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Enjoy Jazz music's finest in the best possible audio quality. 70 legendary tracks in Hi-Res, including Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans Trio, Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus, Cannonball Adderley, Wayne Shorter, Wes Montgomery, Coleman Hawkins, Herbie Hancock, Ray Charles, Keith Jarrett,...
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Miles Davis, Associated Performer, Composer, Main Artist, Trumpet - Jimmy Cobb, Drums - Bill Evans, Piano - Paul Chambers, Bass - Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, Alto Saxophone - John Coltrane, Tenor Saxophone - Irving Townsend, Producer
Originally released 1959. All rights reserved by Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
TOM DOWD, Engineer - Nesuhi Ertegun, Producer - John Coltrane, Tenor Saxophone, Writer, MainArtist - Phil Iehle, Engineer - Paul Chambers, Upright Bass - Art Taylor, Drums - Tommy Flanagan, Piano - John Webber, Remastering Engineer
© 2020 Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company. All Rights Reserved. Manufactured for & Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company. ℗ 1960 Atlantic Recording Corporation. Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company.
Duke Ellington, Piano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - John Coltrane, Producer, Tenor Saxophone, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Rudy Van Gelder, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Elvin Jones, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Thiele, Producer - Aaron Bell, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1962 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc., Mit freundlicher Genehmigung: Universal Music GmbH, Austria
Michael Cuscuna, Producer - Rudy Van Gelder, Mastering Engineer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Alfred Lion, Producer - Art Blakey, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Lee Morgan, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Bobby Timmons, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Dizzy Gillespie, Composer - Wayne Shorter, Tenor Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - FRANK PAPARELLI, Composer - Jymie Merritt, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, MainArtist
℗ 2005 Blue Note Records
Thelonious Monk, Composer, Piano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Bernie Hanighen, Author - Cootie Williams, Composer - Alfred Lion, Producer - Art Blakey, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Doug Hawkins, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Gene Ramey, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Sahib Shihab, Alto Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - George Taitt, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Paige, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal)
℗ 2013 Capitol Records, LLC
Johnny Mercer, ComposerLyricist - Harold Arlen, ComposerLyricist - Orrin Keepnews, Producer, Recording Producer - Bill Evans Trio, MainArtist
℗ 2017 Concord Music Group, Inc.
Rudy Van Gelder, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Alfred Lion, Producer - Horace Silver, Piano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Joe Henderson, Tenor Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Carmell Jones, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Roger Humphries, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Teddy Smith, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal)
℗ 2012 Capitol Records LLC
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra, Associated Performer, Main Artist - Barney Bigard, Composer - Duke Ellington, Composer - Irving Mills, Composer
Originally released 1966. All rights reserved by RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
JIMMY KNEPPER, Trombone - Booker Ervin, Tenor Saxophone - Teo Macero, Producer - Horace Parlan, Piano - Shafi Hadi, Tenor Saxophone - John Handy, Alto Saxophone - C. Mingus, Composer - C. Mingus, Lyricist - Charles Mingus, Performer - Charles Mingus, Bass - Dannie Richmond, Drums
Originally released 1959. All rights reserved by Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Nesuhi Ertegun, Producer - Billy Higgins, Drums - Ornette Coleman, Composer, Alto Saxophone, MainArtist - Charlie Haden, Double Bass - Don Cherry, Cornet
© 1959 Atlantic Records ℗ 1959 Atlantic Records
The Dave Brubeck Quartet, MainArtist - Valentine Music, MusicPublisher
2010 RevOla Records 2010 RevOla Records
Johnny Mercer, ComposerLyricist - Miles Davis, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Jacques Prevert, ComposerLyricist - Joseph Kosma, ComposerLyricist - Rudy Van Gelder, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Alfred Lion, Producer - Art Blakey, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Hank Jones, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Cannonball Adderley, Alto Saxophone, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Sam Jones, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Kevin Gray, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2012 Blue Note Records
Ron Carter, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - HERBIE HANCOCK, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Rudy Van Gelder, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Alfred Lion, Producer - Freddie Hubbard, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Wayne Shorter, Tenor Saxophone, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Elvin Jones, Drums, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2012 Capitol Records, LLC
Michael Cuscuna, Producer - Ron McMaster, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Alfred Lion, Producer - Art Blakey, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Leo Robin, Author - Ralph Rainger, Composer - Clifford Brown, Trumpet, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Percy Heath, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Gigi Gryce, Flute, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - John Lewis, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Charlie Rouse, Tenor Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - The Jazz Messengers, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Sabu, Drums, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1953 Capitol Records LLC
Joaquin Rodrigo, ComposerLyricist - Hugh Jones, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - CHICK COREA, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Return To Forever, MainArtist
℗ 1973 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Rudy Van Gelder, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Chambers, Upright Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Wynton Kelly, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Wes Montgomery, Guitar, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Jimmy Cobb, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Wynton Kelly Trio, MainArtist - Creed Taylor, Producer
℗ 1965 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Ray Barretto, Conga, AssociatedPerformer - Rudy Van Gelder, Mastering Engineer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Alfred Lion, Producer - Stanley Turrentine, Tenor Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Major Holley, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Kenny Burrell, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Bill English, Drums, AssociatedPerformer
(C) 1999 Blue Note Records ℗ 1999 Blue Note Records
Doug Watkins, Double Bass, FeaturedArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Sonny Rollins, Composer, Tenor Saxophone, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Tommy Flanagan, Piano, FeaturedArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Max Roach, Drums, FeaturedArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1956 Prestige Records, Inc.
