Miles Alive

Miles Davis In Europe
My Funny Valentine
Four & More
Miles Davis In Tokyo
Miles In Berlin
(all Columbia Legacy)

From arch modernist to dark magus, here's Miles, there's Miles, miles and miles and miles of him down the road and around the corner, on the corner, across Europe and the US of A, muted and open, acoustic and electric, dropped into conversation from players of hard bop, freebop, modal, freaky fuzz-toned acid and digital polyrhythmic 21st century soundtracks, and online hipsters signifying recognition or understanding, or in bars basking in the aura created by the mere mention of his name; from be-bop to finally not being able to keep ahead as he used did, always miles ahead, always a contradictory persona both shy and stubborn, opinionated and even in a silent way signalling either discontent or respect - it was so easy to provoke reaction but not so easy to survive everything in life, the relationships, prejudice, drugs, criticism, creation of cool and criticism of continual movement for miles…

5 CDs, a lot of listening, a lot of work and all that space for players to invade or listeners to evade, so throw open the windows and, as Herbie Hancock said, 'ventilate' the songs to the extent that so much air comes in it expands songs to 15minute epics - and on tenor saxophone new man George Coleman must cope and does so admirably - now's the time when the writers of sleeve notes and reviews will give him his due and declare that he deserves so much more than to be a mere footnote in the book of Miles. Following Hank Mobley, who followed Coltrane, the big man works from within the long shadow, sometimes stepping close to the precipice into which He would have leapt, but drawing back because for him to enter would have been catastrophic(?)

In late-night bars or cafeterias Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams form their own trio of talk about what happened on stage, what might happen, what should or could happen - without George, without Miles, the pact is made by 17 year-old punk Tony, his guardian Carter and already prince of the piano, Hancock. Talk of rhythmic possibilities, percussion, elaboration, movement, expansion and melody, chord structures - did Miles say he didn't want to play chords any more? Did he really tear a strip off George when he caught him practising, saying I pay you to practise on stage? Tony finds that funny, he thinks the old man, at twenty-eight, just isn't hip enough - cruel youth, no respect, these kids.

George is trying to keep Miles on track, get him up and ready for action, get paid, get over the stuff about cars and women and superstar ego and it's all too much eventually, but not before he has been with them to France and played at the Philharmonic Hall in New York and sung, even swung his way through 16minute versions of 'All Of You' and 'Walkin', and a 15minute version of 'My Funny Valentine' and so on along this rocky road towards something Miles hears in his head, something no-one has written yet, something that prises open standards by Miles and others to the point where the structure is almost invisible and the shape nearly dissolves.

Young Tony can't even get into clubs without Carter because he's just a kid and a kid with big ideas about how he'll go silent almost sometimes except for the metronomic twitch of a brush on the cymbal and then drop bass drum H-bombs to awaken the dead and summon the spirits of Max back in the days of be-bop but with the progressive attitude of the new generation who were hip to Ornette and even the rock of the Beatles and then Cream; post-nuclear classicism and the improvisational fall-out of the 60s - embraceable you, he might have thought. Now's his time and it means a lot even if it hasn't got that ol' time swing.

Take the old song book and tear it to shreds - hitch a ride on former glory bound for a new one at speed that puts everyone through their paces - players, listeners and critics alike - so what it's all blues, new blues and the old blues in one subtle reference for just a few seconds-worth of breath or touch of fingers on the hands beyond those dazzling white cuffs on those slick suits that were as sharp as the attitude. There are no mistakes, said Miles, so never be afraid or hold back or hold on to safe clichés for the sake of security, no, walk the tightrope with no net above stages of jazz that will kill you should you fall.

George left and Tony suggested Sam Rivers so in he came for the Japan gigs but had to get back to his own and didn't quite fit anyway despite or because of his muscular chops which could cut the most savage shapes out of the air and still Miles said he changed the sound of a group, by sheer force of his nature no doubt, and determination to give something else even when restrained.

Onto the stage in West Berlin 1964 with one wall still standing and others elsewhere erected to mark the different territories of jazz steps the new tenor Wayne Shorter - steps into what Carter called the 'laboratory' - and so they work with the chemicals they have and truly begin to create the substance that would emerge in the studio as a form of ESP and surely Miles smiles when he knows that Shorter is here to stay for as long as this phase remains the crucial one.

Still playing 'So What', still picking 'Stella By Starlight' from history but they're not walkin' they're running with ideas upon ideas in the lab now and there are no mistakes and each is listening to the other with ears for all the ideas tumbling and still there's room for such thoughtful delicacy and even before they walk off a farewell quote from 'Milestones' by Wayne at the end of his flight on 'Walkin''.

Modal revisionist deconstruction and the reconstruction - call it what you will - ideas on the move into modal whatever here is Miles in motion 'live' before he was 'evil' - in orbit around the old and new things, the funky and blue things that would form the sound of modern jazz in the 60s.

Comments:

Alex Roest	maj 30 2005 8:17AM

Another great piece written in that true Bopping style which makes them such a pleasure to read. Nice one and all that jazz !

Jules	maj 30 2005 8:04AM

I'm hoping praise is never redundant. This is a great read.

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Columbia Legacy reissue a batch of live recordings by Miles Davis. Robin Tomens has the following to say.

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