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A TAV Curator’s Pick.

The conception of Sketches Of Spain can be placed in the 'most melodic' era of Miles Davis's work, being one of his most accessible and less improvisational albums which broke out of the constraints of Jazz as a genre. This is one of the four albums where Miles and Gil Evans collaborated with a small orchestra of horns and percussion.

Sketches of Spain is fueled by Spanish melodies - "El Concierto de Arajuez" by Joaquí­n Rodrigo and "El Amor Brujo" by Manuel de Falla - that fascinated Davis to the point he needed to get into them and go beyond, with Evans constructing a musical painting of a land to which he had never ventured. As Miles said, ''It's music, and I like it". Now available in glorious mono. – Music On Vinyl

“Of the many accolades lavished on Sketches of Spain over the years, perhaps the two most prevalent are how well it has aged, and how disarmingly honest it remains. The secret to creating music that stands the test of time is to create timeless music. Simple in theory; near-impossible in practice. What exactly is meant by calling this album honest? Plainly put, Miles seemed incapable of playing false or forced notes, in part because his technique was not impeccable.

Critics have long discussed (and debated) how Miles was neither the flashiest nor most proficient trumpeter of his time(s). On the other hand, accepting or embracing this circumstance enabled Davis to play, literally, to his strengths. As a result, he cultivated an approach that relied upon silence as much as sound: Miles took the philosophy of less is more to unprecedented levels. In a sense, he transcended technique, evolving into a directness that achieved an uncommon sensitivity: his solos were ceaselessly expressive, lyrical and filled with concentrated feeling. This facility was perhaps never on more obvious display than it is throughout Sketches of Spain.” – PopMatters

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