mdpm99
09-30-2003, 09:20 PM
...more on MILES' JACK JOHNSON
MILES DAVIS - The Complete Jack Johnson [5 CD Box Set] (Sony 86359;US)
Of all the Miles Davis recordings, the sessions that created a
single, two-selection LP produced by Teo Macero called A Tribute To
Jack Johnson have been the most apocryphal. While the album itself
was a confounding obscurity upon release - due to its proximity to
the inferior yet infinitely more label-promoted Live at the Fillmore
East ["At FIllmore" - ed.] - its influence has become the monolith of
the first completefusion of jazz and rock; it also cemented a place in
the history books for guitarist John McLaughlin, whose raw, slash-and-burn
playing is the axis around which the entire album turns. This five-CD
set was recorded in 16 weeks, from February 18 to June 4 of 1970,
during which a revolving cast of musicians entered the Davis/Macero
laboratory for a series of mind-bending, sometimes inspired,
sometimes maddeningly monotonous recording dates, where the creation
of backbeat-driven grooves and short, rhythmic rock-and
funk-inflected riffs were the only preconceptions and everything else
flowed from there for better or worse. No less than five separate
releases benefited from these sessions; they include Live-Evil, Get
Up With It, Directions, and Big Fun.
The two cuts that make up A Tribute to Jack Johnson, "Right Off"
and "Yesternow," make up the last two selections on disc five of this
set. The arrangement of these sides is chronological; thus there are
not only numerous takes of a single composition, but insertion and
remake takes of it as well. For instance, there are two complete
takes of "Willie Nelson,", two inserted versions and two remakes all
in sequenced in a row here. Likewise, herein appears the strange
genesis, deconstruction, and rebirth of "Go Ahead John" that appeared
on Big Fun. Still, despite the hypnotic grooves where already
elongated tunes turn into sonic labyrinths, the historical importance
of these sessions, and sometimes the sheer listening pleasure they
offer, cannot be overestated. Take, for example, the fact that there
are 17 previously unissued performances here and 14 takes and
alternates that have never been issued in full form.
As a small example, the official unearthing of the "Duran"
alternate take offers so much more than the circulated one -
including different instrumentation (as a number of titles here do in
their varying versions) that it is nearly a different tune altogether. Or
the roots of "Right Off" and "Yesternow," which appear
on disc three, compared to the final, heavily edited versions on the
album. Evolution becomes not only the crux of these Davis sessions,
but a whole new way of making jazz records is revealed - and they are
jazz records. These sides reveal how, some 32 years later, Davis' own
playing remains firmly committed to the jazz ideal despite the fact
that McLaughlin and others such as Bennie Maupin, Chick Corea, Wayne
Shorter, Jack DeJohnette, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Steve
Grossman, Michael Henderson, Ron Carter, Sonny Sharrock, Airto, Dave
Holland, Wayne Shorter, and Hermeto Pascoal were essentially playing
jam- and riff-based rock. The role of guitarist Sonny Sharrock is
finally defined here. It has previously been discounted and has
provided endless grist for the Davis rumor mill about how he was
mixed out of the session. Yes, he was, but so was almost everyone but
McLaughlin and Miles at one point or another.
Check out Sharrock's killer slide playing that appears on the
second insertion of "Willie Nelson" for evidence of his weighty
presence. For those who worship at the McLaughlin altar, there are
extra minutes of screaming, fuzz-drenched wailing on "Right Off" left
on the floor by Macero. But this set is full of moments like that,
moments - sometimes minutes - such as the previously unreleased
"Sugar Ray," which is a futuristic look at post-punk noise with
rhythm. While attempting to listen to this as a box is an admittedly
long, arduous, and sometimes difficult task, listening to pieces and
discs individually in a changer, is a deeply satisfying experience
and gives us yet another dimension in the Miles aesthetic universe.
If any series of recordings needed to be released to illuminate a
unique and visdionary period in Miles Davis' development as an
artist, to document the most perfect fusion of jazz and rock, and
dispe numorousl idle myths about its creation, it's these.This will
be the grail for some Miles fans, for others another chapter in his
genius and still for others an introduction to his process, form and
function. What ever the case, the music found here is stellar,
brilliant and focused to the point of difficulty; it gives up its
secrets and gifts slowly, but it widens and deepens the listener's
understanding of Davis not only as a player, bandleader and composer,
but as a music fan who indulged his love for the rock and soul (i.e.
pop) without reservation or compromise.
- Thom Jurek.
