HiFi Subjectivist ¦ Audio Forum ¦ NVA User Group

The current round of Miles Davis fixation is running full-on and I'm getting a load of releases that have previously been glossed-over. The last time I was busy with Miles, it was mainly to get a grip on the 'big' albums ('Kind of Blue', 'Birth of the Cool', 'In a Silent Way', etc.) - now I'm concentrating on the later 'electric' period and that is throwing up some exciting surprises, like this:

Miles Davis 'We Want Miles' (1982)



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ2d0BBClr8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiIusd-_sw8

It is 1981 and Miles is touring again after five years of seclusion. With a superb backing-band that includes bass-maestro Marcus Miller and (criminally underrated) guitarist Mike Stern he turns out a set of powerful, melodic and impressive fusion.
'We Want Miles' was originally a double LP with tracks taken from concerts in the USA and Japan. The manic, freewheeling experimentation of the previous incarnation is gone and this is Jazz-Rock as only the master can make it.

Heavy.

Paul McCartney - Ram

From one Jazz Giant to another ...
Where can you go from Miles? To Coltrane, that's where.

John Coltrane 'Both Directions At Once - The Lost Album'



Recorded in Rudy Van Gelder's studio on a single afternoon in the spring of 1963, the band were in a hurry as they had to get to a gig that evening. This was a time when Trane was at a creative peak, recording and playing constantly with his band: McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones. This same group would lay down the definitive 'A Love Supreme' some 18 months later in the same studio, also in just one day.

The tapes from this session were stashed in a cupboard and left there. Coltrane's output was so prolific that he viewed much of this as 'work in progress' and didn't feel a need to get it released. The master tapes were shipped around to storage facilities and eventually destroyed in a space-saving exercise. But - Van Gelder always made mono copies of his sessions and gave a 1/4" reel to Coltrane. This eventually emerged from a cupboard having been 'lost' for 50+ years and has been cleaned and renovated for its presentation to the world.

So, the music: restrained and controlled. Melodic but exploratory. The band are searching for new ground, intense, telepathic. giving each other room for expression and supportive of their efforts. You can see the template for 'A Love Supreme' being carefully shaped here.

The 2-CD version contains a second disc with all of the alternative takes made that afternoon, 6 March 1963.

Historic and worthwhile.

Very good Mr Fretless you have excellent taste. The 1960's were are a great decade for jazz music. The 70's weren.t bad either

Get a load of this

Richie Blackmore's Rainbow - Stranger in us all
Guns n' Roses - Chinese democracy
Deep Purple - Perfect strangers

Revisiting my Jazz collection, most of which hasn't seen the light of day in years.

Thelonious, Mingus, Blakey etc.

A classic album full of melodic exploration:

John Coltrane 'My Favourite Things' (1961)



https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qWG2dsXV5HI

What goes on? Sunday mornin' chillin'

Motown Anthems
R.E.M. - Automatic for the people
Bon Jovi - 2020
Pink Floyd - The endless river

Airbourne : Runnin' wild

Paul McCartney & Wings - Wings wild life