Haha. Welcome @Tripecac I love this thread. I am still a complete newbie on what lies ahead but I've listened to all standard albums we've been through. I know some say that this thread is too slow but I think it has got a perfect pace. This music needs to sink in! Praises to @crispi and all the others.
I have under-appreciated these in the past. It never really struck me that they were among the few Mobley/Miles recordings, and that I should listen to them with that knowledge. It's hard to separate the fact that Miles got rid of Mobley (implying some sort of dissatisfaction with his input) with the fact that the music is good, if not great in places. It feels like we're moving towards the end of an era. When my album-by-album journey is complete I know I'll come back to these performances.
I think I have mentioned this before, but the original liner notes on this set are so absolutely apt at describing the atmosphere of the club that you almost feel you are there. Every time I hear this album mentioned, I think of the liner notes
Next up in sessions chronology: Big Fun Columbia, 2-LP released 1974 Contains: Great Expectations/Orange Lady — recorded November 1969 after the Bitches Brew session and later included in the Complete Bitches Brew boxset, albeit in a different mix that omits some of Teo Macero's effects Ife — recorded during the On the Corner sessions in 1972 Go Ahead John — recorded during the Jack Johnson sessions. As with the first track, the mix on the Complete Jack Johnson boxset more closely reflects the original performance and does not try to replicate Teo Macero's wild fader movements that make the original mix so distinctive Lonely Fire — recorded in January 1970, included on The Complete Bitches Brew. The Columbia/Legacy CD restores all of Teo Macero's original mixes and adds bonus tracks from the late 1969/early 1970 sessions. Here's what the Penguin Guide to Jazz has to say about this album: Recorded during what was perhaps the most intensely productive period of his life, this wasn't released until four years after the earliest of the sessions, by which time Miles had declared himself bored with the music, stating with unmistakable emphasis that he was already somewhere else. The period after Bitches Brew wasn't so much a time of consolidation as one of further exploration and redefinition. The elements of the music are firmly in place, and if this is a less powerful set than its predecessor that is merely because it lacks the sudden, alienating wallop, already seems almost familiar. The key elements of the sound are in place: a distorted, almost pain-racked trumpet, the dissonant bleat of soprano saxophone, electric keybboards, thumping, funk-laden bass and a great slew of percussion. The medley of “Great Expectations/Muher Laranja” is titanic, a huge slab of electric sound. “Go Ahead John” is again focused on the British guitarist who landed on Miles's world and found himself at home there. “Ife” is an African tapestry, brightly coloured but also dark and dangerous. This may very well be the least-known item in the whole Miles Davis discography. It certainly isn't the best thing he ever did, but it is absolutely of its moment, and hard to overlook. ***(*)
I like this comment from critic Edwin C. Faust: Despite critics labeling it “scattered” and “unfocused”, Big Fun has a very consistent vibe throughout. In contrast to its title, the album is moody and hauntingly lyrical—not entirely unlike In a Silent Way. Imagine the foreboding nature of Bitches Brew, with the primitive and funky undercurrent of On the Corner, but also with the majestic melodies of In a Silent Way cresting the surface. Plus, Big Fun is tied together by a stronger Eastern vibe than any of Davis’s other albums [...] Big Fun is the work of a true musical craftsman and an even truer artist.
This is one of the Miles albums that I bought on release and experienced then (in abject wonder) and since (in sincere reverence). When it first came out "Go Ahead John" was the one that blew me over. As the years went by I've learned to love each side, especially "Lonely Fire."
"Go Ahead John" has some of my favorite Miles trumpet of 1970, but I would rather listen to it on the Complete Jack Johnson set. "Lonely Fire" has never grabbed me but I know it has its fans. For some reason "Great Expectations" sounds muffled on the remaster CD of Big Fun. I have a needledrop where it sounds better.
It feels like a really long groove - a bit like On The Corner. Listened to it during a good walk in nice weather. Might have something to do with why I enjoyed it quite on first listen.