"EXTREME RECOMMENDATION !!!"- Bruce Gallanter;
"McLAUGHLIN FANS: GET OUT YOUR BLOOD THINNER - TO AVOID A STROKE!!!" - Mannylunch
MILES DAVIS - The Complete Jack Johnson [5 CD Box Set] (Sony 86359;US)
Of all the Miles Davis recordings, the sessions that created a
single, two-selection LP produced by Teo Macero called A Tribute To
Jack Johnson have been the most apocryphal. While the album itself
was a confounding obscurity upon release - due to its proximity to
the inferior yet infinitely more label-promoted Live at the Fillmore
East ["At FIllmore" - ed.] - its influence has become the monolith of
the first completefusion of jazz and rock; it also cemented a place in
the history books for guitarist John McLaughlin, whose raw, slash-and-burn
playing is the axis around which the entire album turns. This five-CD
set was recorded in 16 weeks, from February 18 to June 4 of 1970,
during which a revolving cast of musicians entered the Davis/Macero
laboratory for a series of mind-bending, sometimes inspired,
sometimes maddeningly monotonous recording dates, where the creation
of backbeat-driven grooves and short, rhythmic rock-and
funk-inflected riffs were the only preconceptions and everything else
flowed from there for better or worse. No less than five separate
releases benefited from these sessions; they include Live-Evil, Get
Up With It, Directions, and Big Fun.
The two cuts that make up A Tribute to Jack Johnson, "Right Off"
and "Yesternow," make up the last two selections on disc five of this
set. The arrangement of these sides is chronological; thus there are
not only numerous takes of a single composition, but insertion and
remake takes of it as well. For instance, there are two complete
takes of "Willie Nelson,", two inserted versions and two remakes all
in sequenced in a row here. Likewise, herein appears the strange
genesis, deconstruction, and rebirth of "Go Ahead John" that appeared
on Big Fun. Still, despite the hypnotic grooves where already
elongated tunes turn into sonic labyrinths, the historical importance
of these sessions, and sometimes the sheer listening pleasure they
offer, cannot be overestated. Take, for example, the fact that there
are 17 previously unissued performances here and 14 takes and
alternates that have never been issued in full form.
As a small example, the official unearthing of the "Duran"
alternate take offers so much more than the circulated one -
including different instrumentation (as a number of titles here do in
their varying versions) that it is nearly a different tune altogether. Or
the roots of "Right Off" and "Yesternow," which appear
on disc three, compared to the final, heavily edited versions on the
album. Evolution becomes not only the crux of these Davis sessions,
but a whole new way of making jazz records is revealed - and they are
jazz records. These sides reveal how, some 32 years later, Davis' own
playing remains firmly committed to the jazz ideal despite the fact
that McLaughlin and others such as Bennie Maupin, Chick Corea, Wayne
Shorter, Jack DeJohnette, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Steve
Grossman, Michael Henderson, Ron Carter, Sonny Sharrock, Airto, Dave
Holland, Wayne Shorter, and Hermeto Pascoal were essentially playing
jam- and riff-based rock. The role of guitarist Sonny Sharrock is
finally defined here. It has previously been discounted and has
provided endless grist for the Davis rumor mill about how he was
mixed out of the session. Yes, he was, but so was almost everyone but
McLaughlin and Miles at one point or another.
Check out Sharrock's killer slide playing that appears on the
second insertion of "Willie Nelson" for evidence of his weighty
presence. For those who worship at the McLaughlin altar, there are
extra minutes of screaming, fuzz-drenched wailing on "Right Off" left
on the floor by Macero. But this set is full of moments like that,
moments - sometimes minutes - such as the previously unreleased
"Sugar Ray," which is a futuristic look at post-punk noise with
rhythm. While attempting to listen to this as a box is an admittedly
long, arduous, and sometimes difficult task, listening to pieces and
discs individually in a changer, is a deeply satisfying experience
and gives us yet another dimension in the Miles aesthetic universe.
If any series of recordings needed to be released to illuminate a
unique and visdionary period in Miles Davis' development as an
artist, to document the most perfect fusion of jazz and rock, and
dispe numorousl idle myths about its creation, it's these.This will
be the grail for some Miles fans, for others another chapter in his
genius and still for others an introduction to his process, form and
function. What ever the case, the music found here is stellar,
brilliant and focused to the point of difficulty; it gives up its
secrets and gifts slowly, but it widens and deepens the listener's
understanding of Davis not only as a player, bandleader and composer,
but as a music fan who indulged his love for the rock and soul (i.e.
pop) without reservation or compromise.
- Thom Jurek.
"EXTREME RECOMMENDATION !!!"- Bruce Gallanter;
"McLAUGHLIN FANS: GET OUT YOUR BLOOD THINNER - TO AVOID A STROKE!!!" - Mannylunch