(8 Brass) Written as a dedication to Miles Dewey Davis. The Miles Davis sixties quintet was one of the most conceptually advanced and innovative small jazz groups of the era. Miles' Tones is inspired by the melodic, structural and harmonic concepts of the music of that famous quintet. The theme is sixteen measures in length, but has a twist. The internal harmonic phrasing is nine measures, then seven measures.

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RICK HELZER has served as the Associate Director of Jazz Studies in the School of Music and Dance at San Diego State University since 1986. He is the coordinator of the undergraduate and graduate jazz theory programs and has authored all the text materials for those courses. His original compositions are published by UNC Jazz Press and Hal Leonard Corporation as well as sixteen more appear on nine albums. Many of the albums have been reviewed in Jazz Times, Cadence, Option, Coda, Saxophone Journal, International Trumpet Guild Journal, Jazz Journal International and the Los Angeles Times. He is also recording an album of his original compositions that features bassist David Friesen and flautist James Newton. Since August of 1999, Rick has written for Jazz Improv magazine contributin solo transcriptions, annotations, articles and record reviews.