VOTE FOR MILES - ILM artist poll #32, Miles Davis - Results Thread

http://thegrio.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/miles-davis-01.jpg?w=650

I have listened to so much MD music in the last couple of weeks...there have been moments when I was just sick of hearing another trumpet note. So last night when I was tabulating, of course the only possible soundtrack was On the Corner.

Part One, Sidemen

The 2nd half of the sidemen poll to gnaw on while I go do some stuff.

18. (tie) Chick Corea, keyboards; Jack DeJohnette, drums - 1 Point, 1 vote, 0 #1 votes

15. (tie) Al Foster, drums; Dave Holland, bass; Bennie Maupin, bass clarinet - 3 points, 1 vote, 0 #1 votes

14. Red Garland, piano - 4 points, 2 votes, 0 #1 votes

13. Michael Henderson, bass - 6 points, 2 votes, 0 #1 votes

12. Ron Carter, bass - 7 points, 3 votes, 0 #1 votes

11. Cannonball Adderley, alto sax - 10 points, 1 vote, 1 #1 vote

Yeah, I kinda screwed myself as a Miles fan by not casting a sidemen or albums ballot.

The rest are obvious, but my personal favorite Miles sidemen are Bill Evans, Pete Cosey and Cannonball.

The much-shorter list would be major jazz figures of the '50s and '60s who don't show up on any Miles recordings.

Actually kinda wish I'd voted for Al Foster; he was so essential to how that band operated.

Ha! I can't believe you did the thread titles this way round.

A total lack of attention to detail, I assure you.

http://marcmyers.typepad.com/.a/6a00e008dca1f08834017c317cbbd6970b-500wi

10. Gil Evans, arranger - 13 points, 2 votes, 1 #1 vote

Even after ruling no to Gil and Teo, Gil still got a couple of votes, including a #1, so why the heck not.

http://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/images/artists/philly-joe-jones.jpg

9. Philly Joe Jones, drums - 14 points, 2 votes, 0 #1 vote

http://www.zonadejazz.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/pch1.jpg

8. Paul Chambers, bass - 15 points, 3 votes, 0 #1 votes

A+ display name, WmC.

I voted for Chambers. Good to see him in the top 10.

Philly Joe! He didn't make my shortlist, but what a groover.

This thread was originally going to be called The Complete Birth of the POLL, but the screen name came to me yesterday afternoon, and that was that.

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/35345765/Bill+Evans.jpg

7. Bill Evans, piano - 22 points, 4 votes, 0 #1 votes

http://i49.tinypic.com/2crkkn9.jpg

6. John McLaughlin, guitar - 29 points, 8 votes, 1 #1 vote

http://i49.tinypic.com/fem3gy.jpg

5. Pete Cosey, guitar - 30 points, 6 votes, 0 #1 votes

Wish there was some documentation of exactly what gear Cosey used on Agharta. My guess is some combination of wah and synth modules, but really, who the fuck knows.

Cosey beat Mclaughlin? Wow.

Yeah, as secret weapons go, he was really secret.

Cosey beat Mclaughlin? Wow.
That surprised me too!

Going to speed these up a little.

http://i47.tinypic.com/1fdyr.jpg

4. Wayne Shorter, tenor and soprano sax - 37 points, 8 votes, 1 #1 vote

Cosey made a great noise, granted, and looked WAY cooler, but McLaughlin just played on so much more.

Surprised I was the only one to vote Wayne #1! The one constant from acoustic into electric phase

Wish there was some documentation of exactly what gear Cosey used on Agharta. My guess is some combination of wah and synth modules, but really, who the fuck knows.

sounds a bit like an Electro-Harmonix Micro Synthesizer, but I'm not exactly sure when those were originally produced

I skipped voting for Cosey because his greatest moments are mostly limited to Agharta and Pangaea, not quite enough breadth for me.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/WilliamCrump63/herbiehancock.jpg

3. Herbie Hancock, keyboards - 47 points, 10 votes, 1 #1 vote

Herbie Hancock is a national treasure. My #1!

Good for you. I think #3 for me, but my sentimental fave

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Observer/Columnist/Columnists/2010/5/11/1273581392444/Jazz-player-John-Coltrane-006.jpg

2. John Coltrane, tenor sax - 81 points, 12 votes, 5 #1 votes

http://images.askmen.com/fashion/style_icon/41_style-icon-miles-davis.jpg
1. Miles Davis - 6666 Points, 40 Votes, 40#1 votes

Stop that, please, this thread is going to be image-heavy enough without your hilariousness.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/WilliamCrump63/Tony_Williams_01.jpg

1. Tony Williams, drums - 88 points, 12 votes, 6 #1 votes

sorry William :(

Be your own sideman.

Everyone should check out Williams' astonishing 60s Blue Note records Life Time and Spring. It's a real shame he didn't continue in that direction. I love Lifetime (the band), but those records were so insanely unique, and gave incredible insight into what he brought to Miles' group.

Thanks for the tip. I've never checked those out!

I like Tony Williams a lot, but I am puzzled by any list of jazz humans on which he's ranked higher than Coltrane.

The category was sidemen, and I think you can argue that Williams's influence/impetus was as strong or stronger on Miles than was Coltrane's.

My list:

1. Tony Williams
2. Pete Cosey
3. John Coltrane
4. Paul Chambers
5. Ron Carter

My ranking was primarily based on, as broom air pointed out, the musicians' effect/influence on Miles' work/direction(s).

If we were ranking Miles' sidemen purely as musicians, I'm pretty sure Bird, Mingus, Monk, Sonny Rollins, and Elvin Jones would've placed.

When did Elvin Jones play with Miles?

Blue Moods on Debut, 1955. Miles, Elvin, Mingus on bass...and it's surprisingly meh. Miles wrote something in his autobio like "who knows why it didn't work, it just didn't."

Oh yeah. I own it but never looked at the line up! Nature Boy is pretty nice, though.

Hailing from Yorkshire myself I find it unusual that a dude from Doncaster was one of the top Miles Davis sidemen.

Ready for some albums? #30 to 21 today, maybe 30 to 16.

Bring it.

Part Two, The Albums:

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http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51LNXwXKjPL.jpg

#30 — Bags Groove — recorded 1954, released 1957
72 Points; 4 votes; 0 #1 votes

Jeez, these Amazon images are big.

So weird how Prestige randomly assembled some of those records.

Never heard this but it looks one hell of a group by the cover.

vintage CD image

Title track ranked high on my tracks ballot, even if it's more a showcase for Milt than Miles.

