Miles on YouTube to tide you over

This is footage of Miles Davis and crew from the 1973 Montreux Festival. The early to mid 1970s studio and live recordings are among my personal favorites. If more fusion had been this intense, I might have liked fusion a bit more. Needless to say, during the 1970s you could consistently count on Miles and crew to rock the house. Enjoy.

Sorry about the lack of updates recently

I had a truckload of work to complete for the summer term at the university, and by the time I had finally cleared of some time the university decided to cut off electricity to the building where my office is located - I gather they're putting in new transformers or some such business. Needless to say, that means I have no access to my sound files for the foreseeable future. Between the power outage and the upcoming vacation, I don't expect to have any new sound file uploads until sometime the first full week of August. I'll try to highlight a few interesting jazz items from the road as time and internet access permit.

The Music of Idris Ackamoor 1971-2004

idris ackamoor "music of idris ackamoor 1971-2004"

em (japan) #em 1062 cd

* two discs of material from the pyramids/idris ackamoor !!

disc one

* the collective - the shepherd's tune [1971] (16:59)*
* the pyramids - land of eternal song suite part 3 [1972] (10:51)*
* the pyramids - lalibela [1973] (6:02)
* the pyramids - masenko nights [1973] (3:00)
* the pyramids - ya a ya a [1973] (6:19)
* the pyramids - the river ganges [1973] (11:06)*
* the pyramids - mohgo naba [1974] (8:32)
* the pyramids - queen of the spirits part 3 [1974] (6:38)

disc two

* the pyramids - aomawa [1976] (5:36)
* the pyramids - birth/speed/merging [1976] (7:47)
* the pyramids - black man of the nile [1972] (18:39)*
* idris ackamoor & margaux simmons w/ king's drummers of tamale - africa [1973] (3:32)*
* idris ackamoor quartet - spiritual rebirth [1978] (5:52)*
* idris ackamoor quartet - topanga [1997] (6:02)
* idris ackamoor ensemble - centurian [2000] (8:06)
* idris ackamoor ensemble - cubana [2004] (11:28)

(* previously unissued recordings)

em press release...

2cd collection of the ex-leader of legendary deep & spiritual afro-jazz group from early '70s ohio (later in san francisco), the pyramids. their music is one of the most exotic attempts by african-americans, heavy & free sounds like art ensemble of chicago, early '70s miles, strata-east, aggressive performances like oneness of ju ju, albert ayler, john coltrane...but thier original form. perhaps every free jazz/funk listeners may agree it.

feat. 12 pieces of the pyramids taken from their three studio albums and unreleased recordings (included first live recording in holland!). notably the pyramids had ever stayed some african countries incl. morroco, ghana, kenya & etiopia and studied real african culture & music there in early 1970s. do you know other african-american jazz musicians who had done such a road trip in early 1970s??

also this 2cd set featured a never heard before pre-pyramids recording in pharoah sanders & strata east-ish style as the collective, and 4 pieces from late 1970s to receny 2000s recordings as idris ackamoor quartet/ensemble. ackamoor do owns all original master tapes (it's miracle!) and we checked them many & many and compiled their finest & best cuts. all digital re-mastered in excellent sound shapes.

Absolutely beautiful music that deserves a much wider audience. As it turns out the album is in print, I'll give y'all a sampler of the first six tracks. The sound quality is pristine.

Get my sampler here. If you like it, then buy the album direct from the artist's website! Let's just say if you dig on the first six tracks, you'd be crazy not to get the whole enchilada!