Miles Davis: Bottom Line July 11, 1975

Tunes:

101 Funk (Inc.)
102 Ife
103 Maiysha
104 Right Off - Conga Solo
106 Turnaroundphrase - Willie Nelson - Tune in 5 - For Dave
107 For Dave (Cont.)
108 Untitled Original

201 Turnaroundphrase - Willie Nelson
202 Tune in 5 - Turnaroundphrase - For Dave
203 Untitled Original
204 Funk
205 Funk Continued (3 gaps)
206 Ife
207 Maiysha
208 Right Off

301 Untitled Original
302 Right Off
303 Funk

I don't know much more about this one than the tunes. I'm assuming that the lineup is the one from the other 1975 gigs. Sound quality is actually pretty decent as live bootlegs go. If you like Miles' music from this era, you will not be disappointed.

Download Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3

Miles Davis - Another Unity

The Info:

Another Unity (Mega Disc (J) MD 0122)

Title: Another Unity
Label: Mega Disc (J) MD 0122
Number of Tracks: 6
Details: January 22, 1975
Note: Only tracks on which Davis is present are displayed below.

1. Funk (M. Davis) 21:13
2. Maiysha (M. Davis) 18:28
3. Ife (M. Davis) 18:28
4. Mtume (M. Davis) 3:59
5. Turnaroundphrase/Tune in 5 (M. Davis) 9:39
6. Untitled original 741106a (M. Davis) 9:52

Miles Davis (tpt, org); Sonny Fortune (ss, as, fl); Pete Cosey (g, perc); Reggie Lucas (g); Michael Henderson (el-b); Al Foster (d); James Mtume Foreman (cga, perc)

A review from One Final Note:

The fool’s-gold disk Another Unity turned out not to be the lost gospel of Miles, but just another concert document from another tour by a hardened corps of hard-working, creative musicians whose leader was ailing with multiple illnesses, mentally exhausted, and on more uppers ‘n’ downers than Rush Limbaugh riding The Thunderbolt at Coney Island. There’s a lot of rawness in the 1973 sets, which adds excitement to the already hyperactive brew, but what’s missing is the nuance and precision of the later concerts.By the time of the 1975 Japan tour, Miles had taught his ensemble to seemingly anticipate his thoughts and moods and directions, resulting in turn-on-a-dime changes of tempo, dynamics, and texture.

The first set mimics the first Agharta disc’s sequence of events, while the second recalls disc two of Pangaea, opening with “Ife”—only without Reggie Lucas’ fetching three-note guitar lick, and adding some far-out synthesizer yibbles from Pete Cosey. Then Miles pulls a fast one: After getting some fun out of “Ife”, he whips the band through an express-train medley of “Mtume”, “Turnaroundphrase”, and “Tune In 5”. Each clocks in at around five minutes—warp speed for this band to jump themes. “Turnaround” in particular is a proper horrorshow, with Lucas’ chainsaw-arm ripping staccato funk chords under Miles and saxist Sonny Fortune’s duet. Reggie Lucas hasn’t generated the cult status that his bandmate Cosey enjoys, which isn’t altogether fair. His rhythm work on all the live sessions plays a big part in whipping up the fervor, as well as adding an essential layer of color to Miles’ canvas. One can’t imagine the music without him. “Tune in 5” is overlaid with the riff from “Willie Nelson”, and Lucas grinds it out to introduce Fortune, who proceeds (badly amplified) with just synth, bass, and scattered percussion. Miles shakily offers a new riff, and an unidentified tune starts, described by bass and guitar harmonizing an 8th-note upandownphrase. This delightful bit chugs on for several minutes before the audience weighs in with a hurricane of handclaps.

