Happy 55th Anniversary to Miles Davis' Bitches Brew

On this day 55 years ago, Miles Davis released one of his most iconic albums, Bitches Brew.

While jazz purists scoffed at the electro based release, the album is his second best selling of all time (only behind Kind of Blue), and opened the doors for jazz fusion (and more rock in general) to enter the jazz world. 

It is also one of RtBE's favorite albums of all time.

Album Review: Miles Davis - Miles '54: The Prestige Recordings Box Set

Miles Davis

Miles '54: The Prestige Recordings Box Set

**** out of *****

Miles '54: The Prestige Recordings Box Set was released in December 2024 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of these recordings on the Prestige label, which capture Miles Davis in a transitional year of his career.  Remastered from the original recordings the sound is crisp and lively as Davis and a rotating cast of players still sound fresh all these years later. 

Year In Review 2023 - Favorite Archival Releases

Each year the music industry dips into the past to deliver box sets, live albums, re-masters and outtake collections to sell to the music loving masses (present company included). This look back will round up some of RtBE's favorite archival releases from the past year. 

Usually these releases can fall into the money grab category, not really adding much outside of revenue for the label and (hopefully) the artist. Every now and then though some spectacular collections are unearthed and are worth any price. 

RtBE includes live albums in this category, since they were recorded in the recent or distant past and thus fall into archival release status. 

With the increase in vinyl, and enhanced Record Store Days to help smaller sellers, there are more and more archival releases each year. RtBE are sure to miss a lot of them, but the quality and abundance is exciting. Post your favorites, or any we may have missed, in the comments. 

These were our favorite archival releases of 2023, click the link in the title for full length reviews. 

Happy 50th Anniversary to Miles Davis - On The Corner

Today On the Corner from Miles Davis turns fifty. 

The last studio album of the seventies (and it was only 1972!) that Davis had a conceptual idea throughout executed. This was also his last major studio record that wasn't a mishmash of sessions, outside of his 80's comeback. For the rest of the decade Miles focused on live playing (which resulted in some of our favorite albums) until his health and drug use sidelined him. 

When RtBE wrote about Miles for our Masters series, On the Corner didn't receive a lot of love, but we dig this album and era of Miles more and more over the years, so we wanted to celebrate this records anniversary today. 

The best way to do that is get down to it, here are some tunes from 1972's On The Corner. 

RIP Michael Henderson

Michael Henderson passed away yesterday at the age of 71. 

Henderson was an incredibly gifted and influential bassist who played jazz, soul, fusion, funk, R&B and much more, perhaps most famously as band member with Miles Davis during his electric phase. Henderson also recorded with the likes of Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, the Dramatics, and more. 

Henderson also had an bad ass solo career releasing many funky albums. Planet earth lost a bit of it's groove with Henderson gone.  Thankfully his bass lines and songs will live forever. 

Enjoy some of his songs and playing today:

   

Album Review: Miles Davis - Double Image

Miles Davis

Double Image

** out of *****

This Record Store Day release titled Double Image has a slightly interesting history as the tracks were originally included on The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions, released in 1998. The truth of it is though these songs were not part of the Bitches Brew sessions proper, but recorded sometime after (November '69 and February '70), just before Miles moved on to Jack Johnson. Technically these songs would fall into that bridge between the two records, but they were lumped in for the Bitches Brew extended release. No matter what you label them though, make sure they have  the word 'outtakes' on them, because they clearly are.

The band joining Davis are some of his most well known collaborators, Wayne Shorter on soprano sax, John McLaughlin on electric guitar and a triple-threat electric piano section featuring Joe Zawinul, Chick Corea and Larry Young.The tracks for the most part feel like the band trying stuff out an just throwing phrases at the wall, seeing what sticks. 

Opener "Yaphet" starts off meandering (an adjective that describes the release as a whole) with little desire to do much of anything. "Corrado" is way over long but has a few moments of magical brilliance which pop up when the band seem to be lost, before the two versions of "The Little Blue Frog" feel ominous but incomplete.   

The albums title track is a freaky groove that bumps along with direction and key/horn/guitar slices, producing the best complete effort on the record while "Feio"sets a tone with it's sparse creepiness and dripping percussion. "Recollections" has traces of In A Silent Way flowing through it with closer "Take It Or Leave It" featuring the warmest horn from Miles on this outtake album. 

