786 Miles Davis - A Tribute to Jack Johnson (1971)

 786 Miles Davis - A Tribute to Jack Johnson (1971)

Studio Album - Jazz-Rock Fusion



About the Act:

Miles Davis was one of the best-known and most influential jazz trumpeters the world has ever known. He is credited with being at the forefront of several types of jazz, modal jazz in the late 50s early 60s, and Jazz-Rock fusion in the late 60s early 70s are the most prominent. He was active from 1944 until his death in 1991 with a short hiatus between 1975 and 1980. I think he made 56 studio albums. 


About the Album:

This album was during Miles' "Electric Period", the two side-long tracks being spliced together from studio jam sessions. Unlike other artists he seemed to not go into the studio with a specific album in mind, but to jam, and then the album was assembled later from what he happened to have. That may be unfair. 


My History with this Album:

None


Review:

I think this album has the distinction of being an album that I don't know, and yet features quite a large number of musicians that I am aware of. Miles himself of course, John McLaughlin on guitar, Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea on keys, Billy Cobham on drums, and Bennie Maupin on bass clarinet. One of the reasons that I know these names is that this a roster of artists who will break out in their own right and form the backbone of Fusion for the next few years after this album.

It is two long tracks, they are jams. The first is quite driving in a rock style, and definitely the sort of thing that was emerging out of the Rock world at the time, prog in particular, but more so - longer and more improvised, some might say self-indulgent. The second track is slower and more meandering. A feature of course is Miles' trumpet playing, which is strident (I would use the word "sharp" if it were not that it has a different connotation in music) - even harsh, but quite distinctive.

The whole thing is instrumental, apart from a vox pop right at the end. Jack Johnson was a black boxer. 

I liked it reasonably, it's quite good driving music, or energetic background music, especially track 1. It is considerably self-indulgent, but it's Jazz, so that is a given. It's not too bad in that regard, and it's musically accessible (I would say that some of his other albums of this period are less so). It has some variation - maybe a bit laboured at times, in some ways we are at the forefront of what will become ambient music here, not that this is really ambient, but it is long form music that needs to be listened to in a broader sense than pop.

In the right mood this goes down well with me. In the wrong mood it would irritate me.

7/10  


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0xr31or2qYglJpiX6pODjY

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7PoLThzHckLGkkiGaTMYMu0UcJ4_pGci

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Johnson_(album)



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