Miles Davis - In A Silent Way

As for Miles, well, the other electric albums aren't really quite like In A Silent Way, as they're usually a bit more, eh, lively, I guess. I see no reason in hell for you not to run run run run and get Bitches Brew right away though. Or Live-Evil. Mmmm, Live-Evil.

As regards recommendations for something "that someone who has been listening intensively to In A Silent Way would get a kick out of", the first thing that came into my head was The Soft Machine's Third - but I'm not at all sure sure I could explain why....

(x-post)

The Miles records to check out if you enjoy Silent Way:
ESP (the brilliant quintet that immediately preceded the electric shift in Miles' music)
Bitches Brew (more electric stuff, might strike you as a confused mess at first)
Jack Johnson (immensely powerful 'rock' record with McLaughlin, may be Miles' last genius record)
Agharta/Pangaea (the full-on Sly Stone/Stockhausen funk apocalypse, live shows Tokyo 1975)
Get Up With It (schizophrenic record, bits of studio experimentation; features the side-long 'Amarcord' which inspired Eno's On Land)
On the Corner (very strange, prickly record that seems to have been created with maximum annoyance in mind, I never quite understood the love this record receives, but definitely worth checking out)

If you want to get away from Miles a bit, I think the Soul Jazz compilations New Thing! or Universal Sounds of America do a good job of rounding up the best electric jazz circa the late 60s-early 70s.

There are some grooves on there that are just thick.

also check out the 'zawinul' alb which contains a diff. version of In A Silent Way, including the material that miles deleted from the tune - v. instructive insight into the miles method

OTMFM!

You might also like Nefertiti or The Sorcerer, though they'd be more difficult listening than either of the ones you've heard.

You've got it backwards. Tago Mago could almost be an outtake from a Bitches Brew session, not the other way around.

The Eno connection is "Amarcord", dedicated to Ellington, on the Get Up With It record. Eno mentioned it as inspiring Ambient 4: On Land. It's a really interesting, spacey track.

In a Silent Way = February 1969

While being a contemporary record, Dave Douglas' "The Infinite" taps into a similar space as In A Silent Way.

"Odyssey of Iska" by Wayne Shorter was recorded around that same time on Blue Note and it also similar in feel to In A Silent Way.

The Complete Silent Way Sessions is amazing listening, not just for the extra music but for the insight --

The original take of 'Shhh/Peaceful' actually hinges upon an extended melodic phrase that sounds exactly like a Miles In The Sky era composition -- it's a fantastic melody they return to about every four minutes or so. The one bar riff (the descending two note bassline) is just a downtime noodle they stretch out on between that phrase.

Macero cuts the phrase out entirely, leaving just 14 minutes of the improvisation on that one bar riff. Then he takes one of Miles' improvised melodies over the riff, and repeats it at the very beginning and the very end so it becomes a motive that bookends the piece.

I always wondered how the musicians could stay so intensely, maniacly focused on such minimal material -- and the answer is, in the real life performance, they were building and charging towards a composed phrase which they'd refresh themselves with every four minutes before returning to the trance section. It must have taken balls for Macero to cut out the heart of the piece, but the result is nothing is the sound of musicians staying electrified on the most minimal materials imaginable, they would have arrived at either that structure or that magnified focused sound without the editing...

The original phrase they cut out, though -- it's prime Miles, totally beautiful

I've always been fond of Sketches of Spain as well, though some think it's too mellow / trad.

Also, this record is responsible for me being engaged -- at least indirectly. This spring, I bought said Complete...Sessions box on eBay and lovingly gazed upon it for a few days...until my gf dropped it on the bathroom floor, thus fucking up the packaging (what I was doing leaving it perched on the boombox in the bathroom is another story). At any rate, we got into a huge, stupid fight about it, and to make up for starting said stupid fight, I said we should go to her favorite restaurant that Friday night (Nora, in DC). Since the fight had happened on Monday, by Thursday we almost decided to cancel it, but thought it'd be fun, so we didn't. Anyway, after having agonized over the perfect setting to propose for months, I decided to that night when we were drunk and talking about sentimental things like family.

And honestly, In a Silent Way was never even one of my favorite Miles records.

My guess is: he didn't bother.

And in the Bitches Sessions box they have a handy diagram that shows how Pharoah's dance was edited. I had no idea how meticulous the little tiny loops were.

I only wish that box had done what the others did: actually give you the unedited versions of those tunes (title track's got some fancy razor-work as well) -- instead we got 12 takes of "Little Blue Frog"...

recently saw a half-hour film of Miles at Isle of Wight, sans electric guitar but with Corea and Jarrett. 1970, parts were boring, parts were amazing. DeJohnette was superb.

seconded/thirded on the Dave Douglas stuff, too. he's great. anyone heard his recent couple-albums? isn't there one that's supposed to be like a soundtrack to silent films--Arbuckle or someone?

check out the smidge of Silent Way that Teo drops into the middle of Jack Johnson. I have no idea how he talked Miles into that one.

So this actually was a sample? I mentioned it once to a prof who was convinced that the band just played that bit live.

