July 2015 Amazingly, this month there are two must-have Miles Davis releases with essential electric Miles content. First of all there's Columbia's release of the 4-CD boxed set Miles Davis At Newport 1955-1975,which is Volume 4 in the The Bootleg Series (the first three are covered further down in this news section). Plus there's Live In Tokyo 1975, on the obscure Hi Hat label, showcasing Miles' 73-75 Pete Cosey band 10 days before February 1, the historic day when the epic milestones of Agharta and Pangaea were recorded. Miles Davis At Newport 1955-1975 covers two decades of Miles playing at the Newport Jazz festival, with selections of sets from 1955, 1958, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1973 and 1975. While all this music is wonderful and noteworthy, of particular interest to lovers of the electric music of Miles naturally are CDs 3 and 4, which contain the sections from the concerts of 1969-75. CD 3 opens with 24 minutes of the concert of July 5, 1969, at Newport, Rhode Island, which were previously released in 2011 on the album Bitches Brew Live. This recording is notable for containing the earliest documented version of "Miles Runs The Voodoo Down," and the absence of saxophonist Wayne Shorter. Apparently he was stuck in traffic, leaving Miles, Chick Corea (electric piano), Dave Holland (bass) and Jack DeJohnette (drums), to fend for themselves, very effectively, it must be said. Though Holland still plays acoustic bass, the mood is disctinctly funky and rock-influenced. The concert took place in between the recordings of In A Silent Way in February and Bitches Brew a month later, and the way Miles' music was progressing live clearly was mirrored on the latter album. One gripe here. Ashley Kahn's liner notes make no mention of Shorter's absence, a peculiar omission, which throws up the question how closely he actually listens to this music. Kahn wrote the wonderful book Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece (2001), and clearly is well-versed in the ins and outs of jazz, but his problems in relating to Miles electric music seep through in places. Kahn's liner notes quote Newport Festival organizer George Wein extensively, which is apt and at times makes for very interesting and engaging reading. But why once again go over that well-trodden and totally discredited narrative of Miles' supposed "sell-out"? One would have imaged that this entire narrative, invented in the 1960s out of prejudice, ignorance, and jealousy, can in 2015 finally be put to rest. Also, the description of the 1973-75 band only in passing refers to the main inspiration for the band's music, funk, and Wein is uncritically quoted as saying that Miles wasn't taking any more solos by this stage anymore, because "he couldn't play as well and it seemed he was covering himself up with the electronics around him." For whatever reason, Khan does not point out that Miles at times definitely still took long solos during this era (as anyone who has actually listened to Agharta and Pangaea can testify), and that the use of a wah-wah pedal, and the "electronics around him" were first and foremost artistic choices that don't need discrediting as stop-gap solutions, even as it is also true that Miles was physically in an increasingly bad state during these years and that this hampered his playing. The timeline of the 71, 73, and 75 concert sections is jumbled a bit on CD 3 and 4, for space reasons, with the 1969 concert followed by the 1973 concert, which took place in Berlin (under the banner "Newport Jazz Festival In Europe"). This 49-minute recording is the 2nd offical live release of the early days of the Pete Cosey-band (featuring Reggie Lucas on guitar, Michael Henderson on bass, Al Foster on drums, Mtume on percussion, and in this case Dave Liebman on sax and flute). The first official live release of 1973 was of the July 8 concert in Montreux, which appears on the 20-CD set The Complete Miles Davis At Montreux 1973-1991 (2007). The July 8 concert recording, spread over 2-CD's, is remarkable for its sonic transparancy, which wonderfully suits the almost pastoral playing on the second CD, which is an absolute highlight of this band. The playing on the November 1st concert is more energetic and wilder, with a sound that's far less delicate. Michael Henderson's electric bass is distorted throughout, for example. It's still essential listening for anyone interested in this music, not least because it shows Cosey beginning to find his inimitable solo voice. The 1973 concert is followed by a tantalisingly brief segment of a concert in New York on July 1, 1975, just two months before Miles retreated from music for five years. The 7-minutes of Mtume is only second officially released track of the Pete Cosey band with Sam Morrison on saxophone (the first being "Minnie," an outtake recorded in May 1975, issued on The Complete On The Corner Sessions. The sound quality of "Mtume" is below par--this probably was a band recording--but still is acceptable, and one wonders, and hopes, that the rest of the music played during that concert is held back for a later 73-75 band live release. CD 4 contains the