Wayne Shorter: Odyssey of Iska

This album features music from Shorter's last recording session for Blue Note, and as far as I know is currently out of print in the US. Here's the AMG review:

On August 26, 1970, Wayne Shorter recorded two separate albums for Blue Note (the other one is Moto Grosso Feio), his final projects for the label. For this set, Shorter (doubling on tenor and soprano) utilizes a double rhythm section comprised of vibraphonist Dave Friedman, guitarist Gene Bertoncini, both Ron Carter and Cecil McBee on basses, drummers Billy Hart and Alphonse Mouzon, and percussionist Frank Cuomo. On the verge of joining Weather Report (referred to in the liner notes as "Weather Forecast"), it is not surprising that Shorter's originals include titles such as "Wind," "Storm," and "Calm." These moody works were never covered by other jazz players but they work quite well in this context, launching melancholy flights by Shorter.

Tracks:
1. Wind
2. Storm
3. Calm
4. De Pois Do Amour O Vazio
5. Joy

Personnel:
Wayne Shorter - tenor sax & soprano sax
Ron Carter - bass
Cecil McBee - bass
Gene Bertoncini - guitar
Billy Hart - drums
Alphonse Mouzon - drums
Frank Cuomo - percussion
David Friedman - vibraphone, marimba

If you like late 1960s & early 1970s fusion, you'll probably dig on this one as well.

Update: Since the original post, this recording has been reissued and is commercially available.

Plunky & Oneness of Juju: Make a Change

1980's Make a Change marks the completion of the transition Plunky Branch was making from avant-jazz (as was the case on his early 1970s band Juju) to radio-friendly R&B and funk. That's not to say that there aren't some jazzy moments, but the jazz takes a back seat on this outing. The title track even manages to work in some reggae influences. The track "Every Way But Loose" would become a minor hit in the clubs and on the R&B charts in 1982, and sends the message that in addition to becoming more aware, these cats want to make you partay! "Run Away Bay" and "Love's Wonderland" would be considered "smooth jazz" today. Many of the tracks remind me of what bands like Earth Wind & Fire were doing at the time. Jazz purists won't groove on this, but those who don't mind exploring something with an R&B edge will find plenty to love.

Personnel:
Plunky Branch - Horns, Tenor Sax, Soprano Sax, Flute, Lead Vocals, Background Vocals
Muzi Branch - Bass, Background Vocals, Handclaps, Percussion
Ras Mel Glover Jr. - Lead Rhythm Guitars
Virtania "Cookie" Tillery - Lead Vocals, Background Vocals
Kevin Davis - Drums, Conga Drums, Timbales
Weldon Hill - Piano, Fender Rhodes, Synthesizers, Organ
Marcus Macklin - Rhythm Guitar
Eka Ete Jackie Lewis - Lead Vocals, Background Vocals
Okyerema Asante - Talking Drums
Judy Spears - Background Vocals
Veronica "Nilaya" Jones - Background Vocals
William "Bill" Joyner - Piano, Clavinet

Tracks:
1. Make A Change
2. Run Away Bay
3. Love's Wonderland
4. Every Way But Loose
5. Higher
6. Always Have To Say Good-Bye

From the liner notes:

The Oneness of Juju speaks of the unity of our magic, the togetherness of our purpose and the universality of our roots.

This music bridges several groupings who have performed as a family making changes, collectively creating music.

This album is dedicated to all those who have given themselves to make and/or support this music.

Thank you all, Plunky

Recorded at Omega Studios, Kensington, MD. Released on Black Fire Records, catalogue # BF19811).

This album would be re-released two years later on Sutra as Every Way But Loose, with a different track sequence, and an instrumental version of the title track added.

Download Make a Change

Julian Priester: Polarization

Love, Love got a proper reissue on ECM not too long ago. Perhaps this recording will also get a much-overdue reissue. Long before I became a jazzer, I fell in love with the recordings released by ECM. Perhaps it overstates things a bit to say that there was an ECM "sound" during the 1970s and early 1980s, as the roster of artists was certainly a diverse bunch, but there is definitely something strikingly consistent in the production that comes across. I'd probably use the term "atmospheric" to describe a typical ECM listening experience, with Priester's recordings for the label well-exemplifying that experience. Polarization (released in 1977) doesn't have the butt-shaking grooves that characterized 1974's Love, Love - instead offering a program of avant-fusion that leaves one imagining meditating in a warm cabin on a Scandinavian winter's eve. Only Anatomy of Longing, at the end of the program, offers a dose of understated funkified fusion - suggesting what Herbie Hancock's early 1970s pre-Headhunters sextet would have sounded like had that crew stayed together.

Tracks:
1. Polarization - Rhythm Magnet- Wind Dolphin
2. Coincidence
3. Scorpio Blue
4. Anatomy Of Longing

Personnel:
Heshima Mark Williams - bass
Augusta Lee Collins - drums
Ray Obiedo - guitar
Curtis Clark - piano
Ron Stallings - sax
Julian Priester - trombone

Produced by Manfred Eicher.

