Thanks for the holiday cheer! I had planned to discuss Aura next, since it was laid down to tape right before You're Under Arrest was released. Going more or less chronologically by recording date makes more sense to me in terms of a discussion of Miles' and his band's progression. Anyone feel strongly for sticking with release dates?
I loved You're Under Arrest at the time. I don't think I could listen to it all the way through today though.
Merry Christmas everyone! Slightly off topic, but I watched the movie Scrooged (1988) today for the first time since its release 30 years ago. Miles Davis makes a street performance cameo within the first 20 min. or so. Somehow I don't remember this when I first saw the movie upon release.
I don’t think I ever saw the movie but I bought the soundtrack to have the Miles performance. And then there was this from a year earlier, but ties in.
You're Under Arrest is without a doubt his worst album for me...But nice to see some people enjoy it.
For me it's a solid album, but with that 80's sound that hasn't aged well. But at least Miles sounded like the 80's in the 80's, and not the 60's or 70's.
I don't think it has aged that badly. The electronic Simmons drums by Vince Wilburn is one time marker I guess. The synths in some cases maybe, but not when Miles plays them in his...idiosyncratic manner. Either way, Miles puts in really strong trumpet performances, and you get to hear Scofield and John McLaughlin tear the roof off. Human Nature is too syrupy in this short studio version. Time After Time was also better live, but honestly I think covering this tune was a late career masterstroke by Miles. No one would have guessed.
I think going through the albums in order of recording is the best way, but I would like to register how disappointed I felt hearing Aura on release, after the more adventurous Tutu.
Double-take here. You find Tutu more adventurous than the classical European avant garde of Aura? Or lets wait till we get there .
Well, when Tutu was released, it sounded like nothing I'd heard before, whereas Aura sounded like a lot of other things I had already heard. The one thing it didn't sound like was Miles Davis.
Interesting - you certainly have a unique perspective there. Aura is a long form composition by Danish modern classical composer Palle Mikkelberg inspired by Messiaen and 12 tone music. File under music a lot of people aren't familiar with at all!
Sort of the opposite for me. Tutu sounded like an evolution for Miles based on music forms I was not unfamiliar with. Aura was a big sidestep into territory that was mostly new to me. Every time I listen to Aura I warm up to it a bit more. But there is a lot of time in between spins. Should dig it out again soon.
Most things in the UK close on Christmas Eve & don't restart until after the New Year. I don't see why this thread should be any different!
Have been on a Miles kick lately and enjoy reading some of the entries here while listening. Had Black Beauty streaming earlier this week and loved it. Today the MFSL Miles Smiles & Bitches Brew show up along with the K2 IASW. Haven't played those yet but am now streaming The Man With the Horn - it's freaking awesome man. I'm sure I wouldn't have liked it a few years ago but tastes change and there's some great music here. At some point I'll keep diving into his 80s work...
Streaming You're Under Arrest now...digging (edit - had the wrong song here) Ms Morrisine but I'd really like to hear this on LP.
And here it is: My first copies in any format for these albums: Miles Smiles, Bitches Brew & IASW. I've listened to all the tracks in one way or another over the past couple of years, mostly via streaming but am glad to finally have my own hard copies. Going chronological through them and am right now very much enjoying Miles Smiles!
