Miles Davis - In A Silent Way

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.