Sketches of Spain

Sketches of Spain
Studio album by Miles Davis
Released	July 18, 1960
Recorded	November 20, 1959; March 10, 1960 Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York
Genre	Jazz
Length	41:19
Label	Columbia CL 1480
Producer	Teo Macero & Irving Townsend
Miles Davis chronology
Kind of Blue (1959) Sketches of Spain (1960) Someday My Prince Will Come (1961)

Sketches of Spain is an album by Miles Davis, recorded between November 1959 and March 1960 at the Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City.

The album pairs Davis with arranger and composer Gil Evans, with whom he had collaborated on several other projects, on a program of compositions largely derived from the Spanish folk tradition. An extended version of the second movement of Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez is also included, as well as a song called "Will o' the Wisp", from the ballet El amor brujo by Manuel de Falla.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Down Beat
Penguin Guide to Jazz
Pitchfork	(10.0/10)
Pitchfork	(8.0/10)
Q
Rolling Stone Album Guide
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

Sketches of Spain is considered to be one of the most accessible albums of Davis's career. Less improvisational than much of his other work, some of Davis' contemporaries suggested that Sketches of Spain was something other than jazz. Davis replied (according to Rolling Stone magazine), "It's music, and I like it".

The Rolling Stone Album Guide calls it "a work of unparalleled grace and lyricisim."

In 2003, the album was ranked number 356 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Track listing

Side one

1. "Concierto de Aranjuez" (Adagio) (Joaquín Rodrigo) – 16:19
2. "Will o' the Wisp" (Manuel de Falla) – 3:47

Side two

3. "The Pan Piper" (Gil Evans) – 3:52
4. "Saeta" (Evans) – 5:06
5. "Solea" (Evans) – 12:15

1997 reissue bonus tracks

6. "Song of Our Country" (Evans) – 3:23
7. "Concierto de Aranjuez" (alternative take; part 1) (Rodrigo) – 12:04
8. "Concierto de Aranjuez" (alternative take; part 2 ending) (Rodrigo) – 3:33

Personnel

In alphabetical order (Note: this list actually encompasses the total musicians used on several sessions in late 1959 and early 1960. The actual number of players on the piece was 19.)

Danny Bank — bass clarinet Bill Barber — tuba John Barrows — French horn Albert Block — flute James Buffington — French horn Eddie Caine — flute, flugelhorn Paul Chambers — bass Earl Chapin — French horn Jimmy Cobb — drums Johnny Coles — trumpet Miles Davis — trumpet, flugelhorn Gil Evans — arranger, conductor Harold Feldman — clarinet, flute, oboe Bernie Glow — trumpet

Dick Hixon — trombone Elvin Jones — percussion Taft Jordan — trumpet Jack Knitzer — bassoon Jose Mangual — percussion Jimmy McAllister — tuba Tony Miranda — French horn Louis Mucci — trumpet Romeo Penque — oboe Janet Putnam — harp Frank Rehak — trombone Ernie Royal — trumpet Joe Singer — French horn

In popular culture

• Buckethead's 2002 album, Electric Tears, contains a song entitled "Sketches of Spain (For Miles)".
• Two Almodóvar films have featured songs from this album: Tacones lejanos (High Heels), where "Solea" is heard over the opening credits; and La flor de mi secreto (The flower of my secret), where "Saeta" is heard in a ballet scene.
• In Haruki Murakami's novel, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, the main character owns a signed copy of Sketches of Spain.
• In the movie The Salton Sea, Val Kilmer's character plays an excerpt from the song Saeta on his trumpet. It is also a prevailing song throughout the movie.
• Hip-Hop Producer DJ Premier sampled "Will O' the Wisp" for the tracks "Invasion" and "Wrath of the Math" for the Jeru The Damaja 1996 album Wrath of the Math.
• In 2010, a cover of the album was recorded featuring Lew Soloff, Solo Trumpet, with Steve Richman conducting the Harmonie Ensemble/New York.
• In concert, the Grateful Dead occasionally played a jam inspired by "Solea" that was dubbed by fans as "Spanish Jam". Examples of this jam can be heard on various concert recordings, including Dick's Picks Volume 6.

External links

• Sketches of Spain Legacy Edition at Myspace (streamed copy where licensed)