Of all the Miles Davis recordings, the 16 weeks of sessions that created a single, two-selection LP produced by Teo Macero called A Tribute to Jack Johnson have been the most apocryphal. While the album itself was a confounding obscurity upon release – due to its closeness in proximity to the nearly simultaneous release of the vastly inferior yet infinitely more label-promoted Live at the Fillmore East – its reputation as the first complete fusion of jazz and rock is cemented. It also garnered a place in the history books for guitarist John McLaughlin, the axis around whose raw, slash-and-burn playing the entire album turns.
Some nine years after Miles Davis’ untimely death, Columbia Records is still repackaging his recorded legacy. The most recent efforts in this area have been made available both on compact disc and in 180-gram vinyl versions by way of Mosaic Records. It is the latter edition that this review is based on, though it should be noted that basically the only difference between the two sets, besides the presentation medium, is that Mosaic’s package is a 12 x 12 box with an album-sized booklet accompanying the records.
Some performances get talked about decades after they happened. It's all about "you had to be there" and if you would believe all the people who claimed to be present at such a show, the venue would have collapsed. Two of those shows are now released in full. Trumpet maestro Miles Davis performed at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam on April 9 and October 15, 1960. John Coltrane was on sax in April and his replacement Sonny Stitt played in October. With Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Miles Davis was on fire both nights.
"Amsterdam Concert" is a rare live Miles Davis recording from 1957. This album, one of the least known recordings of Miles Davis, was recorded at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam on December 8, 1957, a couple of days after the recording of the movie soundtrack "Ascenseur pour l'échafaud." On this concert, Miles didn't play with his regular quintet, but with the same line-up he used for the recording of "Ascenseur pour l'échafaud." It features Barney Wilen on tenor saxophone, René Urtreger on piano, Pierre Michelot on bass and Kenny Clarke on drums.
"Amsterdam Concert" is a rare live Miles Davis recording from 1957. This album, one of the least known recordings of Miles Davis, was recorded at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam on December 8, 1957, a couple of days after the recording of the movie soundtrack "Ascenseur pour l'échafaud." On this concert, Miles didn't play with his regular quintet, but with the same line-up he used for the recording of "Ascenseur pour l'échafaud." It features Barney Wilen on tenor saxophone, René Urtreger on piano, Pierre Michelot on bass and Kenny Clarke on drums.
A rarely seen filmed performance by the splendid Miles Davis septet, recorded live in Warsaw in 1983 - with saxophonist Bill Evans and guitarist John Scofield. This fabulous, complete concert was filmed shortly after Miles Davis recorded his celebrated album 'Star People' - and features many of the compositions from the album, although it hadn`t actually yet been released when they performed in Poland. Bill Evans (the sax player) had been replaced by Branford Marsalis on the original studio versions of 'That`s Right' and 'Code M.D.'
Miles Davis was a towering a figure in the world of Jazz music throughout his long recording and performing career, playing the trumpet like no one else could. His significance can never be understated and his artistry is as crucial to the development of Jazz as was the great Louis Armstrong. Davis laid the foundation for musical innovation to expand beyond it's perceived boundaries through his sheer genius and attention to every detail of a performance. These two discs document his final concert performance before his tragic passing. 'The Man With The Horn' was clearly not ready to go as he valiantly fought against the HIV disease that robbed him of life. To the end, his artistry ever evolving and not to be missed.