Miles Davis - Bitches Brew

... the first time was a week after Radiohead released KID A. I had read an article in the NME about Radioheads new influences in creating their new masterpeice. Hey I liked the new album! And they were referencing Autechre and Aphex Twin too but I knew all about them (well maybe not everything but quite a sizable chunk, and a lot more than your average nme indie kid). So somewhere amoungst the Autechres and AFX's there was mention of Miles Davies Bitches Brew, so Beerwolf went down to the high street (remember those) and went to the local record shop (every town had one back then, remember that?) and purchased this album....of jazz. I didn't know exactly what I was getting into, but I knew it was a jazz album. Mmmmm I don't think Wolves listen to jazz lol, it's not really bloodthirsty enough to be fair.

So I got home and unwrapped the album, I quite liked the album cover. It looked trippy and druggy so that was okay. However I pressed play and all I got was jazz, the sound of sounds that I find least pleasing to the ear. I am not sure if I finished listening to it, I think I probably wondered off mid-way whilst it still played and probably organised my fishing tackle box as I used to go fishing most sundays.

So today I found myself gazing over my treasure chest of cds, somehow this caught my eye and I plucked it from obscurity. And it sits ready to play for the second time. See nowadays I think I am a jazz aficionado of sorts, as a few months back I bought Hard Normal Daddy and fell in love with it, thats about it with me and jazz, but to be fair thats still like walking on the moon for me, and of course I am a lot older now (but none the wiser) so perhaps this legendary beast of an album may be a wonderful brew after all, and just my cup of tea. We shall see.

I would like wattmers to talk about this album. What do you think of it? In preperation for the second spin.

It is an awesome album. It is to miles davis what confield is to Autechre, a sprawling, dense, organic place with creatures squirming around on the ground. Something that I think is interesting about the record is that it makes use of tape edits and loops in different places. It is a very abstract record, but it isn't free jazz. Much of it is kind of like a cubist painting or something, melodies and rhythms are examined in turn by many instruments at different angles. It sounds chaotic at first but then you begin to see the deconstructed order in it.

  On 9/12/2012 at 10:17 PM, beerwolf said:

See nowadays I think I am a jazz aficionado of sorts, as a few months back I bought Hard Normal Daddy and fell in love with it, thats about it with me and jazz

sorry but lol

Although if you like Music is Rotted One Note, you'll cum buckets for Bitches Brew

  On 9/12/2012 at 10:58 PM, baph said:

  On 9/12/2012 at 10:17 PM, beerwolf said:

See nowadays I think I am a jazz aficionado of sorts, as a few months back I bought Hard Normal Daddy and fell in love with it, thats about it with me and jazz

 

sorry but lol

 

yeah that was a big ol lol and wtf

It's a historical recording, simple as that. The direction had started before with Silent Way and he incorporated electric instruments even before that, but this is the most thought-out and consistent work. If you like that, I would recommend In A Silent Way - almost an ambient album before there was ambient. And the über-funky On the Corner is also great. And let's not forget Live-Evil!

I feel it is important to keep in mind what period in music and in history this music comes from, too.

Enjoy and make sure you play it loud!

I didn't like it back when I was exploring jazz. Nowadays I don't listen to jazz much anymore so I definitely don't listen to it either. I suppose I could give it another try but I feel like I've given it enough chances already even if they were a long time ago. I lump it together with a lot of other jazz albums under the "not simple enough to be catchy and not experimental enough to be exciting" category.

Bitches Brew got me into jazz. 'nuff said

far from his best work but a great starting point for the fusion era

  On 9/12/2012 at 11:30 PM, encym said:

If you like that, I would recommend In A Silent Way - almost an ambient album before there was ambient.

I second that. I got the full 3 disk sessions collection. I used to be enamored with the song "it's about that time." So goood.

----@beerwolf: this seems a little silly....but if you haven't listened to "Kind of Blue"....then do it!! (I think it is generally thought to be one of the best records of any genre of music, ever).

bitchin album

  On 9/13/2012 at 12:35 AM, jules said:

far from his best work but a great starting point for the fusion era

yerp

i've never been that amazed by it, but then it's all like 1969 and it's like fuck kind of blue was 1959 oh shittt

  On 9/12/2012 at 11:30 PM, encym said:

It's a historical recording, simple as that. The direction had started before with Silent Way and he incorporated electric instruments even before that, but this is the most thought-out and consistent work. If you like that, I would recommend In A Silent Way - almost an ambient album before there was ambient. And the über-funky On the Corner is also great. And let's not forget Live-Evil!

I feel it is important to keep in mind what period in music and in history this music comes from, too.

 

Enjoy and make sure you play it loud!

