Miles Davis Sketches Of Spain

Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue

Sketches of Spain has been hailed by music critics as one of the best recordings of the Third Stream genre, which is described as a fusion of jazz, European classical, and world music styles. After Miles Davis and his wife Frances Davis attended a flamenco performance by dancer Roberto Iglesias, Davis was so inspired that he purchased every flamenco album he could find at a New York record shop.

The album is a pairing between Davis and arranger and composer Gil Evans, with whom he had collaborated before, for a set of compositions in the Spanish folk tradition. The first piece, taking up the majority of the first side, is the adagio movement from Concierto de Aranjuez. Both Evans and Davis agreed that the song had a "strong" melody. The next song, "Will o' the Wisp", is from the ballet titled El amor brujo. The third song, "The Pan Piper" is a traditional piece. The final two songs, "Saeta" and "Solea", are original compositions written by Evans.

The album has been ranked 358th on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list and according to Acclaimed Music, Sketches of Spain is the 393rd most ranked album on music critics' all-time lists. In response to comments that the album is something other than jazz, Davis replied, "It's music, and I like it."