<P> Towards the end of the 1950s, spurred by the experiments of composer and bandleader George Russell, musicians began using a modal approach . They chose not to write their pieces using conventional chord changes, but instead using modal scales . Musicians employing this technique include Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter . </P> <P> Among the significant compositions of modal jazz were "So What" by Miles Davis and "Impressions" by John Coltrane . "So What" and "Impressions" follow the same AABA song form and were in D Dorian for the A sections and modulated a half step up to E-flat Dorian for the B section . The Dorian mode is the natural minor scale with a raised sixth . Other compositions include Davis' "Flamenco Sketches", Bill Evans' "Peace Piece", and Shorter's "Footprints". </P> <P> Miles Davis recorded one of the best selling jazz albums of all time in this modal framework . Kind of Blue is an exploration of the possibilities of modal jazz . Included on these sessions was tenor saxophonist John Coltrane who, throughout the 1960s, would explore the possibilities of modal improvisation more deeply than any other jazz artist . The rest of the musicians on the album were alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, pianists Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly (though never on the same piece), bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Jimmy Cobb . (Kelly, Chambers, and Cobb would eventually form the Wynton Kelly Trio .) This record is considered a kind of test album in many conservatories focusing on jazz improvisation . The compositions "So What" and "All Blues" from Kind of Blue are considered contemporary jazz standards . Davis has acknowledged the crucial role played by Bill Evans, a former member of George Russell's ensembles, in his transition from hard bop to modal playing . </P> <P> While Davis' explorations of modal jazz were sporadic throughout the 1960s--he would include several of the tunes from Kind of Blue in the repertoire of his "Second Great Quintet"--Coltrane would take the lead in extensively exploring the limits of modal improvisation and composition with his own classic quartet, featuring Elvin Jones (drums), McCoy Tyner (piano), and Reggie Workman and Jimmy Garrison (bass). Several of Coltrane's albums from the period are recognized as seminal albums in jazz more broadly, but especially modal jazz: Africa / Brass (1961), Live! at the Village Vanguard (1962), Crescent (1964), A Love Supreme (1964), and Meditations (1965). Coltrane's compositions from this period such as "India," "Chasin' the Trane," "Crescent," and "Impressions" have entered the jazz repertoire, along with his interpretations of standards like Richard Rodgers' "My Favorite Things", and the traditional "Greensleeves". </P>

Who credited with innovating modal jazz and fusion