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Hi Gary,Are you a trumpet player?RegardsRod
Sometimes when you're really deep into it, it's hard to get a feel for the big picture. I think of it as the first fusion album. In a Silent Way preceded it. Brew was recorded in '69/70. Look at the personnel and where they went from there. It reads like a who's who of fusion. I think it was extremely important to Miles, to stay relevant. He was a genius. But he was a genius without much of an audience. In '69 it had become all hippies and rock. What were people listening to? Country Joe and the Fish, Jefferson Starship and British rock. So if you look at in with that perspective, Miles did us a hugh favor. He opened the eyes of a lot of people who were otherwise stuck in a drug induced state of pop mediocrity. He did it by using a rock type rhythm section and semi or unstructured jazz. The way I understand it, only a couple of tunes were even written out. He would give the guys a chord or a tempo and it would take off. Sometimes you can hear Miles in the background snapping his fingers or telling someone to solo. His playing isn't like the old Miles either. He sounds faster and more aggressive. Benny Maupin sounds cool on there too. Miles sure ran down the Voodoo.There's a 4 disc set of the complete sessions. They say there was a ton of editing to make the original 2 record set.neo
I'm still stunned by Chick Coreagary
Bitches Brew - I put it on once a month, I still don't get it.
Hi,In the past 2 years I've really got into Jazz and one of my favourites is Miles Davis. Can you recommend a good version of this album on cd?ThanksRod
I know what you mean, Chick's an awesome player. I was into it back then. Right after Bitches Brew we had Weather Report. Then Chick came out with Return to Forever. Sure brings back some memories. Later, Chick had an Acoustic and Electric band at the same time. He always had virtuoso musicians. I caught the Acoustic band once and it was almost overwhelming. John Pattucci and Dave Weckl just killed it. They're so strong you can't believe it. That was a memory of a lifetime. Speaking of lifetime, Tony Williams was my favorite drummer. I caught him in NY once, but it wasn't the same as his old stuff with Miles. Tony was unique. Nobody played like Tony. He could talk to you with his set, sort of like Trane could with his horn. I caught him once too, but that's another story.neoPS - Check out Now He Sings, Now He Sobs. It's a work of particular beauty. Chick, Miroslav and Roy Haynes.
If that's the case you never will. At least not until you change your approach. I don't know how you can keep listening to it if you don't relate. I must admit, I rarely put it on.Virtually all the fusion albums that followed were straight ahead. Straight up fusion, that is. They varied with differing combinations of rock and jazz aspects, but most all had melodies or tunes and breaks etc. A traditional tune has what is called a head. That's the tune. Some are one page of music that's repeated over and over. So you play the head and everyone takes a solo, improvising on the same cords as the head, but without the melody. Many straight up jazz albums even have the order of which instrument solo. So, often the leader or trumpet solos first, then the other horn if there is one, then piano, bass and drums. The leader decides who will solo, like if there's a drum solo. This is simplified of course, because many tunes are much more complicated with different parts and you have to go back etc.Avaunt garde or out jazz does away with some aspect of this structure. That's why it's called out, as opposed to inside. You're probably familiar with some jazz that's out, but not way out. Maybe Ornette Coleman's stuff from the early '60s is a good example. Joe Henderson's album In & Out is a great example. It's basically inside and sounds like he gets carried away once in a while. Then there's other stuff that you might not relate to at all. Some gets cacophonous or abrasive and is hard to listen to in terms of traditional music. Avaunt garde classical is the same way. Bitches Brew is different from traditional music. Listen to the rhythm of a rock album as opposed to a jazz album. Basically it's 1 - 3, as opposed to 2 - 4. I'm talking 4/4 time. Rock tends to be emphasizing the down beat and jazz is more syncopated - the up beat. Now this doesn't always hold true, especially with some rock like the old tune You Can't Sit Down. That's an exception, not the norm. Bitches is rock rhythm because of the way it's laid down with 2 bass players and a steady foundation that everybody plays off of. Normally in a jazz tune the rhythm section (piano, bass, drums) is integral to the tune itself. This is different and it varies. It's not really defined by one aspect.I suggest putting it away for awhile. Really. Some night, when you're in the mood have a glass of wine and relax with it. You have to let go of your expectations. Take a zen approach and stop trying to understand it. You'll never get it that way. You have to let go. Just listen for the feel, don't judge or evaluate. neo
I'm in the don't quite get it camp. There is a lot of fusion that I see that way, but on the other hand, I love Weather Report, Oregon, Paul Winter, and avant garde (Henry Threadgill, Air, Paul Bley...) so I don't believe I'm mired in tradition. I don't know, so many of the players leave me cold. I hear more technique over soul. DiMeola and Mclaughlin make me feel that way, yet Metheney doesn't. Clarke is a fantastic bass player, yet I'd rather listen to Ron Carter. Chick and Herbie - well I love their traditional stuff, but I get bored with most of their electric stuff - Light as a Feather being one exception. Hell, I walked out on a Ponty concert once.
I can dig it. Nobody says you've got to like everything. That's why they make vanilla and chocolate. You have a right to pick what you like. It's not about right or wrong. Some guys think fusion is bubble gum music (me). Not jazz or rock, something less than either one on it's own. Some stuff I was into back then, like Return to Forever, I don't want to hear any more. On the other hand some Weather Report stuff is great. Jaco just kills me with that fretless electric style he invented. A lot of W/R stuff doesn't seem as corny, it says something to me. I bought a Ponty album years ago and gave it away. I usually can't stand jazz violin. Some guys were talking about it like it was good, so I asked them which one to check out. I try to keep an open mind, but I thought it sucked. I had an Oregon album and I kind of liked that eastern thing. So I got another one and wound up not playing either one. Other guys have one basic question that applies to everything. Does it swing? If it doesn't swing or get with the groove, then well....What about jazz harmonica, you like Toots? Not me I don't want to hear it. If I want to listen to harmonica I'll put on Little Walter or Sonny and Brownie. I don't want to hear that sound stinking up a jazz set. There's no right/wrong here. It what you like or don't. Sometimes you might change your mind. Life's too short to worry about it.neo
