day. Gil Evans was a genius.

 
(Insert scratchy record sound here)
Super Mute...heading away from RP Bleech!
has to be said: incredible

{#Eyes}
 romeotuma wrote:


This music is soooo good for the ears...
 
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! {#Beat}
Sounds like a common occurance, from Cake to Miles, even back to 2008......I guess you can only switch things up so many times. 
This is considered great because? Ugh. Sounds like a 7th chair trumpet in B band warming up. {#Stop}
This man can create beautiful music.  I think Bill should play more and more of Miles. 
I just started listening a couple days ago, and what a find - I'm a total RP convert (goodbye pandora robots). The only thing that was missing was some nice jazz, and I just emailed Bill a bit ago about that. I'd love to hear some more of this super-tasteful as well as brilliant musically stuff. Love this Miles album, but then again I love any Miles (or Trane or ...)
Love this whole album!
And again from Cake to this.  This is great, but methinks Bill needs to experiment more.