Like Miles

Like Miles was inspired by a performance by the Britten Sinfonia of some the Miles Davis/Gil Evans collaborations with Guy Barker on trumpet. It started as a gathering of fragments from the solos of Miles Davis to be transmuted and used as motivic material in a trumpet concerto. The material was then utilised for the parts of the soloist and orchestra as both rhythmic and melodic cells. The idea being to combine a Miles Davis inspired trumpet line floating above the orchestra, which must maintain a forward impetus and metricality to contrast with the freer nature of the trumpet part, not unlike the role of a rhythm section in small group jazz. The orchestral part comments, opposes, or wraps itself around the soloist, but always creates the ground pulse and occasional tonal centricity necessary to allow a soloist to create gestures toying with the listener's expectations such devices might raise.

The soloist should approach the piece in the spirit from which it has been derived, not so much striving for purity of tone as for the vocal, almost conversational style which characterises the immediately recognisable personal sound that any jazz soloist has. This being the admitting of the gestural: mutters, fluffs, sudden accents, unexpected jokes, bends and sudden show-boating that would take place in a relaxed conversation between friends. (This could be enhanced by lightly amplifying the soloist, especially when muted.)

Much of this, it is hoped, can be the responsibility of the soloist. No jazz player, especially Miles, would play things as written or even the same way twice. The written score could be considered merely a starting point, and the soloist is encouraged to improvise and/or embellish within their part if they so wish. The piece was written to also include the possibility of modifying sections to leave them completely open for a soloist, merely suggesting a few chord formations or melodic fragments to use to mesh (or not) with the underlying accompaniment.