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Thread: Electric Miles: A a Different Kind of Blue

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    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Electric Miles: A a Different Kind of Blue

    Received tonight the DVD of Miles' performance at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, shot by the same crew that did Jethro Tull and, well, all of the festival. Miles plays one continuous 38-minute set drawn from parts and pieces of Bitches Brew, which was released nine months earlier.

    The DVD is filled out with contemporary (2003) interviews with almost all members of the band, and they all speak with reverence of their time with Miles. There's over two hours of material on the disc, all of it very informative and entertaining. There are even more interviews with Miles himself, given at various stages of his career, than I thought existed.

    Sound quality is stunningly good. Hard to believe it's 1970. The bass in particular is deep and powerful but with enough high end to pick up finger noise. Absolutely top notch sound.

  2. #2
    Parrots Ripped My Flesh Dave (in MA)'s Avatar
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    The track "Call It Anything" consists of:
    1 Directions (J. Zawinul) 7:12
    Introduction (0:02-0:11): "Please welcome the undisputed... finest trumpet in the world, Miles Davis..." Theme stated at 2:30
    2 Bitches Brew (M. Davis) 10:05
    3 It's About That Time (M. Davis) 6:29
    4 Sanctuary (W. Shorter-M. Davis) 1:01
    5 Spanish Key (M. Davis) 8:15
    6 The Theme (with applause) (M. Davis)

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    Member nosebone's Avatar
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    Yeah, that's a good one.
    no tunes, no dynamics, no nosebone

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    Member No Pride's Avatar
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    I saw him at the Chicago Ampitheater around that time.

    Edit: My bad, it was the Auditorium Theater. Same line up though, with Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett on electric pianos. Probably the last time Jarrett got near one of those things. I remember being particularly taken with Jack DeJohnette's playing.
    Last edited by No Pride; 05-05-2015 at 09:07 AM.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by No Pride View Post
    I saw him at the Chicago Ampitheater around that time.

    Edit: My bad, it was the Auditorium Theater. Same line up though, with Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett on electric pianos. Probably the last time Jarrett got near one of those things. I remember being particularly taken with Jack DeJohnette's playing.
    There's an interview somewhere, might be on this DVD the OP was talking about, where Keith talks about how when he joined the band he was electric organ (as on the Fillmore East recordings), then after Chick left the band, Miles had him playing electric piano as well. I think Keith says something like "I'm not sure I could tell you which I hated more". I gather that if it had been anyone other than Miles, he wouldn't have been interested in playing that kind of music.

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    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    Miles plays one continuous 38-minute set drawn from parts and pieces of Bitches Brew, which was released nine months earlier.
    I wonder why John McLaughlin didn't tour with them?

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    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    I wonder why John McLaughlin didn't tour with them?
    He was following his heart and at the time, his heart belonged to The Tony Williams Lifetime.

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    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    I wonder if Miles considered approaching Jimi to replace him?

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    I have about seventy Miles Davis CDs (Kind of Blue was the first CD I owned), and this has to count as one of my least favorite. Miles went through many, many changes in his career and this period marks the only low point in his arrangements, in my humble opinion.

    That said, I can't begin to count the hours I've spend listening to the man over the decades and will always treasure the opportunity I had to see him perform live the year before his death. He is undoubtedly the most significant figure in Jazz.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    I wonder why John McLaughlin didn't tour with them?
    Tony Williams was reportedly furious that Miles had asked McLaughlin to play on the In A Silent Way sessions, and with good reason. Miles was famous for hijacking musicians away from other bandleaders. Tony had specifically brought McLaughlin over from England to play in his band, and he was worried that was going to try to poach him. According to McLaughlin, Miles actually did ask him, both during the In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew sessions, but the first time McLaughlin decided to stick to his commitment to playing with Tony, and then the second, he had already started putting together in his mind what was about to become Mavishnu Orchestra.

    As far as I know, the only time McLaughlin played with Miles onstage was that night at the Cellar Door in Washington, DC, commemorated by the Live/Evil double album (and the subsequent Cellar Door boxset a few decades later).

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    I wonder if Miles considered approaching Jimi to replace him?
    I read once that there was some informal talks about Miles being involved in the much talked about recordings that Jimi might have done with Gil Evans. I forget where I read it, but I remember reading somewhere that Gil had gotten in touch with Miles and said that he was going to do something with Jimi, and invited Miles to take part.

    Another story I heard was that Miles attended Jimi's funeral, and in the limo on the way, Miles says, "Dammit, I wanted to play with him". Someone else in the car remarks that "That's too bad", and Miles responds, "No, it's ok, Jimi's playing with Trane and Bird, now".

    I think the reason Miles had Reggie Lucas and especially Pete Cosey in the 73-75 era band was because was looking for that Jimi vibe. I recall Miles saying it took him awhile to find the right guitarists, because the black guys couldn't play lead guitar the way Jimi did, and the white guys who could play lead were hopeless at playing the funky rhythm guitar stuff Miles wanted to hear.

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    Member rapidfirerob's Avatar
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    38 minutes of heaven.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by BadEars View Post
    this has to count as one of my least favorite. Miles went through many, many changes in his career and this period marks the only low point in his arrangements, in my humble opinion.
    Likewise. B-Brew and Big Fun made an impact on me at a time when I was discovering all kinds of great stuff, but the early electric phase is my least favorite too. (Not Jack Johnson or In a Silent Way, which I love more than ever to this day, but the most electric-piano-heavy stuff of '70-71.) As this phase goes along, the music gets fresher for me the more he drifts away from keys and toward African rhythms.

