Jazz legends Eddie Henderson (trumpet) and Gary Bartz (saxophone) were joined by NEA Jazz Master Billy Hart, bassist Ben Street, and pianist Kevin Hays at Smoke Jazz Club on May 27 to kick off a series of performances in celebration of Miles Davis’s 100th birthday. Davis is undoubtedly one of the most influential voices in jazz and contemporary music as a whole – invigorating the genre by experimenting with, and innovating, myriad styles including be-bop, modal jazz, electric fusion, and eventually pop.
Hart and Bartz are both alums of Davis’ band and Henderson was friendly with the seminal trumpet player through an unlikely connection – his stepfather was Davis’ physician in San Francisco. “He was the doctor to people like Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Coltrane…so every time Miles Davis would come to town he would stay at our house,” said Henderson during a post-show interview with the Amsterdam News. Earlier in the night, Henderson recalled to the audience memories of Davis staying at his home when he was 17 years old and seeing his 1957 band live for the first time. “Miles took me to the gig that night. In his band was John Coltrane on tenor saxophone, Cannonball Adderly on alto, Philly Jo Jones on drums, Paul Chambers on bass, and Wynton Kelly at the piano. The light went on in my musical being and I thought ‘that’s what I want to do for the rest of my life,’” remembered Henderson. “Low and behold I’m in the hot seat.”
Davis’ influence on Henderson cannot be understated – and he has often been called upon to pay tribute to the jazz giant at Smoke and beyond. “A lot of my style is from straight, shoulder-to-shoulder contact from Miles,” Henderson told the Amsterdam News. “He told me a long time ago, don’t try to play like him, the first time I met him. Then I found out his hero was a trumpet player who he idolized and copied named Freddie Webster…The second time Miles came to the house he knocked on the door and said to me ‘Hey Eddie, you still trying to sound like me?’ I looked him right in the eye and said, ‘you mean Freddie Webster?” Henderson laughed. “His face dropped to the floor and then he smiled and whispered in my ear. He said, ‘everybody’s a thief, I just made a short-term loan.’ He didn’t expect that answer!”
Saxophonist Bartz stood side by side with Henderson at Smoke on Wednesday. The NEA Jazz Master joined Davis’ band in 1970, during a pivotal period where Davis’ music transitioned from acoustic jazz to electric fusion, incorporating experimental elements and furthering the genre by combining it with styles like rock and funk. “When Miles called me to join the band, I was disappointed because his previous catalogue, I knew all of that. The new Bitches Brew stuff, I wasn’t ready for that, so I was a little hesitant,” Bartz recalled in a post-show interview with the Amsterdam News. “It was interesting, it was something I didn’t think I was ready for, but once I got in there, I found out I didn’t have to do anything that I wasn’t already doing.” Bartz hit the ground running with Davis, playing his first three shows with the group in Stony Brook, Long Island, at Tanglewood in Massachusetts, and at the Isle of Wight Festival, the latter two of which would remain historically significant performances.
The group at Smoke on Wednesday mostly performed selections from Davis’ seminal “Kind of Blue” album, but will be exploring his vast repertoire through Sunday, pushing well known tunes and deep cuts in the different directions based on each player’s unique voice. “The job that an artist has is to try and present something that’s never been done before, so that’s what we’re always trying to do,” Bartz said to the Amsterdam News. “We’re trying to push boundaries – we’re trying to play the future.”
You can get tickets to Miles Davis’ Centennial Celebration at Smoke, and stay up to date with upcoming performances at smokejazz.com.