Aura recorded at Easy Sound Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark, January 31 - February 4, 1985 original issue: Columbia double LP C2X 45332, CD* CK 45332 and cassette in autumn 1989 Producer: Palle Mikkelborg No singles released in the US *Special note: Aura's first CD release was marred by a mastering error, which resulted in the first half of "Green" misidentified as the second half of "Red." This error was rectified in both the 1996 and 2001 Sony Japan Master Sound versions (SRCS 9327 and SRCS 9743, respectively) and in the 2000 Colombia Legacy release (CK 63962). "He was like a crystal in a way. There were so many beams to him, both as a person and as a musician." -Palle Mikkelborg From Miles' autobiography: "In November 1984, I won the Sonning Music Award for lifetime achievement in music. The award is given in Denmark, and I was the first jazz musician and the first black ever to win it. The award is usually given to classical musicians; Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, and Isaac Stern had won it in the past. I was happy and honored that they gave me the award. They wanted me to make a record with Denmark's best musicians, so in February 1985 I went back over to record and they got together a big band. All of the music was written by the Danish composer Palle Mikkelborg. It is a mixture of orchestra and electronic music, synthesizers. I took Vincent over with me to get a certain sound on the drums. He recorded with us on this album. John McLaughlin is on guitar and Marilyn Mazur is on percussion. Columbia was supposed to release the album, but they reneged on me and so I had to get a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to finish the album, which was to be called Aura. That was the beginning of the end of my relationship with Colombia. "[In 1989] my third Warners album, Amandla, came out. The reviews were good and so were the sales. And Colombia announced that it was releasing Aura in September 1989. I made that album back in 1985 and since then I've moved on elsewhere musically. Something new happens in music almost every day, it seems. But Aura is a good album, and I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of response it gets, especially after four years." Miles Davis & Palle Mikkelborg at Easy Sound Studio, Copenhagen, January '85 (PC: Jan Persson) [note: a link to Jan Persson's excellent online collection can be found here.] From Miles’ own website: "On December 14, 1984, Miles went to Copenhagen to receive a prize from the foundation of the writer Carl Johann Sonning. During the ceremony, he participated in “Violet,” the last movement of a long suite composed by the Danish trumpeter Palle Mikkelborg for the Danish radio orchestra. The seven movements of Aura drew their inspiration from the colors of the rainbow, and the names of Miles Davis and former recipients of the prize (including Igor Stravinsky, Leonard Bernstein, Olivier Messiaen, and Isaac Stern) were encoded into the score. On January 31, 1985, Miles returned to the Danish capital with his nephew Vincent Wilburn to record Aura, playing in all the numbers (except “Indigo,” in honor of the second quintet, whose piano parts revived the trumpeter’s disdain for any return to the past). John McLaughlin, who happened to be in Copenhagen at the time, participated in the recording of this work, which was worthy of Gil Evans’ sumptuous scores. Columbia’s lack of interest in releasing Aura led Miles to decide to end his thirty years of loyalty to the label and to switch to Warner." Palle, John McLaughlin & Miles, Easy Sound Studio, January '85 (PC: Jan Persson) [note: This image is backwards (note wristwatch and ring placement compared with B/W image above, and John seemingly playing guitar left-handed) ] From The Last Miles by George Cole: "Mikkelborg composed a piece comprising seven movements, which he called "Aura." The inspiration behind the piece was Miles' musical and personal aura. Mikkelborg chose an unorthodox system to compose "Aura." First, he assigned a chromatic note to each letter of the alphabet and then using the letters that make up Miles' name - M.I.L.E.S.D.A.V.I.S. - he created a theme. "It was like an orchestral tribute or homage to his life in these seven colors," says Mikkelborg. "Mikkelborg recalls the effect Miles had in the studio. "Everybody was quiet when he came in. All the musicians were completely quiet. He walked into the studio and put a strange hat on. He walked around and looked at all the musicians and he gave the characteristics of many of them just by looking at them. It was very strange. "It was during the recording sessions that Miles heard that John McLauglin was in town with his band. "Miles asked John to come up immediately. John came and had no idea what was happening," notes Mikkelborg. "Miles said, 'Play downtown New York, John, you know what I mean?' Then they put on the tape and John played fantastically - wild and strong." "The music itself is a triumph both for Miles and Mikkelborg. The combination of Miles' trumpet sound, a big band and electronic instruments saw Miles playing the kind of music many had thought he had long left behind. The influence of Ives, Evans and Messiaen coupled with Mikkelborg's respect and awareness of Miles' musical heritage combined to produce a body of work that shows both new and old sides to Miles' playing. Miles, of course, was highly influential in the overall sound, feel and direction of the music. "Overall, Aura was well received, although critic Stanley Crouch described it as "an over-blown fusion piece." Critic Angus McKinnon described Aura as: "Davis' most important recording since his 1981 comeback," adding that "Davis was fifty-eight when this album was recorded and the intelligence, power and