Bitches Brew and Jack Johnson are two of the greatest modern jazz records, so naturally hearing what Miles and crew were up to during any sessions around this era would be interesting, but these recordings are strictly for die hard fans as they are sketches in progress without any real direction. For Davis completists and vinyl enthusiasts, Double Image is a slightly interesting release but all other listeners can skip this one.

_______________________________________________

RtBE wrote about Miles Davis as part of our Masters Series.

Support the artist, buy the album, peep some video below.

The Masters: Neil Young - Best Live Albums

RtBE loves listening to new music and prides itself on keeping tabs on up and coming artists, but in 2019 we are also going to have a monthly spotlight on legendary artists who we really love. We are calling this series The Masters. It will focus on the best albums, live records, transcendent shows and other odd ways we appreciate the artists and their contribution to music, culture and our formation.

For August The Masters focuses on the great Neil Young.

Live music is the best thing out there. Being caught in the moment is religion. Palpable vibes of healing and energy are transmitted and shit...gets...real. This month's focus, Neil Young has been following his musical muse from soft acoustic one man shows to huge loud electric raging his whole career.

We already discussed best studio albums and will get to our favorites with Crazy Horse next week, but now it is the live show. Having seen Uncle Neil live in various formations this was a fun one to revisit. There have been a bunch of recent archive releases, and there promises to be even more in the future, which could alter this collection but this is how we feel now.

Also, there is one album in his catalog which could possibly top this list, but we will discuss why we kept it out later. Remember these lists are meant to start conversations, not end them, now let Neil guide the way....

Full Show Friday: Miles Davis Live in Vienna 1973

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Miles Davis!

It's Jazzy January again here at RtBE, so get ready to kick off 2018 with some different styled shows every Friday. For this series we skew into new (or more recent) jazz lands. Keeping it current proves there is amazing live jazz still being performed no matter what Ken Burns says.

For January The Masters focuses on Jazz great Miles Davis. 

Continuing RtBE's Masters series this month we dig into a Full Show Friday from our favorite era of Davis, (and break our new jazz pledge again) his mid seventies live electrical phase. The concert from Vienna Stadthalle in 1973 may not be as powerful of some of the live albums we highlighted earlier this month, but it bright and cleanly shows a group of musicians getting after it with Davis.

That crew is: Dave Liebman (ss, ts, fl); Pete Cosey (g, perc); Reggie Lucas (g); Michael Henderson (el-b); Al Foster (d); James Mtume Forman (cga, perc). The alchemy and interplay is something to behold and while it certainly isn't for everyone it is some damn fine magic to these ears and eyes...

Pro shot with Pro Sound, which does wave in and out not always capturing all the instruments and I wish it was louder, but still worth hearing.  No need for setlists...Enjoy:

The Masters: Miles Davis - Best Live Records

RtBE loves listening to new music and prides itself on keeping tabs on up and coming artists but in 2019 we are also going to have a monthly spotlight on legendary artists who we really love. We are calling this series The Masters. It will focus on the best albums, live records, transcendent shows and other odd ways we appreciate the artists and their contribution to music, culture and our formation.

For January The Masters focuses on Jazz great Miles Davis.

Live music is the best thing out there. Being caught in the moment is religion. Palpable vibes of healing and energy are transmitted and shit...gets...real. For this month's focus, Miles Davis, live performance was a state of living and he did it in a slew of ways over his career. Davis live records span 40+ years and are still being released as legacy albums. There is so much to uncover with him we will surely miss something with our list below, but let's get to it. As always, these lists are designed to start conversations, not end them.

Full Show Friday: Miles Davis Quintet 10/11/64 Milan, Italy

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Miles Davis!

It's Jazzy January again here at RtBE, so get ready to kick off 2018 with some different styled shows every Friday. For this series we skew into new (or more recent) jazz lands. Keeping it current proves there is amazing live jazz still being performed no matter what Ken Burns says.

For January The Masters focuses on Jazz great Miles Davis. 

This week we are breaking with our own rule from up above and skewing old to continue The Masters series. Here is Miles second great quintet early on in their run playing a show at Teatro dell'Arte in Milan, Italy. Trumpet: Miles Davis Saxophone: Wayne Shorter Piano: Herbie Hancock Bass: Ron Carter Drums: Tony Williams are all world class and this hour long television broadcast captures their playing in 1964. 

