Miles Davis, Sketches of Spain, and Spanish Folk Music

A few weeks ago I discovered some of the source material for the Miles Davis-Gil Evans collaboration known as Sketches of Spain. When I first heard the album a year ago, I disliked it because I found it rather boring. A few months ago, for some reason I gave it another chance and found myself enthralled. As my appreciation for the album grew more and more, I did some research and found out that in addition to the first two songs on the album (they're based on Spanish classical compositions, "Concierto de Aranjuez" and "Will O'The Wisp"), the last three are based on Spanish folk melodies and musical forms, such as flamenco and Andalusian music.

My research into some of these Spanish folk forms brought me to Alan Lomax's field recordings of Spanish music in the 1950s or around that period. Two of the songs from Alan Lomax's  field recordings were adapted and arranged by Gil Evans for his large ensemble and Miles Davis on their 1960 release, Sketches of Spain. The two folk songs used by Evans are "Alborada de Vigo," a song from Galicia in northwestern Spain, and "Saeta," religious music performed in the towns of Andalusia during Semana Santa, or Holy Week. Lomax's recording of "Alborada" features flute and is much shorter than Gil Evan's vision of it. "Saeta," however, is arranged quite faithfully by Evans. It mixes the march and horns with the flamenco/Middle-Eastern-styled vocals of the Spanish singer in Lomax's recordings. Indeed, Gil Evans and Miles Davis's version of "Saeta" is so faithful that Davis's solo echoes the haunting beauty of the Spanish vocalist.

Here is "Alborada de Vigo"
http://grooveshark.com/s/Alborada+De+Vigo/3Tyl2w?src=5

And "The Pan Piper," the song from Gil Evans and Miles Davis which is takes the melody for the opening line.

Alan Lomax's field recording of "Saeta" in Sevilla or some other Andalusian town. Love the melismatic singing
http://grooveshark.com/s/Saeta/3TyxA5?src=5

Miles And Gil Evans

The final track on Sketches of Spain is "Solea," which is based on a form of flamenco form/dance.
Here is Spanish guitarist Paco de Lucia performing a solea

Here is a dance

And now the jazzed up version

Of course Miles had explored Spanish music prior to Sketches of Spain. Indeed, two of my favorite Spanish-inflected Miles Davis songs are "Flamenco Sketches" from Kind of Blue and "Teo" from Someday My Prince Will Come. "Flamenco Sketches" is just that: sketches. It's built on Bill Evan's light piano (which is based on his own interpretation of a jazz standard, "Some Other Time"). The Spanish influences are only heard in the solos. "Teo," like "Flamenco Sketches," features John Coltrane on sax but has a much stronger and interesting drumming.