Miles Davis 100: In a Silent Way

A jazz concert at Blue Note London marking the centenary of Miles Davis, with the programme built around the album In a Silent Way. The evening is presented as a tribute to the trumpeter's work.

Miles Davis (1926–1991) was an American trumpeter and bandleader who led some of the most influential groups in jazz history, moving from bebop in the late 1940s to modal jazz, cool jazz and, from the late 1960s, electric fusion. In a Silent Way, recorded in 1969, is one of the key records of that electric period, a long, shaded work built on modal textures and with a markedly reduced harmonic framework. Anniversary programmes of this kind draw on the body of music associated with him rather than on the original performers, so the evening is a tribute and not a performance by Miles Davis himself.

Blue Note London, on Saint Martin's Lane in the West End, is a jazz club and concert venue that presents live music in a dedicated room with dining. It is a fitting place for a programme centred on a recording that rewards close, attentive listening.

The concert suits listeners who know the 1960s and 1970s recordings of Miles Davis and want to hear his material performed live in a jazz club setting, as well as newcomers approaching his electric period for the first time.