Jazz and mode: a renewal?

Abstract

Until the fifties, jazz improvisation is chiefly harmonic. During his research for opening
the temporal space, Miles Davis is concerned with the mode concept as a support to his
melodic constructions. John Coltrane, who is developing at the same time a very
sophisticated harmonic work, takes care of the Davis modal concept and incorporates it
to his own exploration of new expressive means. based on important steps of this
research, this paper describes the genesis of an original way of developing improvisation,
and possible extensions to other improvised musics