Comparison of So What by Miles Davis and Christian Scott

Miles Davis version on Kind of Blue:

If people talk about modal music in Jazz for a lot of them the first tune that comes in
relation to this kind of music is the tune So What by Miles Davis. It appears on
Miles Davis' album Kind of Blue. This song is only made up of two different
chords, that are non-functional related to each other. And each chord is assigned to
one section of the song.
Lets take a closer look the the harmony that takes place in So What by Miles
Davis.
Harmonically this piece is structured very simple. The dorian mode is very
characteristic for the tune and the A-Part is completely centered around the D
dorian mode. There are no other harmonic progressions than the modulation for the
B-Part from D dorian to Eb dorian .
There are some interviews and at least his autobiography in which Davis elucidates
how his interest in modality developed. According to Davis it was Gil Evans (not
Bill) who was responsible for that. He allured Davis interest in scales, modality and
improvisation with scales and paved the way for the developement from improvising
with functional related changes to non functional, scale-based improvisation.
Then again it was Bill Evans who introduced Miles to western classical
compositions, especially from Ravel, who worked with quartal harmony in some of
his pieces. Getting to know the use of quartal harmony Davis worked with this
special sounds in So what among other compositions.
Parallel quartal harmony was not common in jazz-music of the late 1950s and the
quartal voicing that is played by Bill Evans during the theme of So what later was
known as the So What-Voicing.This voicing is a modified quartal voicing with a
additional third between the two highest voices.
The piece is made up of a jazz sextet, with Miles Davis on trumpet, John Coltrane on
tenor saxophone, Cannonball Adderly on alto Saxophone, Bill Evans on piano, Paul
Chambers on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on Drums. Especially Bill Evans became an
important musical collaborateur to Davis, who admired his improvisation skills with
scales. In an conversation with Nat Hentoff Davis said: Boy. Ive sure learned a lot
from Bill Evans. He plays the piano the way it should be played. He plays all kinds of
scales.. (1958).

There are a few authors (f.e. Eric Nisenson, Donald Maggin, Joachim Berendt and
Robert Palmer) who established that George Russells Lydian Chromatic Concept of
Tonal Organization for Improvisation had to be pathbreaking for Davis work and
also had been a main influence on his modal compositions.
The structure of the piece is a 32 bar AABA structure, both during the melodic line
and the solos. A D-minor 7 (D-Dorian) chord defines the A section, is increased by a
semi-tone to Eb-minor 7 (Eb Dorian) in the B-section and returns to D-minor 7 for
the last A-section. Most famous for the tune is the riff played by the bass that sets the
piece in motion and sets up the stage harmonically for the improvisations. The riff is
notable in that involves the interplay between the upright bass and the rest of the
band. The bass plays an ascending line of notes that begin with a fourth leap starting
from the root note. After the riff played by the bass the piano or the rest of the band
answer on it.

The tune starts with a piano and bass intro in a slower tempo than the rest of piece.
As the next development bass and piano play the melodic line alone with the drums
as accompaniment. The style in which the drums play can be placed in a laid back,
'cool' style. The other instruments join and after one chorus the solos start in the
following order: trumpet (two choruses), tenor sax (two choruses), alto sax(two
choruses), and piano. After the solos the melody line is played for one chorus again.
For the ending Miles Davis uses the same instruments as in the beginning. The
melody only being played by bass and piano with drums for accompaniment which
leads to a fading out.

The harmonic simplicity ofSo What gives the players a certain freedom in their
improvisations . The creative approaches are evident in each of the different solos;
Related to the non-functional use of sounds Davis emphasizes a lot of tensions in his
solo, that are not resolved. All soloists on Kind of Blue didnt limitate themselves
to the typical seven-note-scales, they rather build up their solos with the entire
chromatic sonic space. To quote Miles Davis:When you go this way [improvise on
scales], you can go on forever. You dont have to worry about [chord] changes and
you can do more with the line. It becomes a challlenge to see how melodically
inventive you are. When youre based on chords, you know at the end of 32 bars that
the chords have run out and theres nothing to do but repeat what youve done - with
variations. I think a movement in jazz is beginning away from the conventional string
of chords, and a return to emphasis on melodic rather than harmonic variation.
There will be fewer chords but infinite possibilities as to what to do with them.
Classical composers some oft hem have been writing this way for years, but jazz
musicians seldom have (1958)
Christian Scotts Version on Rewind That

This tune is following the same structure as the version of Miles Davis: Both like the
32 bar AABA form as well as the harmonic approach. The piece is made up of a jazz
sextet, with Christian Scott on trumpet, Donald Harrison on alto saxophone, Zaccai
Curtis on Fender Rhodes, Luques Curtis on bass, and Thomas Pridgen on drums and
appears on the album Rewind That which was also Christian Scotts first album.
First of all a big difference can be seen the style in which this version is played.
Instead of a traditional swing feel Christian Scott takes it in a Funkgroove. The piece
begins directly with the typical bassline of So What being played by the bass
together with drums and Rhodes. Trumpet and alto saxophone join in the B part by
playing a second voice line. The order of the solos is: trumpet and alto sax.
In the solo of Christian Scott (two choruses) you can clearly hear that Miles Davis
had a big influence on his way of playing. No fast lines, not so many notes but the
ones he plays are enough to make a clear statement whereas the solo of Donald
Harrison (two choruses as well) is played with a very high intensity not only in sound
but also in his lines .
After the solos the motive comes back exactly like in the beginning. First bass, drums
and rhodes and in the B part the horns come in again. At the end Christian Scotts
makes a ritardando for the last two chords.