Weather Report, Associated Performer, Main Artist - Joe Zawinul, Composer, Keyboards - Wayne Shorter, Saxophone - Jaco Pastorius, Bass - Peter Erskine, Drums, Producer - Tony Zawinul, Executive Producer - Brian Risner, Engineer - Rich Breen, Mastering Engineer
(P) 2015 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Bob Cranshaw, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Billy Higgins, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Rudy Van Gelder, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Alfred Lion, Producer - Lee Morgan, Trumpet, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Barry Harris, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Joe Henderson, Tenor Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Alan Yoshida, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2012 Capitol Records, LLC
Wild Bill Davis, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Count Basie, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Freddie Green, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Eddie Jones, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer - E.Y. HARBURG, Composer - Vernon Duke, Author - Sonny Payne, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Count Basie and his Orchestra, MainArtist - Norman Granz, Producer
℗ 1955 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Erroll Garner, MainArtist - STEVE ROSENTHAL, Producer - Martha Glaser, Producer - Peter Lockhart, Producer
(C) 2019 Octave Music Licensing, LLC. Under exclusive worldwide license to Mack Avenue Records II, LLC. (P) 2019 Octave Music Licensing, LLC. Under exclusive worldwide license to Mack Avenue Records II, LLC.
Ben Webster, Saxophone, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - RAY BROWN, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Coleman Hawkins, Saxophone, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Herb Ellis, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Oscar Peterson, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Alvin Stoller, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Granz, Producer
℗ 1959 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Rudy Van Gelder, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Alfred Lion, Producer - McCoy Tyner, Composer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2012 Blue Note Records
The Glenn Miller Orchestra, Associated Performer, Main Artist - Buddy Defranco, Associated Performer - The Glenn Miller Orchestra under the direction of Buddy DeFranco, Associated Performer - Robert Maxwell, Composer, Lyricist - Brad McCuen, Producer - Matt Malneck, Composer, Lyricist - Don Sebesky, Arranger
Originally released 1967. All rights reserved by RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Michael Cuscuna, Producer - Rudy Van Gelder, Mastering Engineer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Alfred Lion, Producer - Freddie Hubbard, Composer, MainArtist
℗ 2004 Blue Note Records
H. Mason, Composer - H. Mason, Lyricist - Bennie Maupin, Performer - Material, Producer - Paul Jackson, Acoustic Bass - Herbie Hancock, Composer - Herbie Hancock, Lyricist - Herbie Hancock, Producer - Herbie Hancock, Keyboards - Herbie Hancock, Performer - B. Maupin, Composer - B. Maupin, Lyricist - David Rubinson, Producer - Bill Summers, Percussion - P. Jackson, Composer - P. Jackson, Lyricist - Harvey Mason, Drums
(P) 1973 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Ray Charles, Alto Saxophone, MainArtist - TOM DOWD, Engineer - Wesley Jackson, Guitar - Oscar Pettiford, Double Bass - Milt Jackson, MainArtist - Conrad "Connie Kay" Kimon, Drums - Clifton "Skeeter" Best, Guitar - Milton "Bags" Jackson, Piano, Writer - Willie Melvin "Billy" Mitchell, Tenor Saxophone
© 1958 Atlantic Records ℗ 1958 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International for the world outside of the United States.