Download Polarization

Yo Miles! Live at the Fillmore Auditorium March 4, 2000

Tracks

CD1:
1. Intro
2. Hollywuud-Big Fun
3. Moja-NNE
4. Duo: Wadada & Karl
5. Right Off (Funk Line)
6. Right Off (J.J. Shuffle Rhythm)
7. Yesternow
8. Corrado

CD2:
1. Drums/Percussion Jam
2. Bitches Brew
3. Sax Quartet: Little Church/Sivad
4. Agharta Prelude
5. Calypso Frelimo
6. Star People
7. Calypso Frelimo

CD3:
1. Jam
2. Miles Dewey Davis III - Great Ancestor
3. Improv Jam
4. Black Satin
5. Manring Solo/Nefertiti
6. Ife
7. Great Expectations
8. Maiysha
9. Ife
10. Wili (For Dave)

Personnel

Wadada Leo Smith - Trumpet
Henry Kaiser - Guitar
Michael Manring - Bass
Chris Muir - Guitar
Steve Kimock - Guitar
Bruce Ackley - Sax
Steve Adams - Sax
Jon Raskin - Sax
Larry Ochs - Sax
Tom Coster - Keyboard
Steve Smith - Drums
Karl Perazzo - Congas

Henry Kaiser and Wadada Leo Smith started the Yo Miles! project as something of a one-off tribute to Miles Davis' late 1960s-mid 1970s electric era back in the late 1990s, that subsequently took on a life of its own. The first album was released in 1998 under their names with the simple title Yo Miles! and that album rocked the house. These cats also gigged around a bit from time to time, and went on to record some other studio albums under the Yo Miles! banner - Yo Miles!: Sky Garden (2004) and Yo Miles!: Upriver (2005). All of their studio recordings are double-CDs, so expect a lot of music.

Unlike a lot of tribute bands, these cats aren't merely copying the original artist's sound, but rather are using the compositions to go off into uncharted territory. They also have a tendency on their studio albums to perform their own original tunes, which though definitely Miles-inspired, are not likely to be mistaken for anything in the extensive Miles Davis canon.

These particular CDs document a live gig from March of 2000. The band is tight, energetic, inspired. If you're already a fan of Miles' 1970s work, you'll have an idea of what to expect. Mostly, these are covers with the occasional Kaiser & Smith originals thrown in for good measure. Personally, the tunes in these cats hands sound a bit less dense and less angry/more celebratory than The Prince of Darkness would have allowed during his peak years. There's still tons of fire, and provides evidence that jazz fusion can still be a vital, creative form when you get the right mix of artists involved.

If you like these sound files, please, please, please do yourself a favor and check out the Yo Miles! studio recordings that are currently available. You'll be glad you did.

Download Yo Miles! Live at the Fillmore Auditorium March 4 2000, CD1, CD2, and CD3.

I'll try to get these uploaded onto Sharebee as well in the next few days as time permits.

Miles Davis: The Lost Quintet

Here's some Bitches Brew-era Miles to enjoy.

1969 Miles:The Lost Quintet

DISC SEVEN 64:28
November 3, 1969
SALLE PLEYEL, PARIS--ORTF radio broadcast (2 CD)First set
Directions (J. Zawinul) 8:00
Bitches Brew (M. Davis) 14:16
Paraphernalia (W. Shorter) 12:56
Riot (H. Hancock) 2:51
I Fall in Love Too Easily (S. Cahn-J. Styne) 2:07
Sanctuary (W. Shorter-M. Davis) 4:12
Miles Runs the Voodoo Down (M. Davis) 19:17
The Theme (M. Davis) (with applause) 0:47

DISC EIGHT 56:19
November 3, 1969
SALLE PLEYEL, PARIS--ORTF radio broadcastSecond set
Introduction 00:09
Bitches Brew (M. Davis) 12:24 (incomplete)
Agitation (M. Davis) 9:02
I Fall in Love Too Easily (S. Cahn-J. Styne) 3:12
Sanctuary (W. Shorter-M. Davis) 4:00
Masqualero (W. Shorter) 12:41
It's About That Time (M. Davis) 14:49 (incomplete)

Personnel:
Miles Davis (trumpet)
Dave Holland (bass)
Wayne Shorter (Tenor and Soprano Sax)
Jack Dejohnette (Drums)
Chick Corea (keyboards)

Download The Lost Quintet CD 7, and The Lost Quintet CD 8.

Miles Davis: Live Chatelet March 5, 1982

These tracks are bootleg recordings of a live gig from Miles' post-retirement era. Although I'm not a big fan of a lot of his 1980s and early 1990s material, he could still bring down the house live. The vibe on this gig is definitely more laid-back than anything one would get from the 1970s. Fun compare and contrast: check out this gig's version of Ife, and then listen to recordings of Ife from the early to mid 1970s.

The tracks should fit on two CDs. I've broken this down into three parts in order to deal with Rapidshare's limitations.

Download Live Chatelet March 5, 1982: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Hooray For Miles Davis Volume 3

Looks like a bootleg from 1971.