Do you mean like different bandleaders' stuff piled together in one release, or tracks gathered from different recording dates, or what? xxxp to Tarfumes

good album

I like Tony Williams a lot, but I am puzzled by any list of jazz humans on which he's ranked higher than Coltrane.

i suspect people voted for coltrane on the basis of his own records rather than miles'? i tried to vote for sidemen for whom their definitive work was with MD, or who i couldn't imagine the group without (tony #1, not that he didn't make great records with other bands).

Part of this is from the session with Monk and Milt Jackson, but another record, Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants, has the rest of that session plus one track from the quintet with Coltrane.

xp

I didn't vote in this cuz I've been going through some shit that sort of impeded my ability to seriously tackle Miles' catalog BUT I'm gonna chime in here from time to time anyway and... didn't that Bags Groove album make the jazz albums poll? I think that's where I first heard about it. v nice record

Bags Groove is super great. monk appears to be trolling everyone else, but he plays amazing stuff at the same time. [sorry i didn't vote either, but i'll chime in, looking forward to the results]

Hi Shakey, chime away. Meant to find the thread where you were updating the tinnitus situ to see how that was going.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0e/Steamin%27_With_the_Miles_Davis_Quintet.jpeg

29. — Steamin' With the Miles Davis Quintet — recorded 1956, released 1961
81 points; 4 votes; 0 #1 votes

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/a0/34/e95b225b9da0169d7baf0110.L.jpg

28. — Live-Evil — recorded 1970, released 1971
85 points; 4 votes; 0 #1 votes

That's a surprise, I thought this was universal canon

never liked it.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/49/Seven_Steps_to_Heaven_cover.jpg

27. — Seven Steps to Heaven — recorded & released 1963
87 points; 4 votes; 0 #1 votes

Worst cover ever?

Watching the new 1969 DVD while reading and observing poll results. Just saw DeJohnette towel himself off and throw the towel to Dave Holand while Miles solos. Awesome.

I kinda like it! I wonder if Columbia was trying to push that silhouette of Miles as an iconic image for a while, almost a logo.
xp

I was wondering where that image/logo first appeared...was it Sketches of Spain?

i thought they certainly were, but perhaps i'm only taking that from reissue-era use of it.

The cover is great compared to most of the hippy Rousseau type shit in dull hues on most of his 70's covers.

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/f3/00/6230224128a0b56ac42b6010.L.jpg

26. — Relaxin' With the Miles Davis Quintet — recorded 1956, released 1958
102 points; 5 votes; 0 #1 votes

Nobody disses Rothko xps, and his career was pretty much that sleeve over & over

Good colors. Don't know this one as well as other prestige records (of which workin is the best)

Xps = ?

I was wondering where that image/logo first appeared...was it Sketches of Spain?

― Darth Magus (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Monday, March 25, 2013 2:29 PM (11 minutes ago)

I think so... the lines of the 7 Steps version are neatened up a bit, but not a lot.

Yeah! early 60's art/design>>>>>mostly everything.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51L7mHXjvuL._SY300_.jpg

25. — Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (soundtrack) — recorded December 1957, released 1958
123 points; 5 votes; 0 #1 votes

<3 Ascenseur. It does sound like a soundtrack, but a great one. Even if you haven't seen the movie you can sort of make one up in your head.

It's one of my more favorite discoveries from this poll, for sure.

I love that soundtrack. Peak 50's Miles, out of his element and playing his ass off.

XP regarding "Live Evil". It wasn't the first Miles I heard but it was the first I knew about. In the mid 70s my parents had an Andy Williams LP which had one of CBS "Inner sleeves" advertising other CBS albums of the time, and amongst the oddities - Mark-Almond, Chase - there's "Live-evil" and a wonderful blurb about McLaughlin sitting in and "fitting in like he'd always been there" and Jarrett's playing on "Funky Tonk" being restricted by problems he had with certain keys on his electric piano. I would read that as a kid and was fascinated by what this record would sound like, and years later it didn't disappoint. Next time I'm in the attic I'll dig it out. It said something similarly far out for "There's a riot going on". I loved those CBS inner sleeves.

Loving the poll rollout, by the way.

Ooh. Was hoping this wd place higher. Glad others discovered it from this poll.

Love this record. I actually prefer it to a most of the Quintet stuff from that era.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/29/MilesAhead_original.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/33/Miles_Ahead.jpg

24. — Miles Ahead — recorded and released 1957
139 votes; 6 votes; 1 #1 vote

XP: I find it weird/funny/cool that there's hardcore Miles fans that are still just now discovering that soundtrack. It's such a treasure in his catalogue.

Off topic: A 70's-only Miles albums poll would be fun, but an 80's/90's-only Miles albums poll would be downright hilarious.

I had never seen the original Miles Ahead cover until a few minutes ago!

Miles reportedly was unhappy about the album's original cover, which featured a photograph of a young white woman and child aboard a sailboat. He made his displeasure known to Columbia executive George Avakian, asking, "Why'd you put that white bitch on there?"[10] Avakian later stated that the question was made in jest. For later releases of the record, however, the original cover-photo has been substituted by a photograph of Miles Davis.

I find it weird/funny/cool that there's hardcore Miles fans that are still just now discovering that soundtrack. It's such a treasure in his catalogue.

I knew "Generique" from the Columbia Years box, but had never gotten around to checking out the full album. Maybe I'll watch the Malle film tonight.

Miles Ahead my #1. I can't fault it, it's got everything I want from a jazz orchestra record.

yeah, I'd never heard of that soundtrack before, will have to check it out

xp I love Miles Ahead ... I'm glad Gil Evans crept in as a sideman in spite of not being one!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/34/Big_Fun.jpg

23. — Big Fun — recorded 1969-1972, released April 1974
142 points; 6 votes; 1 #1 vote

http://quietus_production.s3.amazonaws.com/images/articles/5016/album-dark-magus-live-at-carnegie-hall-2-cd-set_1285522897_crop_300x300.jpg

22. — Dark Magus — Recorded March 1974, released 1977 (Japan)
144 points; 6 votes; 0 #1 votes

Wow, actually thought that'd place higher. Probably my favorite playing of his from that era.

Never understood the appeal of Dark Magus. And I'm a big fan of 70's Miles.

Dark Magus is the most metal Miles album - it sounds like Westbound-era Funkadelic with a trumpeter up front.

I thought Magus would be higher, for sure. I like listening to it and trying to imagine what it would have been like to hear all that in Carnegie Hall.

Big Fun is my no.1 in any poll. It is so visceral and beautiful and fucking amazing. Anyone who says it isn't a proper album, duck out of the way fast!

it sounds like Westbound-era Funkadelic with a trumpeter up front.

