John Coltrane and Miles Davis are both very famous jazz artists who experimented with different styles of jazz music and each had their own famous small groups, however Coltrane and Davis differ in their level of audacity and their resulting legacies. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay John Coltrane and Miles Davis are, for the most part, household names when it comes to jazz music. Coltrane and Davis were both innovators and inspirations for the modern jazz genre. Additionally, both Coltrane and Davis had their own small groups: Coltrane had his quartet from 1962 to 1965, and Davis had his quintets from 1955 to 1958 and 1964 to 1968. Although Coltrane and Davis share many similarities, they differ greatly in terms of their level of boldness and risk-taking in their music and also their impact/legacy on the world of jazz. Coltrane was definitely a risk taker. It has been said that during his performances, Coltrane would perform 45-minute solos, which is not only shocking to hear, but also a bold move on his part. Following this bold trend, in Coltrane's 1963 song “Alabama,” Coltrane plays the tenor saxophone elegantly yet dominantly. His song for me personally has a spontaneous flavor, because it lacks a strong presence of percussion instruments. In “Alabama,” Coltrane uses the tenor saxophone to really carry the song and add this excitement to an otherwise gentle and quiet song. I could easily imagine the tenor saxophone playing alone without the rest of the instruments and therefore I feel that Coltrane took a greater risk by giving such a strong dominant role to the tenor saxophone in this piece. Coltrane's legacy, in my opinion, has been extremely influential in introducing new improvisation techniques such as longer solos and adjusting the dominance of instruments. Compared to Coltrane, Miles Davis played his music more safely. In his song, "The Sorcerer" from 1966, Davis uses the trumpet to a large extent but creates balance with the use of drums, piano and bass, so the song is not too overwhelming. Davis also makes great use of breaks and allows each instrument to have their own solo, which in my opinion made the song more complete, but at the expense of the excitement of the song. I think Miles Davis had a bigger impact on the jazz world. Often, the first name people think of when they talk about jazz is Miles Davis and I think that's because Davis had more starpower and his songs generally spoke to his audience, but I also feel limited in his ability to take the same risks that he took Coltrane. .Remember: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay I chose to listen to Nguyen Le's "Weaving and Awaiting" because of the softness of the singing and also the soothing and gentle character of the nature song. Even though I can't understand the lyrics of the song, I can't help but feel calmed by the singing. The voice is very soft and calming, but it also has this sophistication and mystery that I can't quite describe because I don't know exactly what is being said, but I can feel it. The song also has this warmth and happiness that I get from the tone of the voice. The voice I heard suited the song very well and the language it is sung in really matches the musical instruments. I also really liked the instrumentation of this piece. I personally wasn't familiar with some of the instruments used before listening to this song, such as the koto, but I think these instruments add a cultural characteristic.