DARK MAGUS is definitely thick and dark and angular and seething. I don’t know of many others groups doing much similar work except for maybe some krautrock bands and King Crimson in their heavier improvs. Doesn’t Miles play almost as much organ during this period as trumpet?
Dark Magus is a monster- it almost seems like the music of a different artist altogether than the guy who gave us Kind Of Blue, In A Silent Way or even On The Corner. I'd love to hear some recollections from folks who were actually around at the time in regard to what they made of this music. It ain't jazz IMO, not by a long shot, more like jazz, funk, rock, and avant garde thrown into a blender and whipped up into something wholly creative and original. ...And yet another album I would never even consider playing around my wife
I have the Columbia Legacy 2cd digipack. I understand that probably there are no photos of that particular concert, but why this photo on the dark magus package ?! Also, they had enough minutes left on the CD to put the entire show. Maybe I'm being unfare and they don't have the complete recording of "Calypso Frelimo". But I would like to hear it without cuts. As for the music, I have the tendency to skip Moja and Nne (part2). Turnaroundphrase and Tune in 5 are not my favorite Miles compositions. But to compensate it Funk/Prelude/For Dave/Mr Foster and specially Ife are always good in whatever format. The standout (currently) is Tatu (part1). The rhythm, the speed, the interplay... brutal. And I don't know if it's really true that Azar just "dropped by" and that was the first time playing with the rest of the guys... But those final minutes/solos are among the best moments of all my Miles Davis albums. I need to recover my breath when it's over.
Anybody know why the individual pieces were renamed on Dark Magus? Just based on the boots from that era I've heard, I'll always think of them as "Turnaroundphrase" and "Tune In 5" instead of "Moja" Parts 1 and 2, for example. I would love to get Dark Magus on vinyl, but unfortunately it seems like the only copies I can find online are from the 4 Men With Beards label... I want an original Columbia LP, dammit!
Dark Magus was a final slab of tedium from Miles, blowing away down a blind alley with a head full of Hendrix.
I was around at the time. "Dark Magus" and "Jack Johnson" are the two "Electric Miles" releases I play the least. Just don't connect to these in the way I do others. But they are still important releases.
From all stories I've read, it is true that Azar Lawrence and Dominique Gaumont played with the group for the first time at this concert. Azar Lawrence did not stay in the band but Gaumont remained for most of 1974. As far as the photo, yes, not quite the right lineup but I guess it was the closest they could find.
Sao Paolo 74 (sorry can't embed the video) AFAIK this is the only video of the band from 74 (or 75) - also the only video featuring Gaumont, maybe we'll see the rest one day!
Found this one online some months ago. Impossible not to think of Dark Magus when listening to: "Le Dominique Gaumont Energy"
I got to Dark Magus after Agartha and Panagea. Waka-waka-toot-toot-blurt! ...after Black Beauty, Fillmore East, Live Evil, In Concert,... Aargh!
He never did anything for me. He tended to simply fill the space allocated for him and just garble away, playing a lot of notes with no form, funk, emotion or drama - just like everything that Miles was doing at that time anyway. It was ambiant fusion and I lose interest after a few minutes. I much prefer Miles with players like John Scofield and Mike Stern. Guitarists who grab hold of the thing and connect. For example, I posted this on the We Want Miles Thread: check out Scofield's solo from 9'30" onwards:
I admit I have yet to delve into 80's Miles. When it comes to his guitarists based on what I've heard so far, John McLaughlin's my guy.
Funnily enough I was listening to the version of Duran on Directions last night & thinking to myself McLaughlin's playing on that is possibly the most ferocious guitar playing I've ever heard. I think he's on a completely different planet to every other guitarist I've ever heard, in terms of combining technical ability & raw emotion.
Dominique died in 1983. Since Dark Magus wasn't released outside Japan before the 90s ... He probably never heard the album... That's sad.
I really like Dark Magus. To me it sounds like Miles has finally synthesized all the influences he was playing with at the time and taken it in an incredibly dark and moody direction. For anyone looking for this one on vinyl, the 4MWB is actually pretty good. Cut at United on a good day, presumably from a high res file provided by Sony. With a gatefold tip-on sleeve from Stoughton. I prefer the sound to my 1997 digipak CD.
Mook, if you haven't, please check disc2 of the complete Jack Johnson sessions. It contains these amazing 5 sections (almost 45 min - would buy that LP). "Go Ahead John (Part One)" – 13:07 "Go Ahead John (Part Two A)" – 7:00 "Go Ahead John (Part Two B)" – 10:06 "Go Ahead John (Part Two C)" – 3:38 "Go Ahead John (Part One Remake)" – 11:04 These were recorded some days before Duran. At some points looks like a McLaughlin album. Very different from the Big Fun version of that track. Sorry guys for going back in time.
Glad to hear. MOV puts out consistent quality, and has in my opinion the best pressing plant in Europe when it comes to reliability and dead-quiet vinyl.
I'll keep that in mind...haven't read a lot of good things about the 4MWB label (actually, just the name of the label I find cringeworthy...) How, pray tell, would I go about finding this $22 MOV version?