My ex-girlfriend has this, I remember it being quite good, though more conventional than IaSW. I liked the version of "In a Silent Way" in it too. It's sort of a director's cut: the song was originally composed by Zawinul in Vienna when he was watching snowflakes fall on the statue of Mozart. Anyway, apparently he didn't like the treatment Macero and Miles gave to the song, so he wanted to rerecord it in the form he intended it to be.

Not by me (see ILM passim et ad infinitium/nauseum)

Soon Over Babaluma being the sequel to Future Days is in some ways similar to how Bitches Brew is to In A Silent Way, as the sounds, techniques and tempos are both turned up a notch in the follow up.

It's a Milton Nascimiento (who is singing) tune. He recorded at least a couple earlier versions of the song that are also great.

the hubbard is really good too, it reminded me that i have red clay somewhere on my shelves, need to pull that out again!

percussion on mr clean is outstanding

u probably know this but Red Clay = tribe sample

yea!

Can we talk about how great the organ cold open is on this album? Like the first five seconds?

I had five seconds to spare so I thought I'd check. I agree.

i agree!

Has anyone heard the Mobile Fidelity vinyl reissue? I spotted it for $30 and it sure looks nice. I'm not a super hi-fi enthusiast or anything but this is one of my all time favorite albums (esp if you count the box set, which puts it firmly in the top 5) and I imagine it'll sound pretty sweet on the Rega. I actually don't own a vinyl copy of this, either, so it wouldn't be a redundant purchase, necessarily (though I've made many of those over the years). I don't think I own any Mobile Fidelity releases. Should I get it?

the organ sound on this is perhaps the best i've heard on any record.

a good remastered CD of this will sound better than any vinyl copy

and it will set you back $7

http://www.amazon.com/Silent-Way-Miles-Davis/dp/B00006GO9Q/

Just heard Mal Waldron's album The Call (recorded in Germany 1971)& it has a definite In A Silent Way vibe.

I have this on CD - a few times over, actually! Also have the box set. So you don't think the 'half speed master' or whatever makes any discernible difference? I will say that my reissued mono copy of Round About Midnight is one of the sweetest sounding LPs I own (and again, I'm not the type to notice such things unless they're really obvious)

if the CD remastering is done well--and it is, at least on the versions from the late 1990s and early 2000s that i know--then i don't see how the LP can really top it, given the inhering limitations of vinyl playback. i mean, if you prefer the sound of vinyl with all the added static etc. then by all means get the vinyl.

xpost

"the call" is a great album. i've been listening to a lot of mal waldron recently.

if i had to engage in an exercise as silly as picking a best album of all time, there are some days when it would be this one.

This, A Kind Of Blue and Big Fun make me think of Mozart, Rachmaninov, Schubert and the whole fucking universe. Miles is so amazing at his peak.

Jimmy, that's a pretty good price for a Mofi pressing; if you want it on vinyl and don't want to wait for an original to turn up it's probably worth it. The CD does sound quite good, though, and can be easily found for $5-6 in stores.

Holy smokes this Mal Waldron record is dope.

Jimmy, that's a pretty good price for a Mofi pressing; if you want it on vinyl and don't want to wait for an original to turn up it's probably worth it. The CD does sound quite good, though, and can be easily found for $5-6 in stores.

― rabatment of the rectangle (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Monday, February 16, 2015 6:30 PM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Thanks! Got it on hold at the record store. I figure, at the very least, it won't be a bummer to own it on vinyl, even if it doesn't blow my mind.

It's 'Silent Way,' it will blow your mind regardless.

Holy smokes this Mal Waldron record is dope.

^^^ yeah, I was totally unfamiliar with this, thanks for the tip.

yeah i just got turned on to that too -- is waldron's other 70s stuff along those lines?

^^^ yeah, I was totally unfamiliar with this, thanks for the tip.

Same here, thanks!

Mal Waldron is great! Hard Talk is amazing - gets wilder than silent way tho

My Mal Waldron experience is limited to the three live Five Spot albums with Eric Dolphy and Booker Little, which I love madly. I should hear the one referenced itt!

yeahhh those five spot albums are so amazing. maldron's on a few mingus things from the 50s too, and I've got a couple albums of stuff with coltrane (also from the 50s). but i really don't know anything about the later phase of his career. seems like I've got to catch up!

his album "first encounter" w/gary peacock rules too (getting off the vibe of of this thread) but just in general he's excellent

The only Waldron that comes to mind is "Up Popped the Devil" which is great. I'll have to check out some of these others.

y'all know about waldron's work with the band embryo, right? it's not quite the world-historical event that a free jazz/krautrock crossover could and should have been, but it's quite good.

wait i forgot that "the call" /is/ embryo, essentially.

anyway your next stop:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbRlAygcMFo

yeah that's what got me on the waldron kick -- "the call" is outstanding.