I understand the criticism of this album, insofar as it's a bit cobbled together. However, there are some nice tunes on here, if listened to in isolation. My problem is not with the bossa nova angle of some of them, it's that many of the tunes sound very similar. I haven't analysed what key the tunes are in, but I bet some of them share the same key, and coupled with essentially the same 'Gil Evans' tonal palette/instrumentation, it's hard to distinguish some of them. 'Summer Night' is a nice ballad, with some lovely piano accompaniment. '...Barracudas' opening section has an overloud snare drum, which irritated me immensely, though the rest of it was interesting. Maybe the tunes don't challenge enough...
I quite like this album despite the second-rate recording quality. Maybe I prefer the 'live' aspect of it more than I enjoy some of the studio Gil Evans stuff. Reading about the drama of the night enhances my pleasure somehow-maybe there's a bit of an edge to it.(Maybe I'm kidding myself!) 'So What' is very jaunty!
Crispi, do you have some ebook version of the penguin guide to jazz? I cant seem to find one, and wondering what version is your go to?
Funny you should ask. No, Sir, I don't have one. I have one of those things called "books" (without the "e"). They don't glow in the dark, but they are faily readable during daytime. Since my computer has a keyboard, I use that to type up the words that I see printed in that book.
I like Go Ahead John enuff that I made a CD-R of all the raw takes from the Complete Jack Johnson box plus the final mix by Teo from Big Fun. Often just leave it in the car CD player and let it go from here to there.
One song (part of it at least) appears twice on Quiet Nights. "Corcovado" has Miles's solo from an alternate take of "Aos Pés Da Cruz" edited onto the end.
Forgive me for prying Crispi, but what version are you using, would like to get one for my "library". Also, the fact that you type these out makes me respect the process even more!
Hi Chester, I use the 7th edition, the one with Elvin Jones on the cover. I don't know whether it's better or worse than any other editions.
Yep, this is the one everybody likes because it has the core albums along with some index or something that people like. Thanks!
Okay, so what's next? I'm ready to progress in this topic! I'm currently reading "Milestones" and have a couple more Miles books lined up after that, so am eager to see some real, live discussion about him as well. Right now we're playing Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel on Spotify. Great stuff! My partner loves it too, although she declares herself more of a Coltrane fan. I think she prefer passion to calculation, and Coltrane is more in her court. I really like Coltrane but prefer to follow Miles because his career is so varied. Longevity is a huge plus in my book. Anyway, we're on page 70 (according to my forum settings) but still have a way to go. So, onward! Let's forge ahead, undeterred by the dark Mordor-ish clouds of the 80s which are beginning to loom on the horizon!
Yes. I am all for moving to the next selection...but now knowing the lengths Crispi goes to enter an album, I will wait patiently..... sort of
Next up: Miles Davis In Concert · Recorded Live at Philharmonic Hall, New York Columbia KG 32092 released May 1973 Recorded September 1972 at the Philharmonic Hall of Lincoln Center with Carlos Garnett (soprano, tenor sax) Cedric Lawson (electric piano, synthesizer) Khalil Balakrishna (electric sitar) Reggie Lucas (electric guitar) Michael Henderson (electric bass) Al Foster (drums) Badal Roy (tabla) Mtume (percussion). I admit to not knowing too much about this album and barely listening to it in full. An unremarkable piece of discography? The Penguin Guide to Jazz kind of likes it (giving it 3 out of 4 stars, more than On the Corner!). Lovingly typed up by yours truly: The Phiharmonic Hall set is the obvious companion-piece [to On the Corner]. By this stage, Miles has more or less completely abandoned the concept of themes-and-solos and clearly differentiated instruments or instrumental groups in favour of a thick, percussion-heavy substrate through which Miles's trumpet surges like a sand-worm. Acoustically, it's a mess. Michael Henderson's bass saws around out of control, and the addition of sitar and tabla adds a thickness to the mix that some will find deeply unpalatable. “Rated X” is already way out in rock territory, but it's the transformation of the theme from Jack Johnson that most clearly signals the distance Miles has come over that short time.
