The Truth Between the Notes

Miles Davis said it best when he described playing the trumpet with particular moods. He said it was important not only to play the notes but to play what was in between the notes – play the silence.  When you listen to Miles Davis’ music, you can honestly feel the mood of his sound lying in the silence.  In the search for the truth, so much lies in silence.  I will restrain myself from going into a jazz history lesson, but if I did look in the archives, I would find that so many artists are linked to Miles, decade after decade. Why?  I believe it comes from his honest ear and his ability to listen to the silence, not only music but in the people around him. Regardless if others liked him personally or not so many in the jazz community wanted to a part of his truth.

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Clearly, Miles was an incredible player.  At the same time, there were other incredible players around, and some, in my opinion, were even better than Miles. But what Miles brought to music, few could even come close to replicating. The gift came from how he used his honest vision and sound.  First and foremost, he seemed to feel the truth, and more often than not, this laid in the silence.