At the end of this bootleg bout, we find the official concert recordings of the 1975 band—Agharta and Pangaea—still the champions of the electric Miles canon (they sport awesome covers, too). Simply put, those records are better recorded and better mixed (although no less than three different mixes on various CBS/Sony domestic and Japanese issues have been offered over the years, adding to the general confusion about this period). But the prime reason the official releases stand out is because the musicians knew that Columbia, in the person of Teo Macero, was rolling the tape, and that posterity might be standing in judgment someday. As Chris Murphy put it: “We had all worked hard on the Osaka recordings—Miles more than anyone—and had produced a great piece of art.”

Due to file size issues, I had to divide this recording into two separate Zip files. All sound files should fit comfortably on one CD. Download Another Unity (Pt. 1 & Pt. 2).

Miles Davis: Philly May 12&17 1975

The Info:

Miles Davis - 12&17-5-75 - philadelphia - usa (just jazz)

12. - 17. May 1975
Just Jazz, Philadelphia, USA

Personnel:

Miles Davis (tp, org); Sam Morrison (ss, ts, fl); Pete Cosey (g, perc); Reggie Lucas (g); Michael Henderson (el-b); Al Foster (d); James Mtume Foreman (cga, perc)

Tracks

1. Band warming up - 00:32
2. Funk [Prelude] (Part 1) - 19:37
3. Ife - 19:38
4. Untitled original 750505 - 03:42

Don't know much about this one other than that the recording is from May of 1975 right as Miles was getting ready to retire. The set is pretty much what one might expect to hear at a Miles gig around that time. Sound quality is a bit dodgy (as one would expect from a bootleg live recording), but gives a decent idea of how Miles and band were sounding at the time.

The untitled track that ends the recording serves as a harbinger of the kinder gentler Miles who would re-emerge in the early 1980s. That said, the performance of the tune has plenty of edge to it, unlike much of the 1980s material.

Enjoy!

Human Arts Ensemble - Streets of St. Louis

Human Arts Ensemble
Streets of St. Louis
Moers Music 1978

1. Streets of St. Louis (13:10)
2. Miles Beyond (10:05)

3. Entensity Big (11:39)
4. Hard Light (7:06)

Charles Bobo Shaw - drums
Lester Bowie - trumpet
Hamiet Bluiett - baritone sax
Julius Hemphill - alto sax
Joseph Bowie - trombone
Abdul Wadud - cello
Dominique Gaumont - guitar

Live at Studio Rivbea, NYC
September 6, 1974

Download Streets of St. Louis

Okyerema Asante: Drum Message

Recorded June 3, 1976 & September 14, 1977 at Arrest Recording Studios in Washington DC.

Released on Black Fire Records (catalog # BF 19803)

Credits:

Okyerema Asante: African Drums, Percussion, Vocals, Chants, Whistles, Bells
Plunky Branch: Soprano Sax, Tenor Sax, Shekere, Vocals, Flute
Muzi Branch: Electric Bass, Shekere
Brian Jackson: Piano
Andrea Thomas: Trap Drums
Judy Spears: Vocals
Iceman Ron Wallace: Vocals
Ras Mel Glover: Electric Guitar
Bilal Suni Ali: Flute
Timothy Hall: Piano, Synthesizer
Sister Tee: Violin
Simbo: Berimbeau, Congas

Tracks:

1. Drum Message
2. Asante Sana
3. Follow Me
4. Sabi
5. Mother Africa
6. Never Fly Away From the Funk
7. Play a Sweet Rhythm on Them Drums
8. Adowa
9. Sabi (Black Fire Mix)
10. Kazi's Awakening
11. To the Ancestors

If you're familiar with Plunky Branch's classic Oneness of Juju band from the mid to late 1970s, you will know what to expect. Sounds a bit like the classic African Rhythms album, but with much more emphasis on percussion. As far as I know, the album has never seen a proper reissue.

Download Drum Message

Haitus Interruptus

At long last, I think I have some time to add some new material over the next week or so. Stay tuned...

Mea culpa

If you've been wondering where I've been, let's just say that my schedule's been tight since the end of December and doesn't look too likely to let up until the start of February. I do have some new material in the pipeline, so check back soon.