Miles Davis – Big Fun

★★★★★

   In sixties Miles Davis with his quintet and with Gil Evans created series of recordings which had the power of defining modern jazz. After 1969, starting with remarkable In a Silent Way, Miles Davis’ electric fusion was the style setting trends in seventies. In this period his artistry flourished with deep quality of pure musical contents. It is characterized by an abundance of excellent recordings, new electrified sound, revised framework for more compositional and improvisational freedom. This qualities can be treated as a continuation of the main trends present in Davis’ music in the sixties. Among the albums from this period, many of which are considered to be brilliant, probably the most underrated is Big Fun, a double LP album, released April 19, 1974. Problem with this album was the moment of publication, over four years after first recordings and diversity of material forming a patchwork of four different pieces recorded during four different sessions in the years 1969, 1970 and 1972. Every piece has length of full record side and takes from 21 to 28 minutes.

   It was three months after album In a Silent Way was released and more than two months after Bitches Brew sessions, when Miles Davis resumed recording sessions continuing his experiments with electric sound and fusion. He started recording along with Steve Grossman (ss), Bennie Maupin (bcl), guitarist John McLaughlin, Khalil Balakrishna playing electric sitar, Bihari Sharima playing tabla and tamboura, pianists Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, bassists Ron Carter and Harvey Brooks, drummer Billy Cobham and Airto Moreira on percussion. First session took place in New York Columbia Studio E, November 1st, 1969. Musicians recorded one piece Great Expectations, including Joe Zavinul’s Orange Lady. Almost the same band took part in recording Lonely Fire November 28th, 1969. Changes in line-up were saxophonist Wayne Shorter, double bassist Dave Holland. There was also the second drummer Jack DeJohnette. Lonely Fire was placed as recording closing the Big Fun set with sound and style most close to the opening piece.

Miles Davis – Big Fun (1974)

   Second side composition Ife was recorded during last session June 12th, 1972. The band was almost all new, besides Davis and Maupin all line-up has changed. Soprano players Carlos Garnett and Sonny Fortune (also flute), pianists Lonnie Smith and Harold Williams Jr. (also sitar), bassist Michael Henderson, drummers Al Foster and William Hurt, Mtume (James Foreman) playing African percussion and Badal Roy on table – whole band was almost the same as recorded On the Corner and musical ideas of Ife and other recordings of this period are clearly connected. This was most recent sound of Miles Davis band.

   Although many musicians played on previous albums, the sound of this recording was significantly different. And it was not only the effect of introducing Indian instruments, nor the first use of trumpet mute in electric period. Musicians still presented experimenting approach. The first recordings were done five months before Bitches Brew was in trade. Album In a Silent Way was received very well, but musicians knew nothing about what will be the public reaction for the Bitches Brew album. This situation was for sure in a way uncomfortable but the same way forcing more artistic freedom.
   Since the sixties jazz musicians were abandoning formal rules obtained earlier. Traditional dividing into theme and improvised choruses sections in bop, cool and hard-bop was more and more lousy. In free jazz era this form seemed to be totally obsolete, but Davis didn’t accept this as a new mode. Looking for own way became main narration of albums and concerts in electric era. In 1969 he turned to folk music, connecting sound of Indian and African instruments with muted trumpet (as earlier he used the Harmon mute) and the sound of electric instruments, guitar, organ, pianos and even electric sitar. Most natural way of building musical narration became freely distributed, improvised sections developing over hypnotic rhythm and bass line figures. This gave his music the epic effect of breaking rules and touching the core of human condition.

   Most complex and longest composition on this album is Go Ahead John. Recording March 3rd, 1970 group was smaller than typical Miles Davis’ personnel. This time trumpet’s companion was only Steve Grossman on soprano sax, John McLaughlin on guitar, bassist Dave Holland and drummer Jack DeJohnette. And guitar was only harmonic instrument used. The title evokes guitarist John McLaughlin whose solos plays featured role in introducing and closing parts of the piece. The dominant of the whole construction are still two episodes of Miles Davis trumpet solos. While in Great Expectations Davis played with distorted sound giving him almost rock guitar expression, this time without mute his trumpet sounds mild and silky. The sharper sound of McLaughlin’s guitar paradoxically reinforcing lyricism and abstract calm of blues played as central episode by Davis and Holland. In this part Davis’ trumpet was overdubbed with repetitions duplicating phrases and giving this music spatial and mysterious outfit. Sound space was extremely significant. Even some drums parts were divided in fast cuts into two channels like there were two complementary drummers. In coda comes back initial funky guitar with Grossman’s soprano solo. Whole work credited as Miles Davis’ composition was executed in series of studio treatments by Teo Macero – yet another example of excellent cooperation between Davis and great Columbia producer.
   Considering the diversity, richness and permanent underrating, definitively 5 stars.