Richard Davis, Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Rudy Van Gelder, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Alfred Lion, Producer - Bobby Hutcherson, Vibraphone, AssociatedPerformer - Freddie Hubbard, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Eric Dolphy, Composer, Bass Clarinet, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Tony Williams, Drums, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2012 Blue Note Records
Vince Guaraldi, Producer, Piano, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Monty Budwig, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Vince Guaraldi Trio, MainArtist - Colin Bailey, Drums, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2014 Concord Music Group, Inc.
Les Mccann, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Rudy Van Gelder, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Alfred Lion, Producer - Stanley Turrentine, Composer, Tenor Saxophone, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Herbie Lewis, Upright Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Otis Finch, Drums, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2005 Blue Note Records
Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Kamasi Washington, MainArtist
2015 Brainfeeder 2015 Brainfeeder
Keith Jarrett, Composer, Producer, Piano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Christoph Stickel, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Martin Pearson, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2019 ECM Records GmbH
Tom Skinner, Drums, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Eddie Hick, Drums, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Shabaka Hutchings, Producer, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Sons Of Kemet, MainArtist - Dilip Harris, Producer, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Theon Cross, Tuba, AssociatedPerformer - Moses Boyd, Drums, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2018 Verve Label Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
António Carlos Jobim, ComposerLyricist - Stan Getz, MainArtist - NEWTON MENDONCA, ComposerLyricist - Bill Reichenbach, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Charlie Byrd, MainArtist - Buddy Deppenschmidt, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Gene Byrd, Double Bass, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Keter Betts, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Creed Taylor, Producer
℗ 1962 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Ralph Carmichael, Conductor, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Nat King Cole, MainArtist - Lee Gillette, Producer - Bert Kaempfert, ComposerLyricist - Ron McMaster, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Milton Gabler, ComposerLyricist - Bobby Bryant, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2004 Capitol Records, LLC
Nina Simone, Performer - Albert "Tootie" Heath, Performer - Jimmy Bond, Performer - Gus Kahn, Lyricist - Walter Donaldson, Composer - Nina Simone, Composer
2013 Bethlehem Records 2013 Bethlehem Records
Tommy Goodman, Conductor - Unknown, Strings, AssociatedPerformer - Louis Armstrong, Trumpet, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Grady Tate, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Allen Hanlon, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - GEORGE DAVID WEISS, ComposerLyricist - Hank Jones, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Jerome Richardson, Clarinet, Flute, Tenor Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - J.J. Johnson, Trombone, AssociatedPerformer - Clark Terry, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - George Douglas, ComposerLyricist - Bob Thiele, Producer - Joe Wilder, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Russell Savakus, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - EDDIE BRACKETT, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Urbie Green, Trombone, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Simpson, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Dan Trimboli, Flute, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Art Ryerson, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Sam Markowitz, Clarinet, Flute, Alto Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Raymond Stanfield, Baritone Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Willard Suyker, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Warren Hard, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1967 UMG Recordings, Inc., Mit freundlicher Genehmigung: Universal Music GmbH, Austria
Tommy Lipuma, Producer - Burt Bacharach, Composer - Hal David, Author - CLAUS OGERMAN, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Luis Conte, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra/Member, AssociatedPerformer - Christian McBride, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Peter Erskine, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Diana Krall, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Romero Lubambo, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2001 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc., Mit freundlicher Genehmigung: Universal Music GmbH
Johnny Mercer, ComposerLyricist - Jerome Kern, ComposerLyricist - Philly Joe Jones, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Chet Baker, Trumpet, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Kenny Drew, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - George Morrow, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Grauer, Producer
℗ 2019 Craft Recordings.
