Ashley Kahn | The Great Miles Sextet of 1957-’59: “The Justice League of Jazz”

($30-$40 Tickets + DICE fees | 6:30pm Presentation & 8pm Concert) The Century Room is thrilled to welcome back Grammy-winning author and jazz historian Ashley Kahn to kick off our celebration of Miles Davis’s centennial! Ashley will give a 75 minute presentation on the 1958/59 Miles Davis sextet following by a performance from Morani Sanders’ sextet! Presented in conjunction with the Tucson Jazz Music Foudnation.

Jazz is a tradition of individual heroes, but there are a few bands that were historic and all-star collections of talent. Miles Davis’ sextets of the late ‘50s were one of those rare, once-in-a-lifetime lineups, featuring John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Red Garland, Bill Evans, Philly Joe Jones, and others, all destined to become bandleaders and legends in their own right. Miles’ sextets recorded two of the most important of all jazz albums: Milestones and Kind of Blue: The first being Miles’ farewell to the era of bebop that his career had started in, and the second was the sound of the future, predicting the musical adventure that his career would become.

Who were these incredible sidemen, why and how did Miles choose them, and what about their music remains so fresh, modern and influential? These are the questions we will ask and answer, as we hear from Grammy-winning author Ashley Kahn, followed by the Morandi Sanders Sextet performing selections of this timeless music at The Century Room on Wednesday, January 15