OTM.

Speaking of which, my search for Miles shows when Tiki Fulwood was the drummer has been fruitless.

Dave Liebman's liner notes for the Dark Magus reissue are really good, as I recall -- a great look into playing live with Miles during that era, no written music/no safety net, fly or get the hell out. Of course I've apparently sold my copy and that wasn't one of the CDs where I scanned the notes before I shipped it. Derp!

Oh boom -- Liebman's notes for both the Dark Magus and Get Up With It reissues: http://www.daveliebman.com/earticles1.php?DOC_INST=8

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f8/MilesDavis_Workin.jpg

21. — Workin' With the Miles Davis Quintet — recorded 1956, released Sept. 1959
147 points; 6 votes; 0 #1 votes

Are we considering Somethin' Else a Miles record? It's in Cannonballs name but it feels like more of an MD effort then Aura or Doo Bop.

That's the first album so far that I'm actually familiar with. It IS the most metal of the 70s Miles albums I've heard but I also never really thought the pieces were as good as those on Agharta and Pangaea.

xpost to Dark Magus

Pretty surprised by the ranking of Cosey > McLaughlin but this is ILM.:P (Both were great obv but for sheer skill and craft McLaughlin is almost peerless + he played such a central role to so many key albums.)

I would consider it an Adderley record, Miles' presence notwithstanding. It didn't get any album votes in this poll. xxp

i expect cannonball adderley would be pretty irritated at having it taken out of his column!

Dark Magus is so so good, it feels like it holds the seeds for a couple dozen as-yet-unrealised potential genres.

That's it for today, btw! I'll finish albums tomorrow and will try to start tracks, at #40.

One housekeeping note: since the albums balloting was expanded to 20, I used the #1 = 40, #20 = 12 point system from the other polls on that.

Yes, I imagine he would, but I read that Miles had a hand in arranging Autumn Leaves, and it's such a great version of the tune.

RE: Somethin' Else

Well, I mean, it wasn't really Miles' or Cannonball's backing group on that album and it was pretty much just released under Cannonball's name to avoid conflicts with Columbia. But, in the end, it was released under Cannonball's name, not Miles.

It has the definitive 'Autumn Leaves' on it, no matter whose record it actually is.

Damo Suzuki's Parrot --> I love Big Fun too. It's his ambient record. The Running the Voodoo Down book is good on that platter.

No one's weighing in on the Prestige records. I love Workin, especially the beautiful It Never Entered My Mind. Prindle likes it too apparently. Nevertheless I still dig it.

Apparently Sony's putting out a digital bundle of In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew, A Tribute to Jack Johnson, Live-Evil and On the Corner tomorrow under the title The Electric Collection.

I was looking back over my ballot and I surprised myself at how many Prestige-era songs made it on my list. I don't think I'm putting too much of a spoiler out there by saying that seven of my thirty were Prestige-era tunes.

And, thinking about it now, I surprised myself even further when I recalled almost all of those tunes and albums from memory.

Damo Suzuki's Parrot --> I love Big Fun too. It's his ambient record.

really, more than In A Silent Way is his ambient record? maybe i should finally listen to Big Fun!

Silent Way is pretty ambient too! But has more explicit form than Big Fun.

More results!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a8/Birth_of_the_Cool.jpg

20. — The Birth of the Cool — recorded 1949/1950, released 1957
151 points; 6 votes; 0 #1 votes

Wow, surprised that was this low.

See, this is why I should've done more than a songs ballot, god dammit.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8b/RoundAboutMidnightMilesDavis.jpg

19. — 'Round About Midnight — recorded 1955-56, released March 1957
152 points; 6 votes; 1 #1 vote

recorded 1949/1950, released 1957

Funny that by the time this came out as an album, it was already pretty much ancient history in terms of Miles' trajectory.

'Round About Midnight is very lovely

Too low

Yeah, the recording vs release dates jumped out at me for Bags Groove, the 1st album result I posted, so I decided to include that for each listing. Y'all may be able to tell I'm sort of doing this by the seat of my pants in a barebones rollout while I pretend to do paying work, try to follow the SCOTUS news and other stuff, etc.

xxp

prioritise, man

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a8/MilesDavis_MilesInTheSky.jpg

18. — Miles in the Sky — recorded and released in 1968
157 points; 7 votes; 0 #1 votes

Okay, that's just incorrect to have Miles in the Sky over Birth of the Cool.

What is 'SCOTUS news'?

One of the big marriage equality cases is being heard by the Supreme Court today.

SCOTUS = Supreme Court of the US

thought i owned a lot of Miles (~40 discs) but already there's 5 listed here i've never heard. god bless ilm.
scored Miles @ Montreux 1973 (part of a 10 disc Complete Miles @ Montreux box set) yesterday and it's *mind boggling*. Never heard him play with so much sustained power.

http://milesdavisonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/sorcerer.jpg

17. — Sorceror — recorded 1962 (one track) and 1967, released 1967
164 points; 7 votes; 0 #1 votes

Finally the 60s band weighs in.

Always thought Round About Midnight was not as good as the other sextet records.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/35/Milestonescover.jpg

16. — Milestones — recorded and released 1958
170 points; 8 votes; 0 #1 votes

I think I prefer Milestones and (particularly) 'Round About Midnight to Kind of Blue. But I've never really been able to connect with the latter, for whatever reason.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/09/Miles_Davis_-_Nefertiti.jpg

15. — Nefertiti — recorded 1957, released March 1968
213 points; 9 votes; 1 #1 vote

nah that's the best one

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e1/MilesDavis_Agartha_designbyTadanoriYokoo.jpg

14. — Agharta — recorded and released in 1975 (in Japan)
228 points; 9 votes; 0 #1 votes

Wow, thought that'd at least make the top 10.

(much better cover than the US edition, though)

Appropriately, the live albums recorded on the same day are cuddled up together in the results:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/34/DavisPangaea.jpg

13. — Pangaea — recorded and released in 1975 (in Japan)
239 points; 10 votes; 0 #1 votes

Pangaea is still, to this day, the Miles album I go back to most often. Not necessarily my favorite, but it just demands so much attention to detail. Such an amazing and unique piece of music.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/07/Porgy_and_Bess_%28Miles_Davis%29.jpg

12. — Porgy and Bess _ recorded 1958, released 1959
244 points; 9 votes; 1 #1 vote

i've never heard porgy and bess! i'm kinda surprised to see it up so high, above pangaea, round about midnight, etc

I was the #1 voter for 'Round About Midnight btw.

