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Despite the presence of classic tracks like Joe Zawinul's "Great Expectations," Big Fun feels like the compendium of sources it is. These tracks are all outtakes from other sessions, most notably Bitches Brew, On the Corner, and others. The other element is that many of these tracks appeared in different versions elsewhere. These were second takes, or the unedited takes before producer Teo Macero and Miles were able to edit them, cut and paste their parts into other things, or whatever. That is not to say the album should be dismissed. Despite the numerous lineups and uneven flow of the tracks, there does remain some outstanding playing and composing here. Most notably is "Great Expectations" from 1969, which opens the album. Here the lineup is Miles, Steve Grossman, Bennie Maupin, John McLaughlin, Khalil Balakrishna, and Bihari Sharma on sitar and tambura, Herbie, Chick Corea, Ron Carter, Harvey Brooks, Billy Cobham, and Airto. Creating a series of vamps from drones and a small melodic figure, there is very little in the way of groove or melodic development until the middle section, where a series of modalities enters the composition. The second album in the set features "Go Ahead John," an outtake from Jack Johnson's sessions that is 28 minutes in length. It's a riff-based groover, with McLaughlin and his wah-wah pedal setting the pace with Steve Grossman on soprano. The basic motif is the blues, floating around E and Bb flat, but there are modulations introduced by Miles into Db flat that add a kinkier dimension into the proceedings as well. Dave Holland is the bass player, and DeJohnette is the drummer. There is no piano. What's most interesting about this date is how it prefigures what would become "Right Off" from Jack Johnson. It doesn't have the same fire, nor does it manage to sustain itself for the duration, but there are some truly wonderful sections in the piece. This is for Miles fans only, especially those of his electric period, because it fills in the puzzle. The reissue added four bonus tracks to the original double-LP set, but other than "Recollections" by Zawinul, they shed little light on the mystique and development of the intensely creative music being developed in 1969 and 1970. Others should be directed to Bitches Brew, In A Silent Way, Jack Johnson, or Live Evil as starting points.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo
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Airto Moreira, Percussion - Harvey Brooks, Bass - Miles Davis, Composer, Lyricist, Trumpet, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Ron Carter, Bass - HERBIE HANCOCK, Piano - Bob Belden, Producer - CHICK COREA, Piano - John McLaughlin, Electric Guitar - Billy Cobham, Drums - Frank Laico, Engineer - Bennie Maupin, Bass Clarinet - Steve Grossman, Soprano Saxophone - Josef Zawinul, Composer, Lyricist - Russ Payne, Mixing Engineer - Patti Matheny, A&R Coordinator - Darren Salmieri, A&R Coordinator - Seth Foster, Re-Mastering Engineer - John Guerriere, Mixing Engineer - Stan Weiss, Mixing Engineer - Khalil Balakrishna, Sitar, Tanpura - Stan Tonkel, Engineer - Bihari Sharma, Sitar, Tanpura
(P) 1974 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Michael Henderson, Bass - Badal Roy, Tabla - Miles Davis, Composer, Lyricist, Trumpet, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Belden, Producer - John McLaughlin, Guitar - Frank Laico, Engineer - Al Foster, Drums - Billy Hart, Drums - Harold I. Williams, Piano - Carlos Garnett, Soprano Saxophone - Bennie Maupin, Clarinet, Flute - Steve Grossman, Soprano Saxophone - Sonny Fortune, Flute, Soprano Saxophone - Russ Payne, Mixing Engineer - Patti Matheny, A&R Coordinator - Darren Salmieri, A&R Coordinator - Seth Foster, Re-Mastering Engineer - John Guerriere, Mixing Engineer - Stan Weiss, Mixing Engineer - Stan Tonkel, Engineer
(P) 1974 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Jack DeJohnette, Drums - Airto Moreira, Percussion - Miles Davis, Trumpet, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Michael Cuscuna, Executive Producer - CHICK COREA, Piano - John McLaughlin, Guitar - Wayne Shorter, Soprano Saxophone - Billy Cobham, Triangle - Frank Laico, Engineer - Dave Holland, Bass Guitar - Joe Zawinul, Piano - Teo Macero, Producer - Bennie Maupin, Bass Clarinet - Josef Zawinul, Composer, Lyricist - Russ Payne, Mixing Engineer - Patti Matheny, A&R Coordinator - Darren Salmieri, A&R Coordinator - Seth Foster, Re-Mastering Engineer - John Guerriere, Mixing Engineer - Stan Weiss, Mixing Engineer - Stan Tonkel, Engineer - Bob Beldon, Reissue Producer
Originally recorded 1970 & released 1998. All rights reserved by Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Jack DeJohnette, Drums - Harvey Brooks, Bass - Miles Davis, Composer, Lyricist, Trumpet, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Michael Cuscuna, Executive Producer - CHICK COREA, Piano - John McLaughlin, Guitar - Billy Cobham, Drums - Frank Laico, Engineer - Dave Holland, Bass - Larry Young, Organ, Celeste - Teo Macero, Producer - Bennie Maupin, Bass Clarinet - Steve Grossman, Soprano Saxophone - Russ Payne, Mixing Engineer - Patti Matheny, A&R Coordinator - Darren Salmieri, A&R Coordinator - Seth Foster, Re-Mastering Engineer - John Guerriere, Mixing Engineer - Stan Weiss, Mixing Engineer - Khalil Balakrishna, Sitar - Stan Tonkel, Engineer - Bob Beldon, Reissue Producer - Bihari Sharma, Tanpura