    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    I read once that there was some informal talks about Miles being involved in the much talked about recordings that Jimi might have done with Gil Evans. I forget where I read it, but I remember reading somewhere that Gil had gotten in touch with Miles and said that he was going to do something with Jimi, and invited Miles to take part.
    IIRC, Miles's autobiography describes a session or two when he informally jammed with Jimi prior to making further plans. Supposedly there was an actual session booked, and Miles and Gil were waiting to pick Jimi up at the airport when they heard he'd died in his sleep the night before.

    (At least I think that was in the autobiography--not totally sure because it's been quite a while. And while I'm on the subject, that's a great read I'd recommend to anyone in this thread.)

  14. #14
    And on a side note, Gil did eventually make an album of Hendrix songs for big-band. Whatever you imagine from that description, it's exactly right.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Spiral View Post
    IIRC, Miles's autobiography describes a session or two when he informally jammed with Jimi prior to making further plans. Supposedly there was an actual session booked, and Miles and Gil were waiting to pick Jimi up at the airport when they heard he'd died in his sleep the night before.

    (At least I think that was in the autobiography--not totally sure because it's been quite a while. And while I'm on the subject, that's a great read I'd recommend to anyone in this thread.)
    It's been a good while since I read it too, but I remember this much: Jimi would come over to Miles' place and Miles would try to explain music theory related stuff to him. He said Jimi would look confused until Miles would play what he was talking about on the piano, then Jimi would get it right away.

    The "Hendrix album" that Gil Evans made was supposed to be with Jimi. Unfortunately, fate prevented that from happening.

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    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    Interesting and bizarre. Personally, I have trouble imagining that it would've worked, especially with Paul and Tony. Great musicians, but from totally different worlds.

    Also, I read in one of the Hendrix bios that Tony jammed with Jimi once and didn't dig it; he was much more into McLaughlin's guitar playing.

    Of course, all of this is moot.

  18. #18
    Member wideopenears's Avatar
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    Love this DVD. Dave Holland on electric, pretty awesome.

  19. #19
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by No Pride View Post
    Interesting and bizarre. Personally, I have trouble imagining that it would've worked, especially with Paul and Tony. Great musicians, but from totally different worlds.
    Jimi spent years playing the "chitlin circuit" as a backup guitarist and presumably could fit himself into almost any musical situation. With his star so much on the rise in 1970, it's doubtful he would have agreed to play second fiddle to anyone, even someone with the gravitas of Miles. But I could see a few sessions (a la Bitches Brew) recorded informally -- Jimi was extremely restless, and at that point was searching for alternatives to the 3-minute pop song.

    Paul likewise always had ambitions to more serious music. I somehow doubt Miles would have bonded with him -- diametrically opposed personalities -- but he certainly would have added a unique element. Miles was looking for that funky Sly Stone/James Brown sound so I doubt Paul would have scratched his itch but who knows? Paul maybe could've pulled it off.

    Tony I have to believe is enough of a technician, and a professional, to have been able to fit into any situation for which he was hired. If you look at the recordings he's done, there is no consistency, no sense that he could only play one kind of music. He would have been the perfect glue to hold together the other three extremely dominant, alpha male, performers.
    Last edited by rcarlberg; 05-10-2015 at 12:56 PM.

  20. #20
    Parrots Ripped My Flesh Dave (in MA)'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    Tony Williams was reportedly furious that Miles had asked McLaughlin to play on the In A Silent Way sessions, and with good reason. Miles was famous for hijacking musicians away from other bandleaders. Tony had specifically brought McLaughlin over from England to play in his band, and he was worried that was going to try to poach him.
    That doesn't really make much sense, since Williams was the drummer on the In A Silent Way sessions.

  21. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    Received tonight the DVD of Miles' performance at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, shot by the same crew that did Jethro Tull and, well, all of the festival. Miles plays one continuous 38-minute set drawn from parts and pieces of Bitches Brew, which was released nine months earlier.

    The DVD is filled out with contemporary (2003) interviews with almost all members of the band, and they all speak with reverence of their time with Miles. There's over two hours of material on the disc, all of it very informative and entertaining. There are even more interviews with Miles himself, given at various stages of his career, than I thought existed.

    Sound quality is stunningly good. Hard to believe it's 1970. The bass in particular is deep and powerful but with enough high end to pick up finger noise. Absolutely top notch sound.
    Glad you're diggin' it. I did too, when I reviewed it, back when it was first released in 2004.

  22. #22
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Good review. Thanks for the link.

  23. #23
    Insect Overlord Progatron's Avatar
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    This DVD arrived today. $14, not bad! I'll check it out tomorrow night.
    Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.

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  24. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave (in MA) View Post
    That doesn't really make much sense, since Williams was the drummer on the In A Silent Way sessions.
    What doesn't make sense? And what Tony playing on In A Silent Way have to do with it?

  25. #25
    Parrots Ripped My Flesh Dave (in MA)'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    What doesn't make sense? And what Tony playing on In A Silent Way have to do with it?
    I wasn't questioning what you were recalling, but it didn't really make sense for Williams to resent McLaughlin being brought in for the same session that Williams was also involved in.

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