Wanted it to get the much needed extra points

I loooooove Porgy and Bess!
I neglected to vote in this poll though :(

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/45/Miles_Davis_-_Cookin%27_with_the_Miles_Davis_Quintet.jpg

11. — Cookin' With the Miles Davis Quintet — recorded 1956, released 1957
259 points; 11 votes; 0 #1 votes

Porgy And Bess tends to be underrated/overshadowed by Sketches, but it's one of his best. Glad to see it so high.

Top 10!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/aa/E.S.P._cover.jpg

10. — E.S.P. — recorded and released in 1965
282 points; 12 votes; 0 #1 votes

Only one more in the top 10 will not have had any #1 votes.

Miles Ahead is the best of the Gil records for me.

How about Cookin placi g so high!

i'm surprised Cookin' placed so high, since everyone in this thread so far as repped for Workin' (which is my jam too, out of the Prestige records).

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d5/Miles_Davis_-_Miles_Smiles.jpg

9. — Miles Smiles — Recorded Oct. 1967, released Jan. 1967
306 points; 12 votes; 1 #1 vote

thought that would be top 5 for sure!

Sorry, that should say "recorded Oct. 1966"

I included the months there because that's the quickest turnaround from recording to release that I've seen in the MD catalog.

minus nine months *is* fast

d'oh! xp lazy zing backfires

TOO LOW

I admire Miles' ability to make puns on his name without seeming cheesy.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51x0VbyT45L._SL500_AA280_.jpg

8. — Get Up With It — recorded 1970-1974; released 1974
347 points; 14 votes; 1 #1 vote

Whoa!

Surprising result?

Get Up With It is hated, right? I think it's pretty fly.

i think GUWI is pretty awesome, i don't know of it being hated really.

Miles v Elton 70s glasses: FITE

Get Up With It is hated, right?

By Wynton Marsalis and Stanley Crouch, yes.

If On the Corner places above Get Up With It, this will be the weirdest albums poll ever.

And yes, only people that are afraid of interesting new things hate Get Up With It.

Jeff, I was gonna say, I want some hexagon glasses.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ee/Miles_Davis-Filles_de_Kilimanjaro_%28album_cover%29.jpg

7. — Filles de Kilimanjaro — recorded 1968; released 1968 (UK), 1969 (US)
392 points; 15 votes; 1 #1 vote

Porgy and Bess almost got my #1 vote, definitely my favourite of the Gil records, it's just so beautiful.

Wow, didn't expect that so high.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4e/Miles_Davis_-_Sketches_of_Spain.png

6. — Sketches of Spain — recorded 1959-1960; released 1960
424 points; 15 votes; 0 #1 votes

Love the story in the autobio about the bullfighter who psyched himself up by listening to this.

If On the Corner places above Get Up With It, this will be the weirdest albums poll ever.

I'm expecting OtC to be top 3.

No no.1s for Sketches?

Sketches of Spain is probably my favorite of the Miles/Gil albums.

Either that or the unfortunately underrated Quiet Nights.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/72/Bitches_brew.jpg

5. — Bitches Brew — recorded 1969, released 1970
472 points; 18 votes; 2 #1 votes

I put Sketches at #2, which I know is too high -- objectively I'd put it more in the lower half of the top 10. But it was one of the few post-1950 jazz albums in my parents' rock/folk/country-centric record collection, and was the first (and for years the only) jazz album I really knew and loved. I remember being maybe 9 or 10 and sitting on the floor in front of the record player, staring at the cover, listening and imagining bullfights and dust and dancing senoritas. There's no question that it was my gateway to jazz -- first to other Miles Davis albums, and then obviously to much more. So for its accessible mysteriousness, I love it through and through.

Bitches Brew my number 1. Used to think it overrated. Not anymore.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/30/Tribute_To_Jack_Johnson.jpg

4. — A Tribute To Jack Johnson — recorded 1970, released 1971
546 points; 20 votes; 1 #1 vote

It's probably nearly twenty years since I bought Bitches Brew, but I still haven't 'got' it. I feel like I'd need to properly absorb everything prior first.

I loved Bitches Brew at first (early 80s), then there was a long stretch of years where I thought it was just OK, but now I'm back to goggle-eyed amazement whenever I listen to it.

Unless something really strange happens, then this is a very good top three.

You're Under Arrest @ #2?

I really though Agharta would be way up in the top 10

No doubt! Tutu #1

An 80s shut-out is a tad disappointing though. I threw a few points the way of Aura.

Aura! Voted top spot by the danish mafia.

Get Up With It would have been my #1. "He Loved Him Madly" is always the one that gets all the attention, justifiably. 32 minutes, and not overlong by a bit. amazing patience on display throughout. but amazingly, "He Loved Him Madly" is arguably not even the best 32 minute track on the album! "Calypso Frelimo" is the one i've been digging a ton lately. it's tucked away on side C (so, about an hour into the 2 hours set). the first half of the song establishes - patiently of course - the main theme, which is a bit faster, funky, repetitively polyrhythmic in the characteristic early 70s Miles style. but then the song quickly morphs into a much slower dirge, almost in halftime. the bottom falls out of it, but out of the ashes this impossibly funky drumbeat emerges over the course of a few minutes, along with Miles slowly but surely getting more and more intense, higher and higher, painfully. i can't overstate how simple and SICK the drums are throughout this section. you want it to last forever, but unfortunately the vinyl format limitations mean that the song must eventually end, so the main theme emerges again, triumphantly.

i'm still trying to get into the rest of the songs, but the two 32 minute behemoth's alone merit a top 5 placing imo

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/90/Miles_Davis_On_The_Corner.jpg

3. — On The Corner — recorded June/July 1972, released October 1972
605 points; 21 votes; 2 #1 votes

xpost

Yeah, "Calypso Frelimo" is nuts. It's got my favourite Al Foster performance (and often I find him a bit wearying - if he'd just lay off that open hi-hat every once in awhile)

i don't know why this one is so damn popular. it's about the only miles i ever heard that i didn't love.nor has it really grown on me that much. Jack Johnson on the other hand is my fave 1970's Miles

On the Corner is definitely overjocked. I like it but I can't help but think of it as Miles for People Who Don't Like Jazz

i don't know why this one is so damn popular. it's about the only miles i ever heard that i didn't love.nor has it really grown on me that much. Jack Johnson on the other hand is my fave 1970's Miles

I'm the opposite. None of Jack Johnson made my albums or tracks ballots.

