The Unassailable Miles Davis, or, To Know Him Is To Love Him

Sundar - could you elaborate on that hatred a little, or are you just trying to play Devil's Advocate? I seem to remember a certain Kraftwerk thread in which you assumed the very same role... ;-)

Now: the Neil Young of jazz? I don't think so! That would mean he never changed his style ;)

Bill

free stuff aside, i love ed bickert's sound and playing, though he often works with lame musicians or plays on lame pieces. i even remember quite enjoying some cbc concerts by oliver jones and marian mcpartland, though i don't play them much. i've even liked some lenny breau, though again it's not something i play much and it was a long time ago that i liked it.

going back, i've liked things by dizzy gillespie, as well as duke ellington. some django reinhardt even - i think i just like guitarists. but i'll be honest - it's the free records that i pull out.

i've just been unable to listen to kind of blue without wanting to pass out by the third track or so. (outkast's aquemini, comparably, takes maybe six tracks. but it has shorter tracks, i think.) i'm not sure i can really elaborate much further without having the cd around to play. it just didn't grab or retain my interest. didn't seem like anything more than "pleasant," "tasteful," and "perfectly executed." my friend (who likes the album) once described it as "almost like ambient music," which goes a long way towards explaining things for me.

my dislike for bb and iasw comes partly from my distaste for john mclaughlin's noodling. and the laid-back wing-tip funk keyboards just aren't to my taste. i have no interest in herbie hancock or chick corea. i didn't think the rock side of md's jazz- rock fusions was cream-of-the-crop rock at all.

i don't think i quite hated round about midnight but i couldn't imagine wanting to hear it either.

clarke: what are you referring to? i really liked the mix, didn't care that much for radio-activity, liked some other things i'd heard from trans-europe express. i don't think i have ever said otherwise. outside of ilm, it has hardly been my experience that kraftwerk is so universally and uncritically acclaimed. do you think i pine away at night, secretly regretting that i sold radio-activity two years ago?

... do you think i pine away at night, secretly regretting that i sold radio-activity two years ago?

Well I should certainly hope so!

This is probably my favorite piece of music writing ever: http://www.ivy-style.com/the-warlord-of-the-weejuns.html

All I’m trying to say, really, is that most boutique customers should be lined up before a firing squad at dawn and that there should be a minute of silence to thank God for the existence of people like Miles Davis

There is something beautiful about this sentence.

US Postal Service to issue Miles Davis stamp

And it's the cover of Jack Johnson!

nice!

I will buy these stamps!

WTF challops shit was I on??

Squeaky door sounds just like Bitches Brew.

And I just saw Stanley Crouch run down there with a can of WD-40.

http://tsutpen.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-gunslinger-guide-to-miles-davis-7.html

Always glad to be reminded of "The Warlord Of The Weejuns"

Don Cheadle is playing Miles in a new movie

http://i.imgur.com/CWoPQiI.jpg

way too much muscle imo, unless it's a miles superhero movie

And especially because the movie centers around his coke-heavy never-leaving-the-house non-playing years. Don Cheadle's Miles weighs about triple what Miles did during that time.

why

i also heard that wayne shorter was now taller instead

miles davis: the man with the brawn

i guess setting it in the late '70s is a good way to get around the whole 'filming realistic performances' thing. although they could just have him play with his back to the camera.

Don Cheadle learned to play trumpet:

With the music—I know you mentioned that you play the saxophone—will you be playing the trumpet in the movie?
Yeah.

You will? You’ll be playing his songs yourself?
No. I’m not going to be, we’re going to be using Miles Davis playing. [Laughs] We’re not going to do a movie with the rights to his music and not have him playing.

We’re going to use his recordings. I’ve learned how to play. There will be elements of me playing the movie but when it comes to the pieces that are Miles Davis playing, it will be Miles Davis.

Good to read that it'll mostly focus on the intense gym routines he enjoyed in his later years and will heavily feature music from his early albums Workin', Steamin', Liftin' and Pumpin'.

Not to mention Stretches of Spain.