It's not just a historical recording, it's also one of the greatest sessions of mankind

Bitches Brew is a very essential release. If you don't know it you can't put Radiohead, Autechre, Aphex and Squarepusher in perspective

Man if i had time i would write out a long ass argument as to why it is Miles' best record from his fusion era, and one of the most important records ever made, period.

But I'll just say this. Goddamn.

edit: also don't forget the importance of Teo Marcero's contributions in the studio make this one of the most idm jazz records.

  On 9/13/2012 at 9:53 AM, o00o said:

Bitches Brew is a very essential release. If you don't know it you can't put Radiohead, Autechre, Aphex and Squarepusher in perspective

That is true, and particularly so for Squarepusher.

Also listen for the editing and production techniques used by Teo Macero - a precursor to our cut and paste techniques, only done with tape.

Miles' fusion is like a different musical language, but when you let the music hit you, dude. DUDE.

The Complete On The Corner Sessions has everything he did in the studio from '72-'75 before his 5 year retirement. It's made up of On The Corner, Get Up With It, some tracks from Big Fun and HUGE amounts of great previously unreleased stuff. Miles' fusion is a lot more primal and dirty sounding than most. It will melt your stoned brain. Check it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs4uUooThtM

Dark Magus is a really incredible live album recorded in 1974.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gFIi--jHyk

Big Fun is made up of stuff from 1970 to 1974, but it all sounds very cohesive. The Indian influence is much appreciated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnRJd7m5FJo&feature=BFa&list=PL982568A56BB24746

Two of the greatest musical performances ever are the two live albums Agharta and Pangaea. Recorded in one day in Japan in 1975 before his 5 year retirement. Some of the rawest, funkiest music ever.

Get "ready" and listen.

At the more honest level, I find it somewhat difficult to listen all the way through.

On the one hand, the keys and the atmosphere are unparalleled. They conjure something very specific that only jazz from that era touches on. I think of it as a desert, some nature, some faraway digital acid landscape. Not "fried" - but certainly far away, covering long distances, in the sun.

On the other hand, I rarely have the patience to listen through. That's more my problem. It's a masterpiece. I prefer On the Corner for rhythmic purposes.

In terms of this era of jazz, I personally prefer Karma for my lengthy trips through a free jazz space (to both Ascension, Meditations, Bitches Brew, and the like). The problem I have with B-Brew is that it wants to be an improvisational session, or something... and it lacks any sort of drive from beginning to end. You get lost in the murk... I'm going to listen to it again now, just typing my honest thoughts based on the last listen which was a while ago.

To be clear, I do believe it's a great, great, great record. For the sake of discussion though, I thought I'd write some of my negative thoughts about it.

  On 9/14/2012 at 5:03 AM, Candiru said:

Agharta and Pangaea

still haven't found the right time for Pangaea... there's a guitar solo in Agharta that's without question the most "out," motherfucking insanely noisy and brilliant ever. It reminds me of Acid Mother's Temple

on the corner is the ill shit.

Bitches Brew is not a free jazz record though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojod1QWTdKM

  On 9/13/2012 at 10:27 AM, chenGOD said:

Man if i had time i would write out a long ass argument as to why it is Miles' best record from his fusion era, and one of the most important records ever made, period.

But I'll just say this. Goddamn.

 

edit: also don't forget the importance of Teo Marcero's contributions in the studio make this one of the most idm jazz records.

It's pretty incredible how much Teo had to do with making Miles records. I mean, that are tape edits, splicing and dicing, copying this bit here and throwing it back over here quite somewhere else, etc on so many records and I mean even on the "straight" releases.

Not too long ago I read a really cool book on his records (Richard Cook's "It's About that Time") and I was pretty much blown away at all the complex tape editing involved in Davis's recordings with Teo. In fact, I'd say by the time it was recorded the tape techniques on Bitches Brew are pretty much SOP.

  On 9/15/2012 at 3:27 AM, Alcofribas said:

  On 9/13/2012 at 10:27 AM, chenGOD said:

Man if i had time i would write out a long ass argument as to why it is Miles' best record from his fusion era, and one of the most important records ever made, period.

But I'll just say this. Goddamn.

 

edit: also don't forget the importance of Teo Marcero's contributions in the studio make this one of the most idm jazz records.

 

It's pretty incredible how much Teo had to do with making Miles records. I mean, that are tape edits, splicing and dicing, copying this bit here and throwing it back over here quite somewhere else, etc on so many records and I mean even on the "straight" releases.

 

Not too long ago I read a really cool book on his records (Richard Cook's "It's About that Time") and I was pretty much blown away at all the complex tape editing involved in Davis's recordings with Teo. In fact, I'd say by the time it was recorded the tape techniques on Bitches Brew are pretty much SOP.

There is also a very good book by Paul Tingen on Miles' electric era.

"Miles Beyond"? Is that cool?