Funny, the first thing I thought when I first heard Agharta was, "Ugh, dude, close your fucking hi-hat." But I grew to love it, and it really adds a unique swing to those records that none of Miles' contemporaries/imitators had.

xps

Love Lester Bangs' Detroit -centric review of this one

Jack Johnson is not one of my faves. Side2 >> side 1 says me

Miles for People Who Don't Like Jazz

To be fair, that could apply to other albums on the list too. (One of the great things about Miles -- he has lots of albums to love even for People Who Don't Like Jazz.) I love OtC cuz it's funky and paranoid and as much a tone poem as Sketches of Spain in terms of conjuring a world (and, in retrospect, an era).

As much as I love 70s Miles and OTC, it didn't make my albums list. It feels too much like the beginning of something rather than the thing itself.

amazing patience on display throughout.

I was listening to this the other day and wow, Foster's snare work is unspeakably brilliant.

Yeah, On the Corner is awesome. I love Black Satin, such a weird little thing. Would have been my number two if I'd been able to make a list, my number one is still to come.

I was trying to explain my love of OTC to my wife the other day and the best I could come up with was "...it's just filthy. Filthy! Utter chaos!" And she was like "you mean that as a compliment, right?"

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9c/MilesDavisKindofBlue.jpg

2. — Kind of Blue — recorded and released in 1959
651 points; 21 votes; 1 #1 vote

I approve of the 3-2-1 order (even though I had KoB a bit lower). As representatives of 3 eras, an amazing trio.

One of OtC's number ones was mine. Not being a big jazzhead I could understand Miles for folks who don't like jazz comment above and I almost felt a bit guilty placing it so high as more than any of his other albums he subsumes his playing with that of the band. On parts of the album it doesn't even sound like a horn he's playing. I'm thinking it's the guitar feeding back then the timbre of the horn's revealed and it's a revelation. Just one of the most extraordinary albums by a major artist in any ouevre, still sounds like something beamed in from the future. I can't imagine what the impact of listening to it for the first time in 1972 would be.

No surprise at #1, so without further ado:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/49/Miles-davis-in-a-silent-way.jpg

1. — In A Silent Way — recorded Feb. 18, 1969; released July 30, 1969
882 points; 25 votes; 10 #1 votes

Wow, 10 #1s. I'm one of them, so no complaints from me. That's quite a consensus.

My #1 too

I think them top 2 are the greatest of the 20th century, still be loving these when I am ready to be planted.

(Mine too)

xpost

I would have voted In A Silent Way #1 but did a tactical vote for Big Fun.

same here but 'Round About Midnight was my tactical vote

wanted to join the postmortem for album results but I gotta go pick up my tax returns

might post the first few song results later this evening.

Would have been my number one too, if I had voted. And the two tracks would have been in the top five on my track-ballot. So great. Still, a bit surprised at how dominant it is, with two-hundred votes more than number two. And like, 40% of it's votes were #1.

It's About That (tax returns) Time.

My #1/tactical vote has been out of print for about ten years. Fuckin' Columbia.

(IASW was my #2, though)

So everybody who voted had IASW on their ballot then? 25/25?

Not me. My albums ballot:

1. On the Corner

2. Kind of Blue

3. Agharta

4. E.S.P.

5. Seven Steps to Heaven

6. Water Babies

7. Bitches Brew

8. The New Miles Davis Quintet

9. Tutu

10. A Tribute to Jack Johnson

Here's my sidemen ballot:

1. John Coltrane

2. Tony Williams

3. Pete Cosey

4. Michael Henderson

5. Herbie Hancock

My Albums
1 in a silent way
2 Filles de Killamanjaro
3 On The Corner
4 Bitches Brew
5 Pangaea
6 A Tribute To Jack Johnson
7 Big Fun
8 Get Up With It
9 Sorcerer
10 E.S.P.

Sidemen:

1 Herbie Hancock
2 John McLaughlin
3 Tony Williams
4 Michael Henderson
5 Jack DeJohnette

my albums ballot:

1. Miles Smiles
2. In a Silent Way
3. Live Around the World (thought i was being strategic here, but not enough for it to place ;_;)
4. Filles de Kilimanjaro
5. Workin'
6. Pangaea
7. Nefertiti
8. E.S.P.
9. A Tribute to Jack Johnson
10. Sorcerer

Albums

In a Silent Way
A Tribute to Jack Johnson
Kind of Blue
On the Corner
The Birth of the Cool
Porgy and Bess
Pangaea
Miles in the Sky
Bitches’ Brew
Agharta

Sidemen

John McLaughlin
John Coltrane
Herbie Hancock
Pete Cosey
Wayne Shorter

i feel good about my sideman choices:

1. Tony Williams
2. Philly Jo Jones
3. Wayne Shorter
4. Al Foster
5. Red Garland

1. Big Fun
2. In A Silent Way
3. Sketches Of Spain
4. Filles De Kilimanjaro
5. Kind Of Blue
6. Miles In The Sky
7. Nefertiti
8. Miles Smiles
9. E.S.P.
10. Sorcerer

Pretty hard to pick "wrong" w/r/t sidemen, unless you picked Bill Evans but meant the saxophonist from the early '80s band...

I need to get Porgy and Bess into my life.

My albums, although there is a somewhat arbitrary ordering once you get past the top 4.

1. In a Silent Way
2. Sketches of Spain
3. On the Corner
4. Kind of Blue
5. Cookin' With the Miles Davis Quintet
6. Bitches Brew
7. Dark Magus
8. A Tribute to Jack Johnson
9. Filles de Kilimanjaro
10. Porgy and Bess

(Surprised on review that I didn't vote for Ascenseur -- thought I had. But there were a lot of things that moved on and off.)

ALBUMS
1. Bitches Brew
2. In a Silent Way
3. Kind of Blue
4. E.S.P.
5. On the Corner
6. Miles in the Sky
7. Filles de Kilimanjaro
8. Miles Smiles
9. Get Up With It
10. Cookin’

SIDEMEN
1. Tony Williams
2. Paul Chambers
3. Wayne Shorter
4. Bennie Maupin
5. Chick Corea

I think them top 2 are the greatest of the 20th century

This poll did pretty much convince me that for range and influence and sustained brilliance he's in a tiny group of 20th century geniuses. I mean, like, him and Picasso.

Didn't vote, but was Teo disqualified from "sideman" status?

Yeah, Miles is def up there with Picasso, Pynchon, Stravinsky, etc. And still In a Silent Way won with twohundred votes more than number two. And it still seems right. Such an amazing album.

James Brown yo

Frederik they aren't votes they are points - 25 voters and I heartily agree with you and tipsy mothra. I don't particularly like Picasso but wouldn't argue that he wasn't a genius. I think the Miles/Picasso comparison is astute because they were both extremely prolific and I suppose extraordinarily driven artists of the 20th century. Miles was a really crap painter btw.

