Sharing The Wealth
I get so much out of the blogosphere, its time to give back a little.

Miles Davis: It's About That Time, live at the Festival de Juans Pins 1969

I'm not a big bootleg fan normally, and the sound quality on this recording shows why. However, the music far outshines the recording quality in this instance. What makes this performance so special is that it captures one of Miles' best bands in a real 'getting-to-know-each-other-phase'. 1969 was a big year for Miles Davis. Just the previous year he had come out with what would be the last album of one of his most famous groups. That group, comprised of Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Tony Williams, and Wayne Shorter, has proved to be one of Miles' most influential groups, and helped him move away from his standard-laden hard-bop days to his more forward-thinking, avante-garde era. This group came out with such classic albums as E.S.P., Miles Smiles, and Filles De Kilimanjaro. What became increasingly rare during this time however was to hear Miles group interact on songs from the Great American Songbook, something that Miles and his bands had spent so many years cutting their teeth on. And with a new band that would the same year start recording Bitches Brew, Miles' movement into a whole new direction of music, it would be hard to think of them playing around on some standards. But that is exactly what they do on this recording. Miles, Wayne Shorter (the only holdover from the previous group), Chick Corea (on rhodes), Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette get to know each other on such Davis regulars as "Milestones", "Footprints", and even "Round Midnight". Mixed in with these standards include songs that would appear on future albums such as "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down" and "Directions". But hearing this modern group play on Milestones and Footprints especially is quite a treat. The band is like one giant, breathing, living organism. The way they interact is almost telepathic. The rhythm section responds to every nuance of the horn players, moving one second from bright swing to slow, open vamps to completely free sections, and they always land right back on their feet at the same time in the same place and sounding as good as they started. Clearly these aren't the standards like you heard them on Relaxin' or Round About Midnight. Corea and Holland in particular take things in a very free direction, and when the rhythm section is left alone, as during the keyboard solos, they depart to a completely different planet. But the beauty of it is that it all works perfectly. Every member of the band shines on this record, and Miles seemed to be particularly inspired on this date; this is some of the best playing I have of his. This is transitional jazz at its best, a true stepping-stone between two wildly different eras of jazz documented in one live performance. Do not pass this up.

Highlights:

Jack DeJohnette's opening drum solo on "Directions"
How the band picks up on Miles' intro to "Miles Runs The Voodoo Down", and all land perfectly on the downbeat together.
Miles' solo on "Milestones": the band interaction is unbelievable, and this is one of the best Miles solos I have ever heard.
Listen to Chick Corea take the band to a entirely different world during his solo on "Footprints".