033 Michael Veal on John Coltrane and Miles Davis

On this episode, Marc talks to Michael Veal, author of “Living Space: John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Free Jazz, from Analog to Digital,” released in April 2024. It’s a fascinating, complex study of John Coltrane’s work from 1965 to his death in 1967, and Davis’s “Lost Quintet,” who played from 1968 to 1970 without ever recording in the studio. Comparing the former to digital architecture, and the latter to experimental photography, Veal explores themes of outer space, free meter, race, musical analysis, the avant-garde in jazz, and much more. 

As he writes, "Similar to the way that my interest in architecture influenced my articulation of rhythmic ideas (with John Coltrane), my immersion in the language and history of photography helped transform what initially seemed like an intractable stumbling block (the lack of official Davis recordings) into a constellation of new opportunities for jazz history, analysis, and interpretation."

We hope you enjoy Marc's conversation with Michael Veal!