Miles Davis Albums for Several Different Ways into Jazz

For room around the melody, start with “So What.” Paul Chambers’s bass poses a question and the horns answer. Once the solos begin, the harmony stays put long enough to hear how a player makes a few notes into a phrase. “Blue in Green” takes that sense of space into a ballad.

Start with “If I Were a Bell” if you know your way around a show tune. Red Garland’s piano introduction rings like a bell, and Davis gives the melody a lilt you can follow into the solos. Keep listening for how John Coltrane packs a different amount of activity into the same familiar song.

Start with “Boplicity” and listen for the sound of nine players fitting together in a small space. French horn and tuba give the ensemble a softer and fuller middle and bottom than a typical combo. “Move” lets you hear how quickly those neatly voiced parts can get around a corner.

Come in through film noir. On “Générique,” a spare rhythm section leaves the trumpet enough room to suggest what might be out of sight. Davis and the group improvised most of these short cues for Louis Malle’s thriller. Listen to the album in order if you like how a score can change the mood in a couple of minutes.

If you listen to concertos, try the opening “Concierto de Aranjuez.” Gil Evans takes the slow movement from Joaquín Rodrigo’s guitar concerto into a large jazz ensemble, with Davis carrying the solitary line through the changing colors behind him. “Solea” is another place to hear how much a single trumpet can do against that scale.

For ballads that can change shape in front of an audience, begin with the title track. Hear the crowd react as Davis and drummer Tony Williams settle into a new pace. Then try “All Blues” and follow Herbie Hancock’s chords underneath the melody you may already know from Kind of Blue.

For small-group improvisation where the drums can change your bearings, start with “Footprints.” Ron Carter’s repeating bass figure gives you something to hold while Tony Williams shifts the feel around it. On “Orbits,” Herbie Hancock plays with just his right hand, leaving more room between the players.

If you like ambient music, listen to “Shhh / Peaceful” for the quiet ticking pulse behind the electric keyboards and guitar. Producer Teo Macero’s edits bring part of the performance back around, so a section can feel different even when you’re hearing it again. This is a gentle way into Davis’s electric sound.

If you like psychedelic records that take time to unfold, try “Pharaoh’s Dance.” Follow one sound at a time through the electric keyboards, guitar, and percussion. Then listen to the title track for the way the trumpet calls out and leaves gaps in the churn. The room keeps changing around you.

Start here if what hooks you is a guitar riff and a backbeat. “Right Off” comes in on John McLaughlin’s electric guitar, Michael Henderson’s bass, and Billy Cobham’s drums. Davis enters after that groove has had time to settle, which makes his trumpet sound like a fourth voice in a band already moving.

For funk and repeating percussion, go straight to “Black Satin.” Try following the bass and drums while the shorter instrumental sounds keep crossing them. The repetition gives you time to hear the small shifts in emphasis that make the groove work.

For a way in through 1980s studio production, start with the title track. Marcus Miller builds much of the album’s sound with bass, synthesizers, and programmed rhythm. Listen to Davis hold a phrase across that precise pulse, then try “Portia” for a slower version of the same contrast in feel.