spontaneity of his playing hardly imply a man who was disinterested or idly flattered by Mikkelborg's composition." He concluded that: "Aura is not an absolute artistic statement in the order of Kind of Blue or Miles Smiles; instead, like Bitches Brew, On The Corner or Dark Magus, it offers tantalizing possibilities any of which most musicians would be content to spend a lifetime exploring." "Writer Paul Tingen says that Aura "contains some of Miles' best playing of the decade," while critic Gary Giddens said that the album was "his most satisfying recorded work in several years - perhaps since the 1983 Star People." The critic Francis Davis concluded that Aura was "so shockingly good that you're slightly disappointed in it for not being perfect." "Aura went on to win two Grammy awards in 1989, for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist and Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band. "After Aura, I felt I had used up my interest in the big band sound for a while. I didn't write anything for a large ensemble. I did some orchestral things and some choir things but I didn't do anything with a similarity to this," says Mikkelborg, who kept in touch with Miles in the years afterwards, often meeting in hotel rooms when the two men were in the same city. Mikkelborg recalls one of his last meetings with Miles, just when the latter was showing an interest in hip-hop. "He was interested in the new technology. I had the feeling he was moving into a new period. He liked techno-drums and electronics." Miles & Palle (PC: Jan Persson)
So has anyone had time to give Aura a fresh listen? What are your thoughts? Before this thread I hadn't played if for a few years (maybe last in 2014?). It's one that on first play I didn't understand what they were going for, and there was nothing that really grabbed my attention. Played it again for this thread, and found a lot more to like. This time I picked-up on the atmospheric aspect; this is one moody album. Miles' use of the Harmon mute and McLaughlin's contributions are probably the things I enjoy most about this album. I think my exposure in the years since to Gil Evans, Third Stream and other Fusion albums helped me a lot here. Also we see more of a move to the musical style of Tutu, which is one of my favorite post-retirement albums. I also noticed the crispness of the overall sound quality, not murky like most of the heavily edited Macero-produced albums. The original US CD (Columbia CK 45332) boasts a "DDD" SPARS code, so we see a modern approach to recording and mixing. In retrospect I had discounted this date as soul-less European jazz date (a la ECM records), which is a bias I need to work on eliminating entirely.
I kind of sympathize with Columbia not wanting to release this album after the commercial success of You're Under Arrest. I suspect they were looking for Miles to release a YUA Part 2 as his next album and thought Aura was too "out there", even for Miles. I have to say that it also took a little while for me to appreciate Aura, but I now consider it one of his finest albums from the 80s. I've always thought that Palle Mikkelborg's name should have been on the cover with Miles's, in the same way Gil Evans, Quincy Jones and Marcus Miller got recognized for their massive contributions to various albums. It was really fortuitous that McLaughlin was in town, because his contributions really raise the bar. I love the opening track "Intro", with the long, slow build-up followed by an explosive burst of sound, with McLaughlin's scorching lines and Miles's soaring horn - it's an exciting opener. Another standout track for me is "Blue," with its reggae-like rhythm. But there isn't a dud track on the album. My only regret is that syn-drums were used on some tracks, apparently at Miles's request, because he wanted the album to sound contemporary , which is ironic, as it really dates some of the music.
I was giving it a listen for the first time this morning after seeing your post yesterday. There's some stuff to like, but I haven't gone all the way through yet. First impression is that it comes of as a bit of a soundtrack/score, which is outside of my preferred style. The sound is very good and I agree the highlights are Miles' and McLaughlin's playing.
I've just never been able to connect fully with Aura I'm afraid, despite trying several times from its release to just now. I don't doubt the compositional rigour behind the tracks but it results in music that, to me, seems rather aimless at times, with elements that seem (as noted above) rather dated and jarring. That said, I don't hate it as per some opinions I've come across. The second half of 'Orange' gets quite funky (but fades out a bit early!), the two 'Reds' pick up on the malevolence of some of MD's electric work, and Violet is a nice bluesy coda to the whole thing. I do get a bit tired reading the line that this LP is superior to MD's previous 80s output, of intrinsically greater value due in part to its 'modern classical' origin. As someone who likes MD's 80s CBS music, I'm probably overcompensating in being a bit unsympathetic to this one.
Now streaming Aura. First time listening. At a minimum, thanks to this ongoing thread for getting me to explore Miles' post-retirement period for the first time. I have just about everything he put out on Capitol, Prestige, Blue Note, and Columbia before the retirement (Collectors' Items and Quiet Nights notwithstanding, and I'm looking for a nice copy of Collectors' Items). I wish that "Intro" on Aura went further with the atmospherics before the drums and percussion come in. That almost post-rock atmospheric sound with McLaughlin's guitar soaring over top is really cool and could've been developed more before we launch full-scale into the sounds of the '80s.