Kind of blew out my arms during that epic lift sesh

The idea of a miles biopic that concentrates exclusively on 1975-1979 is amazing. No flashbacks, just a dark house and occasional visits from Herbie Hancock and Lester Bowie.

you guys are tripping. Miles used to box

he def had biceps.

also this must be based on eric nisiensen's stories, in part.

http://www.amazon.com/Round-About-Midnight-Portrait-Miles/dp/0306806843

this was the first Miles bio I read .. he used to hang out w/ Miles all the time during that era

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J2i_zouRBH8/T-dKD592yLI/AAAAAAAAGfs/MoX-ypwdfek/s1600/Arnaud+Baumann+~+Miles+Davis,+ca.+1980.jpg

Miles, late 70s/v. early 80s

Actually, that photo is from somewhere around 1989-90; it's from the same photo session that yielded the album cover of Doo-Bop, which was released in 1991. This is a picture of Miles in the late '60s/early '70s:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jd80_x84iUE/TqSYqpD-UhI/AAAAAAAAAjU/SVSe7pWG5xU/s1600/miles-davis3.jpg

Based on the sunglasses, I'd guess that photo is '73/'74; he's wearing the same glasses on the cover of Get Up With It.

lol thought he looked old, Google lied to me

i guess he does have muscles on the cover of jack johnson too, but he sure looks like a skinny motherfucker in a bunch of photos from later in the decade

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Observer/Pix/pictures/2010/9/2/1283425873645/Miles-Davis-Muhammad-Ali-006.jpg

ok fuck this biopic shit and let's change the subject:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IJDi1gQZu8

I ran across this at my local library:

http://www.amazon.com/Live-Europe-1969-Bootleg-Series/dp/B008YCMM2A
MD Quintet live in Europe 1969.

It is as awesome as you would expect with generally good-to-very-good sounding recordings.
Also the dvd is a nice bonus.

lol
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CLu5mk4VAAAJ0nW.png:large

who is spc

sony pictures classics

pics look crazy but kent jones loved it, fwiw

haha, i was posting because of the "iconic singer" bit in the release...

Script notes:

-- Love the outline, just curious: Does he have to play trumpet? Not a problem, we can keep it, it's just ... you know how people get all puffy-cheeked when they play trumpet? Kinda gross. Just a thought.

iconic singer is funny cos i don't think MIles was supposed to talk above a whisper for years. Apparently he had throat surgery after he had nodes on his larynx or something and I think he lost his temper at somebody during a 2 week or something period that he was supposed to rest his voice. Shouted and wrecked his ability to talk, or so the story goes.
I wonder what his singing would have been like otherwise. Might have been an interesting aspect to hear him vocalise as well

Don Cheadle's last two tweets:

1. It wouldn't be entirely correct to call this a biopic

SteveKUVO ‏@SteveKUVO 3h3 hours ago
Denver's East High grad @IamDonCheadle debuts #MilesDavis biopic in NYC this Oct. http://www.downbeat.com/default.asp?sect=news&subsect=news_detail&nid=2783 …

Don Cheadle ‏@IamDonCheadle 3h3 hours ago
@SteveKUVO Not a biopic, but thanks for the shout out!

2. but it's totally fair to call miles a singer

Subliminal Threat. ‏@tallblackguy 2h2 hours ago
Does @IamDonCheadle know that the studio putting out his film thinks Miles Davis is a singer?
0 retweets 0 favorites

Don Cheadle @IamDonCheadle
@tallblackguy He was. Listen to singers talk about his playing.
10:30 AM - 6 Aug 2015

I always loved Miles' singing on his album of Jack Johnson covers.

kent jones loved it, fwiw

Kent Jones also loves the Zemeckis movie recreating the WTC wire walk fwiw

lmao xp

All the Complete sessions are being reissued and are available from his store: https://www.milesdavisstore.com/store/

I'm mulling over "The Complete On The Corner Sessions".

They gotta reissue the trumpet case!

https://www.popsike.com/pix/20180121/173113313489.jpg

i’m mulling over a “bitches brew” 50th anniversary coffee mug

the tshirt with the sketches of spain graphic is tite

I need physical copies of the 1965-68 quintet box and the In A Silent Way Sessions box. Thanks for the tip!

suprised they don't have VOTE FOR MILES shirts or buttons

All the Complete sessions are being reissued and are available from his store: https://www.milesdavisstore.com/store🕸/

I'm mulling over "The Complete On The Corner Sessions".

That’d be Newton Free, GMBB.

Thanks for the heads up! I think I might have to get On the Corner, it's the only one I want that I don't already have. (although I'm kinda tempted to swap out my Jack Johnson set since I only have the long box version that doesn't match the others)

That trumpet case is such a flex--just went through my old CD-Rs a couple nights ago and was v glad to find my burned copies on the Complete On The Corner; going to find some quarantime to put in the work

That’d be Newton Free, GMBB.

Hah, we borrowed the same copy! I made a playlist of my favorite bonus bits from the box, still not sure I need it all, my picks:
One And One (unedited master) - not the same song!
Jabali
The Hen
Peace
Mr. Foster
Hip-Skip
What They Do

It makes a perfect companion to OTC with a similar feel.

