James A. Mclaughlin

The bass has seen its share of extraordinary innovators in the hundred-plus years of jazz history. Stanley Clarke, much like such hallowed figures as Jimmy Blanton, Charles Mingus and Scott LaFaro, was a game changer on his instrument. Unlike those who came before him though, Clarke helped alter the nature of both the acoustic and electric configurations of the bass. His groundbreaking work of the 1970s has been so integrated into the very fabric of modern jazz bass playing that a return visit to his own brilliant recordings can be nothing less than a revelatory listening experience.

OUR FREE CD! MADE TO LOVE MAGIC: To accompany this month’s Uncut cover story, a free 15-track CD of music in the spirit of Nick Drake comes with the issue. Inside, you will find tracks from the likes of Joan Shelley, Adrianne Lenker, Cass McCombs, Robyn Hitchcock and more!

None of Miles Davis' recordings has been more shrouded in mystery than Jack Johnson, yet none has better fulfilled Davis' promise that he could form the "greatest rock band you ever heard." Containing only two tracks, the album was assembled out of no less than four recording sessions between February 18, 1970 and June 4, 1970, and was patched together by producer Teo Macero. Most of the outtake material ended up on Directions, Big Fun, and elsewhere. The first misconception is the lineup: the credits on the recording are incomplete. For the opener, "Right Off," the band is Davis, John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham, Herbie Hancock, Michael Henderson, and Steve Grossman (no piano player!), which reflects the liner notes…

Jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton and Larry Coryell collaborated on Duster back in ’67 evoking wider use of the term ‘jazz rock’ and stimulating broader appreciation for what was then a very fresh-sounding new genre that fused jazz and rock. Coryell can certainly be credited with attracting guitarists from both sides of the fence to the jazz rock scene but Miles Davis’ highly improvisational Bitches Brew with John McLaughlin (recorded in ’69) blew minds and made jazz rock history. Listen carefully and you can hear Miles snapping fingers to set tempos, assigning solos to players and whispering direction such as, “Keep it tight.”

Miles Davis - The Original Jacket Collection (2006) [30 Albums, 37 CDs] {DSD Japan Mini LP Analog Collection} (part 6of6)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 2.50 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 0.99 Gb | Artwork
© 2006 Sony Music Japan / Columbia | SICP 1230~37 | DSD | HQD High Quality Disc
Jazz / Fusion / Jazz Rock / Jazz Funk / Trumpet

Along with its sister recording, Pangaea, Agharta was recorded live in February of 1975 at the Osaka Festival Hall in Japan. Amazingly enough, given that these are arguably Davis' two greatest electric live records, they were recorded the same day. Agharta was performed in the afternoon and Pangaea in the evening. Of the two, Agharta is superior. The band with Davis – saxophonist Sonny Fortune, guitarists Pete Cosey (lead) and Reggie Lucas (rhythm), bassist Michael Henderson, drummer Al Foster, and percussionist James Mtume – was a group who had their roots in the radically streetwise music recorded on 1972's On the Corner, and they are brought to fruition here.