Yeah, you're right. Points, not votes.

My albums and sidemen:

ALBUMS

1. In A Silent Way
2. On the Corner
3. Kind of Blue
4. Ascenseur Pour l'Echafaud
5. Miles Smiles
6. Sketches of Spain
7. Dark Magus
8. Bitches Brew
9. Get Up With It
10. Seven Steps to Heaven
11. Porgy and Bess
12. Birth of the Cool
13. Filles de Kilimanjaro
14. Miles in the Sky
15. Nefertiti
16. The Complete Concert 1964
17. Miles in Tokyo
18. E.S.P.
19. Milestones
20. Miles Ahead

SIDEMEN

Tony Williams
Bill Evans
John McLaughlin
Dave Holland
John Coltrane

As I mentioned upthread, no Jack Johnson love from me. I just find it too much of a blunt instrument! On the Corner, now there's a weapon of mass destruction.

yeah that's the one in the top so many that doesn't sit right right me. to me its coming in just above bitches brew betrays a rock-centric bias in the poll! i can understand sketches of spain, though. i listened through it a few times while deliberating but i couldn't find the intensities that i used to find in it, or at least couldn't find enough of them to make it seem either definitive for miles or more of a standout than some of the other seemingly singular albums.

1. Directions
2. On the Corner
3. Porgy and Bess
4. Sketches of Spain
5. Round About Midnight
6. Milestones
7. Get Up With It
8. Miles Ahead
9. Kind of Blue
10. You're Under Arrest

11. Nefertiti
12. ESP
13. Big Fun
14. Live Evil
15. Pangaea
16. The Man With The Horn
17. In A Silent Way
18. Agharta
19. Miles in Berlin
20. In Paris Festival International de Jazz 1949

Didn't vote for sidemen, wouldn't know how to tbh

My CD of Jack Johnson came in the mail a few days ago, and I've been playing "Right Off" to and from work every day. In all honesty, I had a wiseguy-rock-critic's attitude towards the whole idea of jazz-rock all through my 20s and 30s, probably cemented by some stuff Bangs said in one of those Lou Reed interviews. Generational thing--if I'd been just slightly older, and had been 19 when Bitches Brew came out instead of 9, I'm sure I would have been much more open-minded. Anyway, I'm hearing something like "Right Off" with fresh ears and loving it. Hope to buy used copies of the other early '70s albums in the coming months.

Lemme post the full album results here in a minute. I'm not going to link to the Googledoc until later in the week, because it has both the tracks and albums pages in one file.

STRONG SHOWING from '80s miles there, ismael. i don't think i've heard any* and i'm scared to - what's it like?

*well, i think i may have heard a couple of tracks some years back, as i recall i couldn't really say they were bad, but they just sounded like '80s pop with miles davis samples grafted on. but that was before i knew classic miles in any notable way.

ALBUM	POINTS	# VOTES	#1 VOTES																
In A Silent Way	882	25	10																
Kind of Blue	651	21	1																
On the Corner	605	21	2																
A Tribute to Jack Johnson	546	20	1																
Bitches Brew	472	18	2																
Sketches of Spain	424	15	0																
Filles de Kilimanjaro	392	15	1																
Get Up With It	347	14	1																
Miles Smiles	306	12	1																
E.S.P.	282	12	0																
Cookin' With the Miles Davis Quintet	259	11	0																
Porgy and Bess	244	9	1																
Pangaea	239	10	0																
Agharta	228	9	0																
Nefertiti	213	9	1																
Milestones	170	8	0																
Sorceror	164	7	0																
Miles in the Sky	157	7	0																
Round About Midnight	152	6	1																
The Birth of the Cool	151	6	0																
Workin' With the Miles Davis Quintet	147	6	0																
Dark Magus	144	6	0																
Big Fun	142	6	1																
Miles Ahead	139	6	1																
Ascenseur Pour l'Echafaud	123	5	0																
Relaxin' With the Miles Davis Quintet	102	5	0																
Seven Steps to Heaven	87	4	0																
Live-Evil	85	4	0																
Steamin' With the Miles Davis Quintet	81	4	0																
Bags' Groove	72	4	0																
My Funny Valentine	62	3	0																
Live at the Fillmore East, March 7, 1970: It's About That Time	55	2	0																
Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants	50	3	0																
Tutu	49	2	0																
Water Babies	43	2	0																
Directions	40	1	1																
Miles in Tokyo	40	2	0																
The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965	40	1	1																
Live Around the World	33	1	0																
Aura	30	1	0																
"Four" and More	28	1	0																
Live in Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series Vol. 1	24	1	0																
The New Miles Davis Quintet	24	1	0																
In Concert	23	1	0																
Quiet Nights	22	1	0																
Someday My Prince Will Come	22	1	0																
You're Under Arrest	22	1	0																
The Cellar Door Sessions	20	1	0																
The Complete Concert 1964	16	1	0																
The Man with the Horn	16	1	0																
Black Beauty	15	1	0																
In Person - Saturday Night at the Blackhawk	13	1	0																
Miles in Berlin	13	1	0																
In Paris Festival International de Jazz May 1949	12	1	0

I know the columns aren't going to line up exactly right, but it should be obvious what the numbers stand for -- points, votes, number of #1s.

Once again with position numbers.