Miles Davis – Bitches Brew

★★★★★

When we meet great artist we always have problem with comprehending his work – the bigger he or she is, the worst problem have anyone who tries to capture in words his individual experience. When Miles Davis (1926-1991) was active musician and artist, standard procedure in writing about his music was to observe small range of his work, for example any of his records or concerts and asking why this comes after another or what can it means in context of something he did before. And it was quite satisfied job because every record of this artist was full, uncompromised statement of artist’s will. Critics had a lot of work to do. But after artist is gone in uproar of eternal jam session, we have different standpoint on his work. It’s complete in new meaning, now in every element of his output we see a piece of the whole and now we can fully understand how great musician he was.
Month after In a Silent Way has been released, in the end of August 1969, Davis back to the same CBS 30th Street Studio in New York. And while in previous album base was still quintet from Filles de Kilimanjaro augmented occasionally with few more pianists and guitarist, the Bitches Brew ultimately ends Davis' quintets era. All instruments except trumpet were multiplied, on reeds played Wayne Shorter (soprano sax) and Bennie Maupin (bass clarinet). The rest was huge rhythmic section with three drummers Lenny White, Jack de Johnette, Charles Alias playing congas and drums (only in Miles Runs the Voodoo Down) and percussionist Jim Riley playing shaker and congas, bass player Dave Holland with Harvey Brooks on Fender bass, Chick Corea, Joe Zawinul and Larry Young on electric piano and John McLaughlin on electric guitar – in many parts all of them playing simultaneously. John McLaughling is playing rhythmic passages, but in some parts he is folowing also modal improvisations and melodic patterns. In many fragments his guitar is standalone as much as Wayne Shorter’s soprano. Thus these two artists play the role of counterpointing Davis' phrases, almost the same way as John Coltrane and Julian Adderly did in the Kind of Blue sextett.

Miles Davis – Bitches Brew

Such setting allowed this section to found the new kind of sound and rhythmic intensity, clearly different from mainstream, cool jazz or hard bop. It was closer to psychedelic funk-rock, sometimes called acid-rock which is suitable especially for its trance elements adopted by Davis in 1969. With loosely constructed wide phrases he was building emotional tension without dividing improvisations into traditional choruses. In fact some compositions still preserve traditional model – for example in Spanish Key – but even close up with traditional forms can't change the general aspect of motif and phrase repeatability. This way he gave pre-ambient sensation of time and space continuance. But internally this music is diverse and highly expressive. In short piece on the 3rd side titled John McLaughlin Miles Davis even did not appear. Next side trumpet is predominating and in end piece of the album, Wayne Shorter’s Sanctuary, Davis played one of greatest cool solo ever.
The lineup recorded in studio was filled out by producer Teo Macero, and once more, just like proceeding In a Silent Way, recorded material was mixed and dubbed, using multi-tracking and tape loops. Inspired by works of studio composers from Experimental Music Center Columbia-Princeton and many other experiments of 1940s and 1950s, using fragments of recorded music, sometimes in very small particles, Macero created construction of whole pieces, building them in the way, musicians never heard while playing. This innovative approach decided Bitches Brew is one of turning points in history of XX-century music. Released in April 1970 and sold in more than half million copies, Bitches Brew became one of greatest Davis’ successes. It was also great achievement of musicians involved in this project, deciding for what they were doing in next dacade.
Not only music has changed, gatefold sleeve designed by Mati Klarwein clearly indicates counterculture of late sixties as reference for intellectual attitude. Headline on the sleeve, over main tittle says: „Directions in Music by Miles Davis”. Literally the same as it was in released January 1969 Filles de Kilimanjaro. And connection between these records is clear. The process of revolutionary transition from opposed modal and cool jazz into fusion of these traditions which started in 1968 when he recorded the Filles de Kilimanjaro in Bitches Brew had fulfilled. Modern jazz of 1960s gone away and future never looked as cool or modern as it once happened. Some modern jazz lovers did not accept these changes and criticized records from electric period of Miles Davis, but the fact is, society has changed and shortly nothing was the same as usual.