The Miles Davis album-by-album thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by KevinP, Jan 16, 2008.

  1. Gabe Walters

    Gabe Walters Forum Resident

    I heard that recently, about Wayne Shorter first recording with Miles on Devil May Care. Very interesting, in light of the search for a second horn that Miles was about to go through and that it so well documented on Seven Steps to Heaven/In Europe/My Funny Valentine/Four and More/Miles in Tokyo and, finally, Miles in Berlin, where Shorter finally joins the band. Some really good stuff coming soon for this thread.
     
  2. ciderglider

    ciderglider Forum Resident

    The Swzed biog is very good, he is unflinching in his presentation of Miles' less likeable traits. As you may have discovered from reading more of Szwed, Miles didn't really mellow in old age. But I think his demons did drive him to create in ways few of his contemporaries did.
     
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  3. LarsO

    LarsO Forum Resident

    I love classic original Brazilian bossa nova from this era and I love Miles Davis so I have always been a bit curious about this album. Based on everything I read about it doesn't sound too promising though. I will check it out soon!
     
  4. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    Quiet Nights also included one very nice ballad from the Seven Steps session with Victor Feldman on piano ("Summer Night") and the CD adds the intriguing "Time Of The Barracudas" score with Gil Evans and the Herbie Hancock/Ron Carter/Tony Williams rhythm section. By now I suppose many of us will have those tracks as part of one box set or another.
     
  5. Gabe Walters

    Gabe Walters Forum Resident

    Yeah, I suspect the best way to encounter this material now is on the Miles/Gil Evans and Seven Steps complete box sets.
     
  6. dino77

    dino77 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Yeah, form your own opinion! I like it despite its reputation. It's beautiful and undemanding, in particular 'Once Upon A Summertime'.
     
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  7. LarsO

    LarsO Forum Resident

    Will do! :)
     
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  8. dino77

    dino77 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    It's an excellent book and despite its honesty you still come away from it admiring Miles. It's doesn't go in for musical analysis, but there are other books that do and it's usually rather boring anyway.
     
  9. Roger Thornhill

    Roger Thornhill Senior Member

    Location:
    Ilford, Essex, UK
    Neither Miles nor Gil would have released it had they been given the option - Gil said that it was only half an album, and in that the tracks that come from their sessions total 20 minutes, he's spot on.

    It's not bad but given their high standards, it's really not very good.

    Now, if they'd waited and stuck Time of the Barracudas on it, then it might have been different. I might do a bit of ripping and see what the whole thing sounds like.
     
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  10. LarsO

    LarsO Forum Resident

    Just listened to this album (Quiet Nights). To me it is a fine little piece and not that poor as it's reputation seems to make it. If you didn't know about those other sessions and the comments from Miles and Gil I don't think as many would have dismissed it. It lacks a bit consistency, that's all. To me it is perhaps a lost opportunity to be something unique in Miles discography as I think it could have worked as a purer bossa nova album including Joao Gilberto's guitar. I think Miles tone could fit very well. Probably too commercial for Miles but I think it could have been a cool one-off in his discography.
     
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  11. Gabe Walters

    Gabe Walters Forum Resident

    I've now listened to it as well, and I'm drawing an opinion contrary to LarsO's. It doesn't rise to the same heights as the prior Gil Evans collaborations. It sounds unfinished both because they didn't record more material and also because what they did record sounds half baked, in my opinion. It's inoffensive enough, but there's just nothing to get excited about. I do like Miles' tone on it though.

    FYI for those who don't know, in 2001 Columbia Legacy reissued the album with Time of the Barracudas on it as the closing track.
     
  12. Ellsworth

    Ellsworth Forum Resident

    I found the book to be very good. Do you have any recommendations on books that focus more on musical analysis. I started the Ashley Kahn book on KOB but am curious about other books out there.
     
  13. dino77

    dino77 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Yes, Ian Carr's book on Miles. The late Carr (RIP) was a trumpet player himself, so he delves quite a bit into the playing. A solid book with a less personal angle.
     