Originally Recorded 1969 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
DISC 2
Jack DeJohnette, Drums - Miles Davis, Composer, Lyricist, Trumpet, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Belden, Producer - John McLaughlin, Electric Guitar - Frank Laico, Engineer - Dave Holland, Bass - Steve Grossman, Saxophone - Russ Payne, Mixing Engineer - Patti Matheny, A&R Coordinator - Darren Salmieri, A&R Coordinator - Seth Foster, Re-Mastering Engineer - John Guerriere, Mixing Engineer - Stan Weiss, Mixing Engineer - Stan Tonkel, Engineer
(P) 1974 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Benny Maupin, Bass Clarinet - Jack DeJohnette, Drums - Airto Moreira, Percussion - Harvey Brooks, Bass - Miles Davis, Composer, Lyricist, Trumpet, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Belden, Producer - CHICK COREA, Piano - John McLaughlin, Guitar - Wayne Shorter, Saxophone - Billy Cobham, Drums - Frank Laico, Engineer - Dave Holland, Bass - Joe Zawinul, Piano - Russ Payne, Mixing Engineer - Patti Matheny, A&R Coordinator - Darren Salmieri, A&R Coordinator - Seth Foster, Re-Mastering Engineer - John Guerriere, Mixing Engineer - Stan Weiss, Mixing Engineer - Stan Tonkel, Engineer
(P) 1974 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Jack DeJohnette, Drums - Harvey Brooks, Bass - Miles Davis, Composer, Lyricist, Trumpet, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Michael Cuscuna, Executive Producer - CHICK COREA, Piano - John McLaughlin, Guitar - Billy Cobham, Drums - Frank Laico, Engineer - Dave Holland, Bass - Larry Young, Organ, Celeste - Teo Macero, Producer - Bennie Maupin, Bass Clarinet - Steve Grossman, Soprano Saxophone - Russ Payne, Mixing Engineer - Patti Matheny, A&R Coordinator - Darren Salmieri, A&R Coordinator - Seth Foster, Re-Mastering Engineer - John Guerriere, Mixing Engineer - Stan Weiss, Mixing Engineer - Khalil Balakrishna, Sitar - Stan Tonkel, Engineer - Bob Beldon, Reissue Producer - Bihari Sharma, Tanpura
Originally Released 1970 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Airto Moreira, Percussion - Harvey Brooks, Bass Guitar - Miles Davis, Composer, Lyricist, Trumpet, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Ron Carter, Bass - HERBIE HANCOCK, Piano - Michael Cuscuna, Executive Producer - CHICK COREA, Piano - John McLaughlin, Guitar - Billy Cobham, Drums, Triangle - Mark Wilder, Mastering Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Teo Macero, Producer - Bennie Maupin, Bass Clarinet - Steve Grossman, Soprano Saxophone - Franck Laico, Engineer - Khalil Balakrishna, Sitar - Bob Beldon, Reissue Producer - Rob Schwartz, Mastering Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Bihari Sharma, Percussion
Originally Recorded 1969 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Album review
Despite the presence of classic tracks like Joe Zawinul's "Great Expectations," Big Fun feels like the compendium of sources it is. These tracks are all outtakes from other sessions, most notably Bitches Brew, On the Corner, and others. The other element is that many of these tracks appeared in different versions elsewhere. These were second takes, or the unedited takes before producer Teo Macero and Miles were able to edit them, cut and paste their parts into other things, or whatever. That is not to say the album should be dismissed. Despite the numerous lineups and uneven flow of the tracks, there does remain some outstanding playing and composing here. Most notably is "Great Expectations" from 1969, which opens the album. Here the lineup is Miles, Steve Grossman, Bennie Maupin, John McLaughlin, Khalil Balakrishna, and Bihari Sharma on sitar and tambura, Herbie, Chick Corea, Ron Carter, Harvey Brooks, Billy Cobham, and Airto. Creating a series of vamps from drones and a small melodic figure, there is very little in the way of groove or melodic development until the middle section, where a series of modalities enters the composition. The second album in the set features "Go Ahead John," an outtake from Jack Johnson's sessions that is 28 minutes in length. It's a riff-based groover, with McLaughlin and his wah-wah pedal setting the pace with Steve Grossman on soprano. The basic motif is the blues, floating around E and Bb flat, but there are modulations introduced by Miles into Db flat that add a kinkier dimension into the proceedings as well. Dave Holland is the bass player, and DeJohnette is the drummer. There is no piano. What's most interesting about this date is how it prefigures what would become "Right Off" from Jack Johnson. It doesn't have the same fire, nor does it manage to sustain itself for the duration, but there are some truly wonderful sections in the piece. This is for Miles fans only, especially those of his electric period, because it fills in the puzzle. The reissue added four bonus tracks to the original double-LP set, but other than "Recollections" by Zawinul, they shed little light on the mystique and development of the intensely creative music being developed in 1969 and 1970. Others should be directed to Bitches Brew, In A Silent Way, Jack Johnson, or Live Evil as starting points.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo
About the album
- 2 disc(s) - 8 track(s)
- Total length: 02:22:29
- Main artists: Miles Davis
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Columbia - Legacy
- Genre: Jazz
(P) 1974 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
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