ALBUM	POINTS	# VOTES	#1 VOTES																
1.	In A Silent Way	882	25	10																
2.	Kind of Blue	651	21	1																
3.	On the Corner	605	21	2																
4.	A Tribute to Jack Johnson	546	20	1																
5.	Bitches Brew	472	18	2																
6.	Sketches of Spain	424	15	0																
7.	Filles de Kilimanjaro	392	15	1																
8.	Get Up With It	347	14	1																
9.	Miles Smiles	306	12	1																
10.	E.S.P.	282	12	0																
11.	Cookin' With the Miles Davis Quintet	259	11	0																
12.	Porgy and Bess	244	9	1																
13.	Pangaea	239	10	0																
14.	Agharta	228	9	0																
15.	Nefertiti	213	9	1																
16.	Milestones	170	8	0																
17.	Sorceror	164	7	0																
18.	Miles in the Sky	157	7	0																
19.	Round About Midnight	152	6	1																
20.	The Birth of the Cool	151	6	0																
21.	Workin' With the Miles Davis Quintet	147	6	0																
22.	Dark Magus	144	6	0																
23.	Big Fun	142	6	1																
24.	Miles Ahead	139	6	1																
25.	Ascenseur Pour l'Echafaud	123	5	0																
26.	Relaxin' With the Miles Davis Quintet	102	5	0																
27.	Seven Steps to Heaven	87	4	0																
28.	Live-Evil	85	4	0																
29.	Steamin' With the Miles Davis Quintet	81	4	0																
30.	Bags' Groove	72	4	0																
31.	My Funny Valentine	62	3	0																
32.	Live at the Fillmore East, March 7, 1970: It's About That Time	55	2	0
33.	Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants	50	3	0																
34.	Tutu	49	2	0																
35.	Water Babies	43	2	0																
36.	Directions	40	1	1																
37.	Miles in Tokyo	40	2	0																
38.	The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965	40	1	1															
39.	Live Around the World	33	1	0																
40.	Aura	30	1	0																
41.	"Four" and More	28	1	0																
42.	Live in Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series Vol. 1	24	1	0															
43.	The New Miles Davis Quintet	24	1	0																
44.	In Concert	23	1	0																
45.	Quiet Nights	22	1	0																
46.	Someday My Prince Will Come	22	1	0																
47.	You're Under Arrest	22	1	0																
48.	The Cellar Door Sessions	20	1	0																
49.	The Complete Concert 1964	16	1	0																
50.	The Man with the Horn	16	1	0																
51.	Black Beauty	15	1	0																
52.	In Person - Saturday Night at the Blackhawk	13	1	0															
53.	Miles in Berlin	13	1	0																
54.	In Paris Festival International de Jazz May 1949	12	1	0

It's a bit like that xp, which isn't displeasing - but the strong 80s showing is probably mostly down to me getting halfway through my box before I thought it'd be a good idea to take notes, then in the rush to do a ballot not having time to go back and properly distinguish the good-but-not-mindblowing 50s and 60s work.

I'm amazed at being the only Directions voter - it left me speechless when I first heard it. How much was it, and how much was me, I can't say.

RE: 80's Miles

I like Aura just fine. I've tried hard as hell to get into stuff like Star People (supposedly the "funkiest" Miles got in the 80's) and Tutu, but I just can't get into it.

Inexplicably, I like Amandla quite a bit. Paul Tingen's book goes a long way to explain what's so great about it and darned if he didn't convince me. I'd say anyone not into the idea of Tutu or Cyndi Lauper covers should check it out for some indication that 80's Miles isn't a total wash.

Ismael, I think Directions has kind of gotten lost in the shuffle, as it was a compilation initially. So, a lot of second or third gen Miles fans (myself included) heard that stuff for the first time on box sets, way after the fact.

found my ballot

'Round About Midnight
In A Silent Way
Relaxin' With the Miles Davis Quintet
Kind Of Blue
Tribute To Jack Johnson
Milestones
Workin' With The Miles Davis Quintet
Steamin' With The Miles Davis Quintet
Miles Smiles
Bitches Brew
Agharta
On The Corner
Pangaea
Sorcerer
Filles de Kilimanjaro
E.S.P.
Black Beauty
Miles Ahead
Bags' Groove
Miles Davis And The Modern Jazz Giants

The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965
In A Silent Way
Sketches of Spain
Live at the Fillmore East, March 7, 1970: It's About That Time
Dark Magus
On The Corner
Get Up With It
Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants
A Tribute to Jack Johnson
Ascenseur pour l'échafaud

Didn't vote for 20 albums because I mostly know them in box form; only in the last couple of weeks did I start listening to, for instance, the mid-60s quintet records as they were released.

I can't get enough of the live 60s quintet stuff, though. Plugged Nickel stands out for me mainly because Miles gets into this smeared-notes and half-valve territory that he rarely exploited so much (or so thoroughly) since. It adds an entire new dimension to the vulnerability of his sound.

Tomorrow may be an abbreviated results day because it's suddenly full of errands and appointments, so I'm going to start with a few tracks tonight. Counting down from #41 because it and #40 have the same number of points, though there is a tiebreaker.

so

PART 3 - SONGS

#41 — "Stuff" (M. Davis) — from Miles in the Sky
112 points, 6 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/3jGSsNOhuUo

#40 — "Prayer (Oh Doctor Jesus)" (G. Gershwin) — from Porgy and Bess
112 points, 4 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/4e7ftQBv6R8

Crap, those should be reversed. "Prayer" is 41 and "Stuff" is 40.

What's the science behind starting at 41, Will?

It was going to be #40, but it and #41 both had 112 points, so I figured I'd toss the extra result in there. I'm biased against nice round numbers, love primes.

I had a thing for 59 once, but it broke my heart--it broke my heart.

#39 — "E.S.P." (W. Shorter) — from E.S.P., 1965
114 points, 5 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/7vWdTXy80Lk

to me its coming in just above bitches brew betrays a rock-centric bias in the poll!

I'm curious what you mean by this. I guess I'm not sure why this would be a problem since Miles was explicitly trying to fuse jazz and rock in this period.

I think of JJ as a rock record, not a jazz record or a jazz-rock record. This may get shouts of "RONG," but I don't think Cobham swings at all.

whoops sorry for the late post here's me.

And by the way, any fan of Milestones should definitely seek out the '58 Sessions CD which tops Milestones IMO.

ALBUMS
Bitches Brew
Filles de Killamanjaro
Ascenseur pour l'eschafaud
Miles Ahead
Kind of Blue
live in Europe 67 bootleg
On the Corner
live at fillmore - it's about that time
Big Fun
58 Sessions
In a Silent Way
Miles in the Sky
Miles Smiles
ESP
Nefertiti

SIDECARS
Wayne Shorter
Tony Williams
Coltrane
Herbie Hancock
Bill Evans

yeah, it's something like what wmc said - i think of jack johnson mainly in terms of the lead-off attack of the first track, and in general of the album in terms of its riffs. i haven't even really heard it that much in the last decade or so. as i recall my interest is mostly confined to the first track.

it seems like a record whose sound might appeal more than anything else. it's got good performances but you can get those all over the place. and compared to bitches brew (like i said on the other thread, a top-few-of-all-time record) it seems like it should be way down the list compositionally, or in terms of group-performance-in-an-improvisational-medium.