first concert of October 22, 1971, in Switzerland (bootlegs of that day usually document the 2nd concert). This band featured Gary Bartz on sax, Keith Jarrett on keyboards, Michael Henderson on bass, Ndugu Chancler on drums, and Don Alias and Mtume on percussion. This concert was recorded professionally for Swiss Radio and TV, and not remixed for this boxed set by Mark Wilder, which makes it sound rather differently, with Jarrett's keyboards on the left channel often overload and a slightly harsh sound in general. This was only Chancler's second concert with Miles, and one wonders how he felt being thrown to the European lions! He holds his own admirably, but otherwise this concert does sound like a band still finding its way. And then there's Live In Tokyo 1975. This radio broadcast registration has long been doing the rounds as a bootleg, and Hi-Hat claims that it has been remastered, and it indeed does have a fuller, more in-your-face sound, with added low and high end. The sound still is nowhere near as good as that of Agharta and Pangaea, but nonetheless perfectly acceptable. CD 1 mirrors much of the material available on Agharta, while CD-2 contains such rarities as another recording of "Mtume," while the "Untitled" track is in fact a version of "Hip Skip," a track first recorded in the studio on November 6, 1974, and included on the The Complete On The Corner Sessions boxed set. It was only played live four times. Live in Tokyo 1975 lacks the ferocious brutality of Agharta and also Dark Magus the year before. Largely because of the flatter sound image the sonic and emotional impact is not quite as intense as that of the official live releases. But those of you who love the 74-75 live albums, and don't have this concert already as a bootleg, run and go out and buy this album! There's plenty to enjoy here, and the way the band plays these songs is different enough to warrant getting these alternate versions. For those who already have the bootleg, the sound of this Hi-Hat release definitely is an improvement on the bootleg, but it's not night and day, so it depends how eager you are.May 2015 I was shocked to find out that Bob Belden died, on May 20th, of a heart attack at the age of 58. Belden was well-known to Miles affectionadoes as the producer of many of Columbia's Miles Davis boxed sets, often also writing the liner notes, notably The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions (1998), The Complete In A Silent Way Sessions (2001), Live at the Fillmore East, March 7, 1970: It's About That Time (2001), The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions (2003), The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 (2005) and The Complete On The Corner Sessions (2007). Belden was very active in general as a compilation reissue producer, working on many more compilation albums by Miles of his non-electric period, and also by the likes of Al Dimeola, Herbie Hancock, Weather Report, and many many others. His Miles Davis compilation and reissue work earned Belden three Grammy Awards, for Miles Davis and Gil Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings (Best Historical Album, Best Album Notes, 1996), Miles Davis Quintet 1965-'68(1998), and The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings (Best Album Notes, 1998). In addition to the above Belden was a successful musician, composer and arranger, releasing nine albums under his own name during the 90s and 00s, and, more recently, three albums with his band Animation. Belden also was involved in the making of several homage albums, featuring his interpretations of the music of Prince, The Beatles, Sting, and Miles. His two Miles homage albums are Miles From India (2008) and Miles Espanol: New Sketches of Spain (2011). I only met Belden once, in New York at Sony Music Studios in 1999. He was, let's be straight, not very pleasant, presumably not particularly impressed with the young upstart from Europe who claimed he was writing a book on the electric music of Miles Davis. For this reason there are relatively few quotes from Belden in Miles Beyond. He may also not have enjoyed my connection with Enrico Merlin, complaining that whenever a new boxed set of Miles material was released that Belden had produced, one or two weeks later there'd be a fax or letter from Italy, with Merlin correcting him on several details! However, over time Belden clearly changed his mind, because he gradually became an important ally to both Enrico and myself. He stayed in touch with me via what must surely add up to thousands of e-mails. He remained gruff on the outside, rarely displaying any social niceties, but instead he regularly sent me links or music, often unissued and/or pre-release Miles tracks, sometimes his own or other music, and the inside info on the goings-on at Columbia and sometimes the Miles Davis Estate he shared often was invaluable. Much of the inside info in this News section came from Belden.Belden's contribution to music was immense, and his presence will be sorely missed.
[FULL] Miles Davis - Bitches Brew (1970) [2CD] {1999 Columbia Remaster}
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