I agree with ILM's album poll:

Best Miles Davis Album 1949-1974

I wont argue with the winner but I don't agree with zero votes for Big Fun.

pretty far afield from in a silent way in terms of sound, but i just heard this early attempt at electrifying Miles this week: http://bigozine2.com/roio/?p=2195
terrible recording, sounds like a great performance

finally getting around to the In A Silent Way sessions. it's interesting when you hear this period's recordings in order - from say '67 through '75 - there's a pretty clear but gradual evolution. It's not like he went from post-bop to Hendrix-style guitars all of a sudden, there's a real continuity to it as the personnel shifts and changes. But it feels like historically the short-hand is that this was so shocking and abrupt, a la Dylan-going-electric, but how much distance is there really, compositionally and sonically, between Miles in the Sky and In A Silent Way? It's not *that* abrupt a shift.

yeah it's in the keys mostly i would think. i recall crouch's big hit on this stressing the wallpapery background sound of it - which would mean he glommed on to the main differentiator from the 'miles in the sky' sound, too.

why did jazz dudes hate the fender rhodes initially, was Miles really the first to bring it in? (Obviously Ra loved electric keyboards but he was kinda off in his own little universe) Listening to Chick Corea bitch about being forced to play it is always lol

or was that Jarrett? shit I think I'm mixing them up

someone else is sure to know better but for sure jarrett bitched about it and steered clear as soon as he could; i thought corea was playing electric in one of his own bands well enough past this?

Things to remember:

- Miles in the Sky didn't sell very well at the time; it was kind of a forgotten album for a lot of years
- In a Silent Way was a breakthrough because it was where rock critics started paying attention, and (then as now) very few of them journeyed backwards to contextualize what they were hearing

Generally speaking, I agree that there's a clear evolutionary process going on, with the big leap being the introduction of electric guitar all the time. Prior to IASW, Miles had only had guitar on Miles in the Sky, and even there it was George Benson. The other, weirder track with guitar - "Water on the Pond," IIRC - was left in the vault until the mid '70s. But when McLaughlin joined the band, everything changed. The rhythms, the compositions, everything.

Jarrett hated the electric keyboard and never played one again after leaving Davis's band.

There's a great documentary called Miles Electric: A Different Kind Of Blue where a number of Miles' sidemen from his electric period are interviewed. Jarrett, as noted, whines about how much he hates electric keyboards. Hancock initially scoffs when Miles directs him to play a Rhodes -- "You want me to play that toy?" -- but then grows to love it. Corea jumps immediately into stacking ring modulators and Echoplexes on top of his Rhodes, so he apparently had no aversion to it.

why did jazz dudes hate the fender rhodes initially, was Miles really the first to bring it in?

I think it was just the usual "that's, like, selloutsville, daddy-o" stuff. Cannonball Adderley had a hit with "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" which featured Joe Zawinul on electric piano -- a Wurlitzer rather than a Rhodes -- and I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't some level of professional jealousy/resentment.

Miles Electric: A Different Kind Of Blue where a number of Miles' sidemen from his electric period are interviewed. Jarrett, as noted, whines about how much he hates electric keyboards

yeah thx this is what I was thinking of

Don't forget about all the Hammond organ-led jazz trios from the late '50s/early '60s on. Electric pianos were probably viewed by many as a combination of dinky/toylike and downmarket - not forward-looking music, but shit for drunks in bars to listen to.

It's the difference between an acoustic guitar and electric. Acoustic instruments are much more touch sensitive and there is much greater range in the sensitivity.

that is a very weird thing to argue about electric vs. acoustic guitar. I mean, electric guitars are more sensitive to touch by their very nature - they're amplified.

But it depends on the sound from the pickup and amp, not necessarily on the fingers on fretboard.

You do some big fast run on an electric guitar that has a real compressed signal, it's much easier to make all the notes run out clean. On an acoustic, that clarity is much more in players hands.

i have this on repeat in my car right now. the "in a silent way" section sounds like the calm beautiful morning after a massive riot. i.e. this morning. i'm so sad.

I was revisiting the Complete In A Silent Way Sessions when I came across this frustrating bit from Bob Belden's liner notes where he discusses four brief "interludes" recorded at the November 12, 1968 session for the tune "Splash":

The unissued "interludes" are something of a mystery. They are only a few "cue" length introductory phrases, having nothing to do whatsoever with any tracks that Miles had recorded up to this point. Herbie is on electric harpsichord and Chick is on organ, and these snippets do have a flavor of Sgt. Pepper's. These interludes are just fragments of something; perhaps they were just test recordings for Miles to hear. They are not included in this set.

Maybe I sound ungrateful/entitled, but I think it's bad form to tantalizingly describe these interludes as having "a flavor of Sgt. Pepper's" and then immediately follow that up with something to the effect of "too bad for you, you're never gonna hear them lol." Am I right that they still haven't been released?

Yeah, I don’t think those ever came out. It’s definitely somewhat dickish to mention those without any explanation as to why they’re not included. Miles supposedly didn’t want any of his unreleased material to come out anyway, according to Teo Macero, so it can’t be put down to “Miles wasn’t happy with these.” I know that the reissue/boxed set program played fast-and-loose with the terminology: the Complete Bitches Brew Sessions set is nothing of the sort. Unlike the IASW set, it doesn’t include the unedited takes of what would be assembled later. So Belden probably just excluded those “interludes” because they spoiled the flow of the box, and/or stuck out as jarringly different to the rest of the set.