Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This chapter captures an open discussion about the collaborative work on two defining Miles Davis commercial recordings: 1957’s Miles Ahead with Gil Evans and George Avakian and 1986’s Tutu with Marcus Miller and Tommy LiPuma. Drawing upon the expertise of the authors as a contemporary composer-orchestrator and a popular-music media and cultural researcher, the chapter explores ideas of collaboration, orchestration and the black aesthetic in these seminal recordings. The standard story of jazz genius sits uncomfortably with Davis’ long history of collaboration, and the periodisation of Davis’ career distances the working methods of one historically located recording from another that privilege a grand narrative about decline in Davis’ music. The chapter shows that Davis’ working relationships with both musical orchestrators like Evans and Miller and record company executives Avakian and LiPuma reveal important insights into the way Davis articulated his music through his exploration of a black aesthetic.</jats:p>