Ella Fitzgerald, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Louis Armstrong, Trumpet, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Buddy Rich, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Irving Berlin, ComposerLyricist - RAY BROWN, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Herb Ellis, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Oscar Peterson, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Buddy Bregman, Conductor, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Granz, Producer - Hugo Cipolatti, Adapter
℗ 1956 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Bart Howard, ComposerLyricist - Quincy Jones, Conductor - Frank Sinatra, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Count Basie and his Orchestra, FeaturedArtist - Charles Pignone, Producer
℗ 2008 Frank Sinatra Enterprises, LLC
George Gershwin, Composer - Ira Gershwin, Author - Sarah Vaughan, MainArtist - Bob Shad, Producer - Hal Mooney and His Orchestra, Orchestra
℗ 1957 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Lambert, Hendricks, And Ross, MainArtist
2010 RevOla Records 2010 ReOla Records
Billie Holiday, MainArtist - Edward Heyman, ComposerLyricist - Frank Eyton, ComposerLyricist - Robert Sour, ComposerLyricist - Carl Drinkard, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Carson Smith, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Coleman Hawkins, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Kenny Burrell, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Chico Hamilton, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - John W. Green, ComposerLyricist - Tony Scott, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Roy Eldridge, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Granz, Producer
℗ 1956 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Andy Razaf, Author - Ella Fitzgerald, MainArtist - Count Basie, MainArtist - Fats Waller, ComposerLyricist - Harry Brooks, ComposerLyricist - Norman Granz, Producer
℗ 1963 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Arif Mardin, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Ned Washington, Composer - HOAGY CARMICHAEL, Composer - Jay Newland, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Norah Jones, Piano, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Todd Parker, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Dick Kondas, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2012 Capitol Records LLC
Phil Ramone, Producer - Edward Heyman, Author - Frank Eyton, ComposerLyricist - Robert Sour, Author - Amy Winehouse, MainArtist - John W. Green, ComposerLyricist - Tony Bennett, MainArtist
℗ 2011 Columbia Records, a Division of Sony Music Entertainment, under license in the U.S. to Republic Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Aretha Franklin, Performer - Buddy Lucas, Tenor Saxophone - Ernie Hayes, Piano - Gary Chester, Drums - George Duvivier, Bass - Maria Grever, Composer - Maria Grever, Lyricist - Robert Mersey, Arranger - Robert Mersey, Conductor - Robert Mersey, Producer - Robert Mersey & His Orchestra, Performer - Stanley Adams, Composer - Stanley Adams, Lyricist - Teddy Charles, Vibraphone
Originally released 1964. All rights reserved by Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Ella Fitzgerald, MainArtist - Louis Armstrong, MainArtist - RAY BROWN, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Benny Goodman, ComposerLyricist - Edgar Sampson, ComposerLyricist - Herb Ellis, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Louie Bellson, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Chick William Webb, ComposerLyricist - Oscar Peterson, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Granz, Producer - Andriamanantena Paul Razafinkarefo, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1957 UMG Recordings, Inc., Mit freundlicher Genehmigung: Universal Music Group International
About Playlist
Enjoy Jazz music's finest in the best possible audio quality. 70 legendary tracks in Hi-Res, including Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans Trio, Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus, Cannonball Adderley, Wayne Shorter, Wes Montgomery, Coleman Hawkins, Herbie Hancock, Ray Charles, Keith Jarrett, Stan Getz, Nina Simone, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Krall, Norah Jones, Billie Holiday...
Photo : John Coltrane
Miles Davis in 10 Albums
by Marc Zisman
Thirty years after his death, Miles Davis is still one of the most important musicians of his time. The trumpeter's impressive discography perfectly sums up his perpetually questioning, probing attitude; and also shows how his influence reaches out beyond the world of jazz. These ten albums, selected subjectively from among a sea of revolutionary works, prove it.
The rhythmic work on In a Silent Way had laid the foundations for a new era. But everything really changed in the summer of that same year 1969 when Miles Davis locked himself away with twelve musicians to record what would become the iconic double album Bitches Brew, released in April 1970. The collision between jazz, rhythm'n'blues, funk and rock'n'roll was violent. This was like nothing audiences had ever heard before. It was a 90-minute magic trick in which the trumpeter demonstrated his mastery of Hendrix, funk, rock, blues and a good part of jazz history. Despite this openness, he didn't succeed with the majority of his younger audience, who were not yet mature enough for the complexity of his electric discourse. Purists on the other hand thought that Miles had sold his soul to the devil: some accused him of lapsing into commercialism. The pure ramblings of this extreme and extremist music were a long way from the standard fare of American radio stations: it was hazardous for curious eardrums. Once again, Miles and his accomplices spent hours in the studio improvising around simple motifs and chord progressions, without any prior arrangement. “It was like an orchestra", explained drummer Lenny White, "and Miles was our conductor. We wore headphones. We had to be able to hear each other. There were no guests at that session. No photos allowed. All live recording, no overdubs. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., for three days”. The master of ceremonies was giving his sidemen carte blanche, but you can sometimes hear him in the distance giving out a few instructions on the record. Even his usually cool playing is much more incisive and even aggressive here. In addition to the faithful Wayne Shorter on saxophone, Dave Holland on bass, Chick Corea on electric piano and Jack DeJohnette on drums, the six themes of Bitches Brew feature Joe Zawinul, John McLaughlin, Larry Young, Lenny White, Don Alias, Juma Santos and Bennie Maupin. The other central character is the recording studio itself. Loops, effects, echo chambers and dozens of collages: Miles and his producer Teo Macero spent hours sculpting this electric blowout. The work was excessive: 'Pharoah’s Dance' was made up of 19 different elements! A pianist and a drummer on the right channel. Another pianist and another drummer in the left. Bitches Brew is about bringing in everything that's possible. It's a far cry from the good old jazz jam session captured in a single take... The result, dark and bewitching, is neither purely rock, nor purely funk, nor purely jazz for that matter. It's... something else!
