O-10, I admire your interest and passion for native art forms and how you bring it into these discussions; I too appreciate and enjoy much of it. However, and with all due respect, to suggest that Santeria dance is as structured as, say, George Balanchine's choreography seems a bit of a stretch.
Rok, while I suspect that while we probably draw the dividing line between "like" and "no like" as concerns Miles and Trane growth at different points in the chronology, I basically agree with your sentiments. I like all of Miles' music from the standpoint of the fascinating development of him as an artist. I "like" much of his later stuff inasmuch as I respect it because I hear and appreciate that development and the natural progression of his musical persona and the whole inevitability of it. I can listen to mid-late 60s Miles all day; I love it. His later stuff is a different story. Once in a while I will sit and listen to something like Bitches Brew like it sometimes and other times I appreciate it primarily from the vantage point of: "it's so obvious that this is where he was headed" or, "it's so obvious that because of this (Bitches Brew) we now have X,Y or Z". Do I like it always; no way. The same goes for Trane. I think the Miles "sweet spot", for me, is that 60s band with Shorter, Hancock etc. Perfect balance between the more traditional bop thing and the more intellectual and sophisticated harmonic language; not to mention the sheer virtuosity. This clip kills me everytime; to think that Tony Williams was 17 years old!!!:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x_whk6m67VE
