Fusion For Miles

Miles Davis Quintet - Paraphernalia - Salle Pleyel, Paris (1969) {JMY 1013-2 rel 1992}
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© 1969, 1992 Jazz Music Yesterday | JMY 1013-2
Jazz / Fusion / Jazz Rock / Trumpet

Featuring the classic Quintet lineup and recorded live by Radio France, direct from Salle Pleyel in Paris on November 3, 1969. As the story goes, there were two sets that Radio France had recorded – the second set was broadcast but the first set wasn’t. The second set has made the rounds with collectors for years and the sound, mono and somewhat dull, was the best that was available of this pivotal concert. However, in recent years the first set has surfaced from the archives of Radio France and the sound is vastly improved, and in stereo.

Despite the presence of classic tracks like Joe Zawinul's "Great Expectations," Big Fun feels like the compendium of sources it is. These tracks are all outtakes from other sessions, most notably Bitches Brew, On the Corner, and others. The other element is that many of these tracks appeared in different versions elsewhere. These were second takes, or the unedited takes before producer Teo Macero and Miles were able to edit them, cut and paste their parts into other things, or whatever. That is not to say the album should be dismissed. Despite the numerous lineups and uneven flow of the tracks, there does remain some outstanding playing and composing here. Most notably is "Great Expectations" from 1969, which opens the album.

Miles Davis - On the Corner (1972) {2006 DSD Japan Mini LP Edition Analog Collection SICP 1227}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 385 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 136 Mb
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© 1972, 2006 Sony Music Japan / Columbia | SICP 1227 | DSD | HQD High Quality Disc
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Jazz Rock / Trumpet

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.

Miles Davis' boundlessly influential On the Corner was so far ahead of its time upon release in 1972, the jazz cognoscenti rejected its groundbreaking concoction as middling in nature. Yet time has a way of righting wrongs and shifting views by adding needed context and perspective to visionary ideas, music, and approaches – the likes of which fill Davis' boldest and most controversial – undertaking.

Deluxe 71 disc box set that contains 52 single CD and double CD albums (which includes the previously unreleased full-length audio version of his 1970 Isle Of Wight performance). The essay is complemented by brief annotations written by Franck Bergerot, covering every single one of the 52 albums. The cornerstones of the box set are the studio and live albums that were released during his tenure at the label, more than 40 titles that he recorded in the 1950s, '60s, '70s and '80s.

1970 serves as a tectonic shift within the crossroads of American popular music. With rock and roll on the cusp of dive bombing into its arena-era, the more adventurous and esoteric off-shoots tended to be whisked away from the spotlight while oppressive corporate behemoths drooled at the opportunity to rule labels, touring, publicity and all of their ancillary business interests with an iron fist.