Playing with classics like "Autumn Leaves" and "My Funny Valentine" the quartet are up to snuff, vamping all over and around the standards with Davis leading the way with his exploratory horn. While the TV sound is not perfect (the bass and drums get short changed) having video of this group is a plus in and of itself. 

Pro shot and Pro Sound (for 1964) Enjoy:

The Masters: Miles Davis - Top Five Studio Albums

RtBE loves listening to new music and prides itself on keeping tabs on up and coming artists but in 2019 we are also going to have a monthly spotlight on legendary artists who we really love. We are calling this series The Masters. It will focus on the best albums, live records, transcendent shows and other odd ways we appreciate the artists and their contribution to music, culture and our formation.

For January The Masters focuses on Jazz great Miles Davis. 

What better way to supplement Jazzy January then with the the iconic Davis? He has so many eras, rebirths and styles it is amazing. Fans may love one period of his recording and be repulsed by another. He (like many others in this series) followed his muse wherever it would take him, dark places, beautiful places it didn't matter. He had demons and issues.

He also had ungodly talent and is by far our favorite Jazz artist for the risks he took, the results he got and the way his music always keeps us guessing no matter how many times we hear it.  As Richard Brody stated much more eloquently:

Davis’s musical development, from the age of twenty-nine through forty-nine—and his personal evolution and musical revolution is itself one of the grandest artistic dramas of the dramatic time.

For this first installment we are going to look at Miles Davis Top Five Studio Albums to RtBE's ears. As always, these lists are designed to start conversations, not end them.  Let's get down on the corner...

NYPL Blog Post: Miles Davis- Dark Magus

Hey all, we got our latest post up over @NYPL. You can read it right c'here! It is our newest installment in the Great Albums You May Have Missed series with a focus on Miles Davis live disk Dark Magus.

This disk has been with us for a long time, and it is great to be able to write about it for the day job and have it finish up our Jazzy January series. We still remember grabbing a copy from the second floor of the old Tower Records on Broadway back when it was first released. It enchanted from the get go and was a perfect mix of rock/funk/jazz/punk/whatever in our brains. It was a pleasure to write about it for NYPL and again you can read the full long post here.

Also you should check out Robert Christgau's review of the disk. We will probably write more about the Dean at some point, but it is shocking how many times we will go back to see what he said about an album, after our opinion is already formed, and see him feel the same.

In this case the phrase that stuck with us that Christgau wrote was, "single palpitating organism" that sums it up. This music is as alive now as it was in '97 when the CD came as it was in '77 when they released it in Japan, as it was in '74 when the players played it in Carnegie Hall, just a short walk from the library itself. I can't imagine it won't sound fresh and amazing in 2077 and yet one more reason it was dumb of Ken Burns to not talk about fuison, electric jazz, etc in his documentary.

Enjoy "Wili" broken into it's two parts:


 

Dylan Cover #174 Keith Jarrett Trio "My Back Pages"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a live cover by the Keith Jarrett Trio playing "My Back Pages"

Jazzy January has invade Mondays! All month we will check out covers of Dylan with a Jazz vibe, can you dig it daddy-o? 

Thoughts on Original:
From our first take on a cover of this:
The original has taken upon itself a cultural importance, and the chorus has simply become iconic.  I doubt Dylan intended such, but it toes the line of out and out protest and illustrative questions.  He puts down everyone from evangelists to girls, but the language snakes and flows so magically that it doesn't seem as harsh as "Positively 4th St" or "Ballad in Plain D".  

The sense of exhaling desperation or at least the realization that age confuses things even more seems to be what I take from this tune.
Cover:


Thoughts on Cover Artist:
We know Jarrett from his fantastic electrical work with Miles Davis but had not heard him play strictly piano before which apparently is his preference. I don't think I have heard bassist Charlie Hayden before but I have checked out drummer Paul Motian before with his work behind Bill Evans. 

Thoughts on Cover:
This is easily our favorite cover this month and one of all time favorites that we have heard. Love how Jarrett's piano will return to the song while the rhythm section of Charlie Hayden's double bass and Paul Motian's snares and drums can wander around. This is a great jazz inspired Dylan cover that rises above to just simply become a great cover period.