Tracks:

1. Bwongo
2. Ananka (pt. 1)
3. Ananka (pt. 2)

Download Hooray For Miles Davis Volume 3

Miles Davis: Lost Mid 1970s Sessions

I stumbled onto this particular set of recordings last year via the miracle of Soulseek (a great p2p network). Needless to say, the files merely came "as is" with no titles to even remotely hint at what I was listening to. About the only thing that I could conclude with any certainty was that these were from studio sessions from the mid-1970s.

The sound quality of the mp3 files is excellent (at 320 kbps it should be), and the music is about what one would expect of Miles and his crew from around the mid 1970s, just before he took an extended break from recording and touring. Miles plays trumpet exclusively on a few tracks, splits time between trumpet and organ on a few tracks, and plays organ exclusively on a few tracks - nothing out of the ordinary. Since Miles was fond of doing extensive post-production work it's hard to know just what the final mixes might have sounded like had he continued to pursue the ideas that he and his crew were working out right before retirement. My guess is that the final product would have been a follow-up to the excellent Get Up With It.

I did some detective work, and while checking out the discography at Miles Ahead, have gathered that the tunes that I was grooving on came originally from a couple bootlegs: Unknown Sessions Vol. 1 and Unknown Sessions Vol. 2.

The first disc consists of tunes recorded between the end of February, 1975 and the end of December, 1976. The second disc consists of two sessions separated by three and a half years. The earlier material is clearly more on the psychedelic tip, with all the Indian instrumentation and wah-wah pedals. The later material turns up the funk quotient, while Miles seems to veer ever into Sun Ra territory. Since these are compilations of recording sessions, expect there to be tracks that just seem to cut off in the middle, as well as occasional studio chatter at the start of some tracks (if you're a collector of the various complete sessions for Bitches Brew, etc., this won't surprise you in the least).

The information for the recordings follows below:

Disc 1

Track 1: TDK Funk recorded Dec 27, 1976 (5:01)
Track 2: Turn of the Century Feb 27, 1975 (15:34)
Track 3: Latin take 7 recorded May 5, 1975 (3:56)
Track 4: Latin take 6 recorded May 5, 1975 (4:41)
Track 5: Latin takes 3 & 4 recorded May 5, 1975 (4:47)
Track 6: Latin take 6 different mix recorded May 5, 1975 (4:15)
Track 7: untitled original 750505 take 2 recorded May 5, 1975 (6:15)
Track 8: untitled original 760330a take 3 recorded Mar 30, 1976 (4:50)
Track 9: untitled original 760330a take 5 recorded Mar 30, 1976) (5:27)

Personnel:

Track 1: Miles Davis (org); Pete Cosey (g, perc); Michael Henderson (el-b); Al Foster (d)
Track 2: Miles Davis (tpt, org); Sonny Fortune (ss, ts, fl); Pete Cosey (g, perc); Reggie Lucas (g); Michael Henderson (el-b); Al Foster (d); James Mtume Forman (cga, perc)
Tracks 3 - 7: Miles Davis (tpt, org); Sam Morrison (ts); Pete Cosey (g, perc); Reggie Lucas (g); Michael Henderson (el-b); Al Foster (d); James Mtume Forman (cga, perc)
Tracks 8 - 9: Miles Davis (org); Sam Morrison (ss, as, fl); Mark Johnson (el-p); Pete Cosey (g, perc); Michael Henderson (el-b); Al Foster (d)

Disc 2

Track 1: Agharta Prelude pt. 2 take 14 recorded Nov. 30, 1972 (17:46)
Track 2: Agharta Prelude pt. 2 take 15 recorded Nov. 30, 1972 (9:36)
Track 3: Song of Landa take 2 recorded Mar. 30, 1976 (4:05)
Track 4: Song of Landa take 6 recorded Mar. 30, 1976 (4:48)

Personnel:

Tracks 1 & 2: Miles Davis (tpt); Carlos Garnett (ss); Cedric Lawson (keyb); Reggie Lucas (g); Khalil Balakrishna (sitar); Michael Henderson (el-b); Al Foster (d); James Mtume Forman (cga, perc); Badal Roy (tabla)
Tracks 3 & 4: Miles Davis (org); Sam Morrison (ss, as, fl); Mark Johnson (el-p); Pete Cosey (g, perc); Michael Henderson (el-b); Al Foster (d)

Notes:

Disc 1 appears to be excerpted from the album UNKNOWN SESSIONS 1973-1976 VOL. 1, released on the Kind of Blue label (KOB 002)

Disc 2 appears to be the contents of the album UNKNOWN SESSIONS 1974-1976 VOL. 2, released under the Kind of Blue label (KOB 003)

Curious? Download the Lost Mid 1970s Sessions and hear for yourself.

I do have a number of mp3s of Miles Davis' live gigs from the early and mid 1970s that I will probably be sharing in the near future. Stay tuned.

Updated 10/20/2006

Download Lost Mid 1970s Sessions Album 1 and Album 2.