Reddit mentions of Miles Electric - A Different Kind of Blue

Artist: Miles Davis

Album: Isle of Wight Concert

Date: August 29, 1970

Ok, I cheated slightly for mine since this material was only bootlegged for a long time, but I didn't want to do Bitches Brew as it's been done everywhere else. If you haven't heard that, get on it. This shorter statement might work as a gateway, especially since there is video so you can see where the sounds come from.

This set captures Miles' band at the Isle of Wight Music Festival, 1970, which featured a long list of incredible rock artists (Miles played between Tiny Tim and Ten Years After). He expanded his band for this show to include Keith Jarrett and Airto, adding to his usual touring band of Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette, Chick Corea and Gary Bartz (who had replaced Wayne Shorter). This results in a live show more in kind with the studio album Bitches Brew than other shows at the time, thanks to the frantic percussion and the dual keyboards. The set-list is still typical of early electric miles, with possibly the best released live versions of Bitches Brew and Spanish Key, mostly thanks to the demonstration of pure power provided by Holland and DeJohnette, the former giving a ridiculous performance throughout. Bartz and Miles blowing through the head of Directions makes the initial statement of intent, and the intensity never drops over the following 35 minutes. If it's possible, this set is even further out there than the studio album, with a more menacing, dark edge. Sure there are longer 'official bootleg'-type shows (this one is ~35 min) and some with notable performances of pieces from this set or performances of pieces not played here (e.g. Masqualero, Miles Runs the Voodoo Down), but for me this really captures everything incredible about live Miles from this period, before Holland was replaced and the guitars appeared.

The set has been released in a few places, MoV put it out with other material from the previous year, there's a Vinyl Passion version (which is the copy I own) and it was also filmed, and released on DVD as Miles Electric. The complete footage is on youtube.

tl;dr - Jazz band makes incredible music at giant rock festival.

Trane, has been with me since early days of my life, Love Supreme, Crescent (Wise one), Blue Train (I'm old fashioned).... eh a lot of favorite material. For what its worth, Trane was the one got me into the dope and prob saved me from going full retard.

Than, I have to mention Miles, cuz fuck why not? For Miles its really weird, I used to hate Kind of Blue and it wasn't really my favorite work by Miles, for me for the most of my Miles life Sketches of Spain was #1, but then something clicked and I can't deny the OPness of Kind of Blue anymore, eh other than that I like all Gil Evans albums (and Gil himself, Out of the Cool, Priestess) and later fusion stuff, if you dig it go for this DVD.

Then, I dig King Curtis, Billy Harper, Stitt, Jamal and co, Mingus... eh idk, plenty of artists.

laaaaaast.fm Let's make a group?