Thanks for the revive, this is great news. Would love to get the 65-68 box (and maybe the OTC one too).

Is it all of them? I don’t see Cellar Door in there (which is another I’d consider).

Why the fuck did they wait for a global pandemic/economic meltdown to do this?

no plugged nickle from what i can see

i just got the Bitches Brew box set last year (the long tall one). for some reason i was under the impression that OtC was the only OOP studio box? maybe just because i don't think i ever saw it in an actual physical store

in a silent way box i listen to all the frickin time

The Cellar Door and Plugged Nickel boxes have never been reissued since they came out.

The On The Corner box was the only one of the Complete ... Sessions sets they allowed to go out of print.

Yeah, I think the other ones can be picked up p easily in used CD shops across the country

the 65-68 second great quintet box is fantastic — though it does throw into relief how well sequenced the original albums actually were.

Plugged Nickel comes in 7 and 8 disc versions - the latter has an extra gig?

Listening to Workin' today, and it's beautiful and perfect

Plugged Nickel comes in 7 and 8 disc versions - the latter has an extra gig?

Nope; it was a Japan-only release in 1992 and several tracks were edited by two or three minutes so that the second set would fit on a single CD. In the 8CD box, it's split across two discs.

quality discographical info, thanks

Is the 15% discount applying for anyone ordering one of the Complete Sessions? It's saying it's applied but I'm not seeing it deduct anything and there is a caveat that "Some exclusions may apply including media" ...

Welp, sounds like pre-orders aren't eligible for some reason according to the email. Boo.

Can someone help me out by identifying this woman? This is from near the end of the American Masters documentary. I need her name for something. I'm sure she's identified earlier in the film, but I don't want to rewatch the whole thing right now.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/birth.JPG

(Terribly photographed with a camera, because you can't take screenshots from Netflix.)

Is it Frances Taylor? I feel like she was interviewed quite a bit in that.

She is, but it's not her (she appears directly after that scene and is identified). I think I'll have to watch the film again--my friend, who interviewed Davis in the late '80s, wasn't sure either. They must identify her earlier in the film.

Marguerite Cantu

Yes! Many thanks.

"Bess, You Is My Woman Now," right now on local station: arrangement briefly intros Miles and then disappears, staying out of his way (thanks, Gil). Living breathing solo.

Or I should say the melodic statement is the solo, and vice versa. Wow.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CtHljmUJxKM/

Jack DeJohnette’s Tribute to Miles Davis & More
AUGUST 9, 2023 @ 7:30pm

Performers:
Jack DeJohnette
Will Calhoun
Vernon Reid
Don Byron
George Colligan
Luisito Quintero
Matt Garrison

Plus:
Very Special Guests to be announced August 7, 2023.
Who might they be? Well… there’s a reason we need a 1,500 seat theatre!

Ticket Link

You might want to grab your tickets before August 7th…
Once we announce, those remaining seats will go Light Speed!!

Let’s Goooo!!! 🎉🙌🙏❤️

In terms of Miles's best known collaborators, I'm guessing maybe Dave Holland, who has some shows in NYC a week later. (He, DeJohnette and Jason Moran played an amazing show together last year in Woodstock.) Could even be Ron Carter - I don't think he has anything booked. Maybe Herbie Hancock? He's playing Newport on August 6 so he could definitely make it. John McLaughlin would be amazing - he's supposed to be retired, but I don't think a one-off performance would be out of the question.

Your comment reminded me about a question that entered my head yesterday: What kind of guitar was John McLaughlin using on IASW?

This thread claims it's a Duo-Sonic, citing compelling evidence from Robben Ford. There's also this picture of JM with Tony Williams:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dVPBBf9Ti6M/TRJIDo5T5PI/AAAAAAAAAIU/k7Yh8hr_2Vo/s1600/Lifetime+7.JPG

on the other hand:

You played an acoustic with Lifetime?!

In the beginning, but it was tough because Tony's such a powerful drummer and Larry was pulling these weird sounds out of the organ. It was loud and sometimes would start to feedback, and it's hard to play when the guitar is freaking out. But, for example, [Davis'] In A Silent Way -- that's a Hummingbird, just a pure acoustic with a pickup.

xxp turns out the special guests are Carlos Santana and Cindy Blackman Santana.

“And more surprise guests will be joining Carlos, Cindy and Jack at the show. It’s going to be an amazing night at UPAC!”

To this day I still check the official store hoping for a miracle restock of the On the Corner sessions box. Still haunts me that I missed the brief window they came up for sale again a few years ago.

I stupidly passed on them that time.

I don't need the fancy box or anything, but man I would love a repress.