Davis, Miles - Bitches Brew Legacy Edition


Year of Release: 2010
Label: Columbia/Sony Legacy
Catalog Number: 54579
Format: CD
Total Time: 00:00:00

So where do you start with a recording that created a genre? Bitches Brew and its legendary and iconic status has not waned one iota since the celebrated release of the set in 1970. Miles Davis changed jazz forever more than once from the 50s all the way up to this marvelous concoction of jazz-rock fusion genius.

To honor the 40th anniversary of Bitches Brew Sony Legacy has completely outdone everyone else with a remasters series by releasing three different exceedingly tempting configurations. This is the Legacy Edition then there will be the Legacy Collector?s Edition and to follow that, if that wasn?t enough for you jazz enthusiasts, the Super Deluxe 40th Anniversary Collector?s Edition, which has a previously unissued performance from Tanglewood in August 1970. I happen to have the advance copy of that Tanglewood performance, however this edition includes a live performance from Copenhagen in 1969. Confused yet? I guess it depends how much of a Davis fan you are and how many dollars you are willing to drop for these sets. You can snag up this gem for $18.99 at Amazon right now.

I think Bitches Brew remains unmatched for flat out jazz-rock fusion albums and then some considerations are necessary for the influences you hear in world music as well. There is a reason for that, several actually. The primary driving force, Mr. Miles Davis was an innovator of the trumpet the day he picked it up, and as for his collaborators, that lofty status applies as well. You cannot have one innovator and the rest of the band in a box musically, they all need to be flexible and stretch the boundaries of their genre and instruments to come up with a classic recording like Bitches Brew. I don?t have to remind you of how great this recording sounds but I will anyway. With the Columbia/Sony Legacy stamp adorning each disc you will see underneath that text ?360 Sound? STEREO ?360 Sound? with little arrows pointing in either direction. That little advertisement lives up to its billing you can be sure of that.

As the opening track "Pharaoh's Dance" kicks off you are immediately challenged to listen intently yet Miles and his cohorts gradually pull you in with more mellow passages and it all builds into amazing crescendos of sound with Miles leading the way. "Bitches Brew," "Spanish Key" and "John McLaughlin" are jaw dropping examples of jazz-rock fusion, monuments in time and a tribute to men at the top of their game, With Shorter, Holland, Corea, DeJohnette (look up the names in Wikipedia) and a host of other musicians passing through the studios during the recording sessions it was like a hall of fame jazz gathering. Miles was the definitive leader of the pack and everyone else followed, and the resulting music that was captured was groundbreaking and still totally mind blowing to this day.

The four tracks on disc one cover some ground; "Pharaoh?s Dance" (20:04), "Bitches Brew" (26:58), "Spanish Key" (17:31) and "John McLaughlin" (4:22). The title track alone is nearly one full LP and the Davis tribute to one the greatest six string benders, McLaughlin, seems like a short running single in comparison. Was this self indulgent, bombastic and long drawn out improvisation? You better believe it, and it was all so breathtaking. Where do you think progressive rock got its inspiration from besides classical music?

Disc two has some nice treats to offer as well, including single edits and alternate versions. The opener ?Miles Runs The Voodoo Down? is a real burner featuring that incredibly powerful rhythm section of Dave Holland (bass, who is stellar on the first four tracks as well) and check this out - dual drummers with Jack DeJohnette (right) and Don Alias (left) and some congas for extra flavor. All that together created an amazing exercise in surround sound syncopated rhythms. And that is just the first track! You get seven more tracks after that then you can put on the DVD and watch some of these amazing performances in a live setting. The DVD is the icing on the cake of one phenomenal exhibition of flawless musical magic that can only be absorbed in chapters like a long, intense novel. To finalize the package a 23 page booklet is included; jam packed with photos and the most fitting and eloquent liner notes from Greg Tate.

I say no more, now the choice is yours what package you want. Anyway you look at it you are going to love every second of this if you are a jazz-rock fusion fan. Just think for a minute where music as a whole would be without brilliant individuals like Miles Davis to show us the way?

