Nefertiti, the fourth album by Miles Davis' second classic quintet, continues the forward motion of Sorcerer, as the group settles into a low-key, exploratory groove, offering music with recognizable themes – but themes that were deliberately dissonant, slightly unsettling even as they burrowed their way into the consciousness. In a sense, this is mood music, since, like on much of Sorcerer, the individual parts mesh in unpredictable ways, creating evocative, floating soundscapes.
Listening to Miles Davis' originally released version of In a Silent Way in light of the complete sessions released by Sony in 2001 (Columbia Legacy 65362) reveals just how strategic and dramatic a studio construction it was. If one listens to Joe Zawinul's original version of "In a Silent Way," it comes across as almost a folk song with a very pronounced melody. The version Miles Davis and Teo Macero assembled from the recording session in July of 1968 is anything but. There is no melody, not even a melodic frame. There are only vamps and solos, grooves layered on top of other grooves spiraling toward space but ending in silence.
Thought by many to be among the most revolutionary albums in jazz history, Miles Davis' Bitches Brew solidified the genre known as jazz-rock fusion. The original double LP included only six cuts and featured up to 12 musicians at any given time, some of whom were already established while others would become high-profile players later, Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Airto, John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, Don Alias, Bennie Maupin, Larry Young, and Lenny White among them. Originally thought to be a series of long jams locked into grooves around keyboard, bass, or guitar vamps, Bitches Brew is actually a recording that producer Teo Macero assembled from various jams and takes by razor blade, splice to splice, section to section.
A masterful tribute from one bad cat to another – and easily one of Miles Davis' greatest electric albums ever! The album's got a powerful, epic sort of feel – a renewed focus after the looser style of Bitches Brew, and the 70s live albums – and one that mixes a deeper funky sound with the raw, exploratory style Davis had let loose a few years before. Michael Henderson's bass is a big part of the power of the record, and John McLaughlin's guitar has never sounded better, or sharper. Teo Macero made the whole thing magic in the studio, and titles include two sidelong funkdafied jams – "Right Off" and "Yesternow".
Four sides of long improvised grooves from Miles Davis – a set that's quite similar to the classic studio album Bitches Brew, but which captures the sound in more open live setting! The work is more inside than some of the Davis Japanese sessions of the time, but no less revolutionary – really opening up in some wonderful ways – with lots of spacious modal riffing over some heavy vamps. Groovy and quite free at the same time, but not nearly as out as the later electric recordings!
A beautiful live representation of the energy of the Bitches Brew years – one that has Miles Davis and the group really letting loose with free-flowing, modally-inspired lines – cooking up an incredible blend of acoustic and electric sounds at once! There's a bit of funk here, but not much – and although guitar is sometimes used strongly, it's often not as noisy as in later live sides. Instead, the whole group gels together beautifully – an unlikely assortment of players that includes Gary Bartz and Steve Grossman on reeds, John McLaughlin on guitar, Herbie Hancock on keyboards, Hermeto Pascoal on percussion, Dave Holland on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – all given new focus, direction, and inspiration by Miles!
Earth, Wind & Fire were one of the most musically accomplished, critically acclaimed, and commercially popular funk bands of the '70s. Conceived by drummer, bandleader, songwriter, kalimba player, and occasional vocalist Maurice White, EWF's all-encompassing musical vision used funk as its foundation, but also incorporated jazz, smooth soul, gospel, pop, rock & roll, psychedelia, blues, folk, African music, and, later on, disco. Cardboard sleeve (mini LP) reissue from Earth Wind & Fire featuring the high-fidelity Blu-spec CD format (compatible with standard CD players) and DSD mastering (subject to change). Comes with a reprint of the Japanese edition LP obi, a new description, and lyrics. Part of a 15-album Earth Wind & Fire Blu-spec CD cardboard sleeve reissue series featuring albums "Last Days And Time," "Head To The Sky," "Open Our Eyes," "That's The Way Of The World," "Gratitude," "Spirit," "All 'N All," "The Best Of Earth, Wind & Fire Vol.1," "I Am," "Faces," "Raise!," "Powerlight," "Electric Universe," "Touch The World," and "Heritage."
Could there be any more confrontational sound in Miles Davis' vast catalog than the distorted guitars and tinny double-timing drums reacting to a two-note bass riff funking it up on the first track from On the Corner? Before the trumpet even enters the picture, the story has been broken off somewhere in the middle, with deep street music melding with a secret language held within the band and those who can actually hear this music – certainly not the majority of Miles' fan base built up over the past 25 years. They heard this as a huge "f*ck you." Miles just shrugged and told them it wasn't personal, but they could take it that way if they wanted to, and he blew on his trumpet.
Released in 1974, Get Up With It is a follow-up to Big Fun, which appeared in the same year, offering an overview of the recent period and revealing new directions. The funk genre started with “Honky Tonk” from the Jack Johnson sessions, ran through On The Corner with “Rated X” and “Billy Preston,” and ended up in the groovy structures of “Mtume” where, with the help of the wah-wah pedal, the electrified trumpet abandoned phrasing to work exclusively on timbre and rhythm.