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  14. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    Ian Carr's book (the original, early 80's version) was a great resource when I started listening to Miles. He did, however, have prejudices, mainly that he didn't like Ornette Coleman style avant garde jazz, so he didn't care for most of Miles's mid 60's "second Quintet" records. The same issue came up in his book about Keith Jarrett.
     
  15. dino77

    dino77 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Interesting, don't recall that, must have a re-read. Anyhow, he's more open-minded than Jack Chambers, who basically dismisses everything Miles did after 1969.
     
  16. crispi

    crispi Vinyl Archaeologist

    Location:
    Berlin
    Isn't it terrible when critics are closed-minded like that? I mean, come on, why write a book then?

    While we are on the subject, what cool books would you guys recommend about Miles?
     
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  17. PHILLYQ

    PHILLYQ Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn NY
    The Swzed book mentioned above is very good, but take the 'autobiography' with a large grain of salt. It's still a fun read, though.
     
  18. Roger Thornhill

    Roger Thornhill Senior Member

    Location:
    Ilford, Essex, UK
    Not sure I buy that - he said that ESP was Miles' best record since KOB. liked Miles Smiles, thought Sorcerer and Nefertiti "not so satisfying" but founds bits of it memorable, and was pretty positive from then onwards.
     
  19. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    As I recall he was also dismissive of the "Four" And More album. He's welcome to his views, of course. I believe he was also lukewarm about the Cosey period, while very enthusiastic about the 50's records and the early fusion records.

    Jack Chambers, as mentioned above, doesn't like most of the post Bitches Brew material much and doesn't have much musical insight. His book was the first to discuss every session and track, though (Carr and earlier books skipped some of them) and he did a decent job assembling quotes from the assorted interviews and books available at the time (no new interviews).

    Paul Tingen, by contrast, is a fan of the electric years and discusses Miles more from a rock than jazz perspective, so if you have a similar background you'll probably find his book worthwhile. I'm not familar enough with other Miles books to comment.
     
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  20. Ellsworth

    Ellsworth Forum Resident

    Thanks for the recommendation on the Ian Carr book.

    I am circling back to the Blackhawk sessions. This is probably a stupid question. Is Miles playing with a mute during the whole two nights? Or is it just the way it was recorded? on this album, he doesn't seem to have that beautiful open tone that you hear on other live albums from that era.
     
    Last edited: Sep 24, 2014
  21. jfeldt

    jfeldt Forum Resident

    Location:
    SF, CA, USA
    For those that want Serious Business musical analysis, "The Studio Recordings of the Miles Davis Quintet 1965-1968" by Keith Waters is pretty intense. Like, I should have a piano nearby and an easy way to replay clips serious.
     
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  22. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    Just listened to Friday "Walkin'" from the 4-CD box and it doesn't sound to me like he's playing with a mute. Which live albums do you have in mind with the beautiful open tone? If they were recorded in concert rather than club settings that might explain which they sound different.
     
  23. Ellsworth

    Ellsworth Forum Resident

    The Blackhawk sounds great but it just seems that the trumpet sounds different. I was thinking about MFV, 4 and More, and Plugged nickel. A lot of people don't like the Plugged Nickel sound but I really like the sound of his trumpet on those recordings. It must be the club setting recording that is different on the Blackhawk sessions.
     
  24. dino77

    dino77 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    I think Chambers also goes on about the later albums of the Quintet. They are kind of sacred cows to many, but everything they recorded is not amazing. It wouldn't be hard to argue that ESP and Miles Smiles are the strongest albums they did.
     
  25. dino77

    dino77 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Am I the only one who really likes "Once Upon A Summertime" 0ff Quiet Nights? It's just very wistful.
    First heard it on a Columbia Jazz Masterpieces sampler. It was also on "Ballads", a late 80s CBS compilation that cherry-picked tracks off Quiet Nights and Seven Steps before those albums gained cd releases.
     
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