On the Corner (Columbia – 1972)
On the Corner is the Miles Davis album most in tune with the canon of funk. And not just for the groovy cover by cartoonist Corky McCoy... For the first time, the trumpeter is in the studio with more than fifteen musicians! Its robust cast list is representative of all the effervescence of the music recorded in New York in the summer of 1972. The backbone is the hypnotic bass of Michael Henderson, an ex-Motown stakhanovite. All around him, layers of sound are thrown in by a Miles we don't hear from very often: murderous white noise (he has kitted out his trumpet with a wah wah), percussion with exotic flavours, marathon funk drumming (James Brown's 'Cold Sweat' is quoted here and there by Billy Hart and Jack DeJohnette on the drums); there is a total implosion of the rules of composition, with harmony and melody shunted into second place. This record is a veritable treasure trove of golden sounds, like the famed filtered wah wah effect created when Henderson plugs his bass into a Mu-Tron pedal on 'One And One'. In his autobiography, Miles points out that in addition to the influences of James Brown and Sly Stone (introduced to him by his then-wife, the funk artist Betty Davis), he was affected by those of Ornette Coleman and above all the composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, from whom he says he learned the use of addition and deletion as a method of musical creation. This was a major component in Davis's art, both in front of the microphones and behind the console. A commercial and critical flop, On the Corner and its hypnotic, repetitive motifs would unfortunately find little traction upon release in October 1972. As ever, Miles was ahead of his time...
Tutu (Warner – 1986)
Although the late stage of Miles Davis' career was neither the most fruitful nor the most artistically astounding, it nevertheless coincided with the peak of his fame. Whatever he did, the trumpeter, who certainly had nothing left to prove, had become an untouchable and adored figure who played to full houses all over the world. From the comeback track The Man With the Horn in 1981 to his death on 28 September 1991 at the age of 65, his recordings - which were very electric - always sought to be rooted in their times and to showcase younger musicians. With its magnificent cover (a black and white portrait signed by photographer Irving Penn), the very funky Tutu is one of the highlights of his final decade. In 1986, Miles left Columbia, his (almost) lifelong home, to join Warner. This was the occasion for another musical departure: yet another jazz-funk fusion project. Tutu was the result. This album was also the fruit of collaboration with another musician: Marcus Miller. This electric bassist, a worthy heir to Jaco Pastorius and Larry Graham, concocted for the trumpeter a modern musical backdrop that would propel Miles back to centre stage. It was a stunning return of the synthesiser, which naturally had a very 80s sound. "My first meeting with Miles was in 1981", the bassist recounted 20 years later. "I had spent two years in his group, it was a huge blessing. My aim was to be able to do it all: writing, playing producing. In 1986, Miles did his sessions with Prince, but that didn't satisfy his new label. So I was writing and thinking of him. He listened to my demos and said OK right away. In the studio, I was too overawed to direct him. ‘You've GOT to tell me how you want me to play,’ he yelled. And I did what he said"... In addition to these two men, Tutu brought together veterans and long-time studio sharks, who were always happy to come and do a stint for Miles. Featuring George Duke, Omar Hakim, Bernard Wright, Michał Urbaniak, Jason Miles, Paulinho da Costa, Adam Holzman, Steve Reid and Billy Hart, Tutu was the perfect soundtrack for the mid-80s, when synths ruled and suits were worn two sizes too big. In the midst of this highly stylised, very Miami Vice setting, Miles' phrasing remained as airy, poetic and timeless as ever.
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