? 2010 MuzikReviews.com


Tracklisting:
Disc One: Pharaoh's Dance (20:04) / Bitches Brew (26:58) / Spanish Key (17:31) / John McLaughlin (4:22)

Disc Two: Miles Runs The Voodoo Down (14:01) / Sanctuary (10:57) / Spanish Key (alternate take) (10:20) / John McLaughlin (alternate take) (6:39) / Miles Runs The Voodoo Down (single) (2:49) / Spanish Key (single) (2:49) / Great Expectations (single) (2:41) / Little Blue Frog (single) (2:36)

Disc Three: (Copenhagen concert of 11/4/69) Directions (6:57) / Miles Runs the Voodoo Down (8:58) / Bitches Brew (15:35) / Agitation (10:25) / I Fall In Love Too Easily (3:40) / Sanctuary (3:28) / It's About That Time (18:55) / The Theme (0:35)

Musicians:
Miles Davis - trumpet
Don Alias - conga, drums
Khalil Balakrishna - sitar
Harvey Brooks - electric bass
Ron Carter - bass
Billy Cobham - drums, triangle
Chick Corea - electric piano
Jack DeJohnette - drums
Steve Grossman - soprano sax
Herbie Hancock - electric piano
Dave Holland - bass, electric bass
Bennie Maupin - bass clarinet
John McLaughlin - guitar
Airto Moreira - berimbau, cuica
Jumma Santos - conga, shaker
Bihari Sharma - tabla, tambura
Wayne Shorter - soprano and tenor sax
Lenny White - drums
Larry Young - organ, celeste, elecric piano
Joe Zawinul - electric piano

Discography:
Conception (1951)
Dig (1951)
Blue Period (1951)
Walkin' (1954)
Miles Davis Quintet [Prestige 185] (1954)
Miles Davis Quintet [Prestige 187] (1954)
Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants (1954)
Blue Haze (1954)
Miles Davis Quartet (1954)
The Musings of Miles (1955)
Blue Moods (1955)
Quintet & Sextet (1955)
The New Miles Davis Quintet (1955)
Miles Davis and Horns 51-53 (1955)
'Round About Midnight (1956)
Birth of the Cool (1956)
Bags' Groove (1957)
Cookin' (1957)
Miles Ahead (1957)
Relaxin' (1957)
At Newport 1958 (1958)
Ascenseur Pour l'?chafaud (1958)
Gershwin: Porgy and Bess (1958)
Milestones (1958)
Kind Of Blue (1959)
Workin' (1959)
Friday At The Blackhawk (1960)
Friday At The Blackhawk, Vol. 2 (1960)
Sketches Of Spain (1960)
In Person At The Blackhawk (1961)
In Person Saturday Night At The Blackhawk, Vol. 2 (1961)
At Carnegie Hall (1961)
Friday And Saturday Nights In Person (1961)
Someday My Prince Will Come (1961)
Steamin' (1961)
Miles In St. Louis (1963)
Quiet Nights (1963)
Seven Steps To Heaven (1963)
Four & More (1964)
My Funny Valentine (1964)
Miles In Tokyo (1964)
Miles Davis In Europe (1964)
E.S.P. (1965)
Live At The Plugged Nickel (1965)
Miles Smiles (1966)
Nefertiti (1967)
Sorcerer (1967)
Filles De Kilimanjaro (1968)
Miles In The Sky [Bonus Tracks] (1968)
In A Silent Way (1969)
A Tribute To Jack Johnson (1970)
Black Beauty: Miles Davis At Fillmore West (1970)
Bitches Brew (1970)
Miles Davis At Fillmore: Live At The Fillmore ... (1970)
Live-Evil (1971)
In Concert: Live At Philharmonic Hall (1972)
Miles Davis At The Lincoln Center (1972)
On The Corner (1972)
Dark Magus (1974)
Big Fun (1974)
Get Up With It (1974)
Agharta (1975)
Pangaea (1975)
Water Babies (1977)
The Man With The Horn (1981)
We Want Miles (1982)
Decoy (1983)
Star People (1983)
You're Under Arrest (1985)
Tutu (1986)
Music From Siesta (1987)
Amandla (1989)
Aura (1989)
Paris, France, Oktober 1, 1964 (1990)
Doo-Bop (1992)
Newport Jazz Festival (1993)
Transition: Live USA 1961 & 1963 (1993)
Live Around The World (1996)
Amsterdam Concert (2005)
Bitches Brew (40th Anniversary Edition) (2010)

Plus 100 or more compilations

Genre: Fusion/Jazz Fusion

Origin US

Added: August 30th 2010
Reviewer: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck
Score:
Artist website: www.milesdavis.com
Hits: 3356
Language: english

  

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