George Russell – Lydian Chromatic Concept Of Tonal Organization

The Lydian Chromatic Concept is one of the two most splendid books about music; the other is My Musical Language by Messiaen. Though I’m considered a contemporary music composer, if I dare categorize myself as an artist, I've been strongly influenced by the Lydian Concept, which is not simply a musical method – we might call it a philosophy of music, or we might call it poetry.

The simple melody was an experiment inspired by an evening Miles had spent with George Russell who at the time was working on his Lydian Chromatic Concept, Miles was fascinated by Russell’s approach. Here was a means for breaking free from tonal clichés while maintaining some amount of restraint. Shortly after his evening with Russell, Miles recorded his new composition demonstrating Russell’s basic principles.