Miles Davis

Sketches of Spain, Miles’ third project with arranger Gil Evans, was the second in the one-two knockout punch that catapulted the trumpeter from the jazz world to mainstream adulation as the 1960s opened. The pinched, lonely sound he effected on his trumpet was the perfect fit for the traditional Spanish melodies interpreted by a well-rehearsed brass ensemble. The combination created a timeless tapestry of Iberian sounds, exotic and earthy, yet somehow familiar to American ears.