Jazz innovator Miles Davis emerges as a pivotal influence in contemporary jazz evolution. His revolutionary recording 'Kind of Blue,' produced...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Jazz innovator Miles Davis emerges as a pivotal influence in contemporary jazz evolution. His revolutionary recording 'Kind of Blue,' produced in 1959 while working with Columbia Records, pioneered modal jazz—an innovative methodology that prioritized musical modes over intricate harmonic sequences, enabling enhanced spontaneous creativity and deeper artistic communication. According to music critic Nat Hentoff, Davis 'created completely fresh pathways for jazz performers, and through his breakthrough approach, an entirely new period of artistic innovation was born.'
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
It introduces a pioneering artist, describes an innovative technique he developed, and suggests why the technique was culturally influential.
It presents a musical concept, illustrates how the concept differs from previous approaches, and shows how musicians have adopted the concept.
It names the record label where an important musician worked, details the musician's career at the label, and provides an example of the recognition he received there.
It mentions an album, offers a summary of the album's musical content, and presents a critic's commentary on the album.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Jazz innovator Miles Davis emerges as a pivotal influence in contemporary jazz evolution.' |
|
| 'His revolutionary recording 'Kind of Blue,' produced in 1959 while working with Columbia Records, pioneered modal jazz—an innovative methodology that prioritized musical modes over intricate harmonic sequences, enabling enhanced spontaneous creativity and deeper artistic communication.' |
|
| 'According to music critic Nat Hentoff, Davis 'created completely fresh pathways for jazz performers, and through his breakthrough approach, an entirely new period of artistic innovation was born.'' |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Miles Davis revolutionized jazz through his modal jazz technique, creating lasting cultural impact on the genre.
Argument Flow: The passage introduces Davis as an important figure, then zooms in on his specific innovation (modal jazz and Kind of Blue), explains how this technique worked and its benefits, and concludes with expert testimony about its broader cultural significance for jazz as a whole.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- Looking at our analysis, we can see the passage follows a clear pattern: it starts by introducing Davis as an important figure, then describes his specific innovation (modal jazz), and finally explains why this innovation was significant through expert commentary
- The right answer should capture this three-part structure: introduction of the person, explanation of his technique, significance/impact of that technique
It introduces a pioneering artist, describes an innovative technique he developed, and suggests why the technique was culturally influential.
- Correct - Matches our structure perfectly: introduces Davis (pioneering artist), explains modal jazz (innovative technique), and uses Hentoff's quote to show cultural influence
- Pioneering artist fits Davis's introduction as a pivotal influence
- Innovative technique captures the modal jazz explanation
- Culturally influential matches Hentoff's testimony about new period of artistic innovation
It presents a musical concept, illustrates how the concept differs from previous approaches, and shows how musicians have adopted the concept.
- Incorrect - Says it presents a musical concept first, but the passage starts with Davis the person, not modal jazz the concept
- Claims it shows how musicians have adopted the concept, but we only have one critic's opinion, not evidence of widespread adoption
- Gets the structure backwards - person first, then concept
It names the record label where an important musician worked, details the musician's career at the label, and provides an example of the recognition he received there.
- Incorrect - Focuses on Columbia Records as the main point, but the record label is just background detail in one sentence
- Says it details the musician's career at the label, but we only get one album from 1959, not career details
It mentions an album, offers a summary of the album's musical content, and presents a critic's commentary on the album.
- Incorrect - Starts with mentions an album, making Kind of Blue the main focus, but Davis himself is introduced first
- Says it offers a summary of the album's musical content, but we get technique explanation, not content summary