1. porgy and bess
2. kind of blue
3. in a silent way
4. birth of the cool
5. bags' groove
6. filles de kilmanjaro
7. miles ahead
8. a tribute to jack johnson
9. e.s.p.
10. miles smiles
11. miles in the sky
12. workin'
13. milestones
14. sketches of spain
15. nefertiti
16. cookin'
17. bitches brew
18. on the corner
19. get up with it
20. seven steps to heaven

sidemen
1. tony williams
2. ron carter
3. john coltrane
4. gil evans
5. herbie hancock

in a silent way might be my real #1 (definitely one of the albums i've listened to most in my life, easily the jazz album i've listened to most) but i knew it would win easy and was worried (unnecessarily?) that kind of blue would be underrated somehow. porgy and bess got me thru (or accompanied me, insert 'footprints' here) thru a very difficult period of my life when was young, it was always going to get my #1 vote.

always curious what jj's impact/rep was at large at the time - obv not as huge as bitches brew, obv not as huh as on the corner, was it a curio like one might expect a soundtrack for a documentary about a boxer to be? was it for heads only? so hard to track these things. i can remember me and my friends finding out about it when it was reissued during the early 90s, i can remember xgau basically wrote 'everybody needs to own this album' for like four different places and me and my friends knew jack johnson was a badass i was getting into miles anyway, i knew the big basics and had read his autobio and thought 'this is the coolest motherfucker who ever lived' and there was this department store, roses (i'm not even sure they still exist, the one in athens closed forever ago), that had a bin of cassettes w/ most of the columbia jazz masterpieces for like 3 bucks (i got all my early dylan from that bin too) so i'd already obsessed over kind of blue and 'round about midnight (my first fave miles) but jj i had to buy full price new, it had that red columbia seal in the corner, and it rocked my fucking world.

The ever-popular Spotify playlist of the tracks as they're revealed:

http://open.spotify.com/user/wmcrump/playlist/7rWU0r3OfUoutcSL0eNb9f

Hope I did that right.

always curious what jj's impact/rep was at large at the time -

I guess one answer is in the wiki -- "Jack Johnson was less commercially successful than Davis's previous electric album, Bitches Brew, reaching only No. 159 on the Billboard 200 where Bitches Brew had risen as high as No. 35." A lot of the reviews cited in the wiki seem to be retrospectives decades after the fact... xgau's original Voice rave wouldn't necessarily have given it any sales traction, so yeah, I wonder what Rolling Stone and Down Beat had to say about it in 1971.

This may get shouts of "RONG," but I don't think Cobham swings at all.

Not at all.

I was near e-jumped a few years back for saying that Cobham was "actually a rock drummer" on another unnamed forum.

Easily one of the weaker links in the Miles sideman pedigree chart.

One way of looking at Jack Johnson is that it's the first record by jazz guys that says, "Man, if I put a rock band together, it would smoke that shit you hear on the radio."

Tell you what I just missed: This morning, apparently, Amazzon had "The Perfect Miles Davis" 22 disc box for £5.50. I missed it but a friend got one.

/This may get shouts of "RONG," but I don't think Cobham swings at all./

Not at all.

I was near e-jumped a few years back for saying that Cobham was "actually a rock drummer" on another unnamed forum.

Easily one of the weaker links in the Miles sideman pedigree chart.

Cobham may not be swinging on JJ but he plays his ass off on that record.

jj got a middling review in RS by David Lubin; loved side 1, said most of side 2 was aimless. As for sales, I remember an interview with Robert Quine where he said At Fillmore was being promoted like crazy, and was all over FM radio, but jj didn't get the same (or any) push from Columbia.

Good morning! Results-with-coffee time.

#38 - "Générique" (M.Davis) - from Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (soundtrack), 1958
127 points, 5 votes, 0 #1 vote
http://youtu.be/Bq5CZjJutrc

daaang, that's beautiful. i gotta check out Ascenseur.

So good.

daaang, that's beautiful. i gotta check out Ascenseur.

I watched the Louis Malle film Monday night -- highly recommended, a very confident debut, and the music is well placed throughout.

#37 - "Tout de Suite" (M. Davis) - from Filles de Kilimanjaro, 1968
135 points, 5 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/Fcp2VbSqx6w

#36 - "Someday My Prince Will Come" (Churchill, Morey) - from Someday My Prince Will Come, 1961
138 points, 6 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/fBq87dbKyHQ

Naive Teen Idol OTM. I also basically think of Jack Johnson as an improvisational rock album but it's easily one of the top 10 rock albums of the 70s. Tbh, I pretty much think of a lot of the electric Miles albums as improvised instrumental rock or funk albums.

I see a lot of the contemporary jazz that I enjoy that way, actually: Frisell, Douglas, Cline, Ribot, maybe the Bad Plus.

i gotta check out Ascenseur.

Same here, I've been meaning to watch the film too.

#35 - "It Never Entered My Mind" (R. Rodgers) - from Workin' With the Miles Davis Quintet, 1959
139 points, 4 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/GIvB8WrkYpA

Gotta be away from the computer for a while this morning, so results will resume around noonish, I think.

"Générique" was the only thing I voted for off Ascenseur -- not sure if it just stands out because it's the lead-off, or if it feels like more of an actual song than the rest of the album. But it's great either way.

And I'm surprised "Tout de Suite" is so low, but with so much to choose from I guess that will be true of many things.

listening to al foster's ridiculous playing on 'rated x', i went looking for interviews with him and found this quote:

I never cared for what I did with him in the '70s. I was a jazz drummer and I thought when he asked me to join the band I thought it was jazz. But who's gonna turn down a job with Miles Davis? He told me to check out Sly Stone, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown. So I started buying some of those records just to practice on 'em. But Miles was still playing jazz. I could hear him, playing what he played on "Tune Up."

oh well. i love his swing playing too, like with mccoy tyner and joe henderson, it's just interesting to me that he was able to play both styles so authentically at the time.

I think Keith Jarrett said he hated the Fender Rhodes and few people sound better on it

I never liked Jarrett's playing with Miles. He was best when Corea was still in the band and he had someone to fight for space with, like on Miles Davis At Fillmore (an album I don't really like that much) or the Isle of Wight show.

I voted for 'Generique', thinking it would never make the final list. Nice.

RE: Billy Cobham
I didn't mean to imply that rock drummer = weak drummer. He is generally more of rock and I just don't like his playing, fine as it may be =)

"generally more of a rock"

rock DRUMMER

Jeez, what a typo.

#34 - "Filles de Kilimanjaro" (M. Davis) - from Filles de Kilimanjaro, 1968
140 points, 7 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/hq0YYdMVhoA

#33 - "Yesternow" (M. Davis) - from A Tribute to Jack Johnson, 1971
142 points, 6 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/9eZEAToDpxM

Some weird self-hating jazz stuff emerging here in this thread -- from Keith Jarrett hating playing electric (a well known fact)...to Al Foster thinking he wasn't that good with Miles (but staying with him for almost 4 years...and then of course, joining up again when Miles came out of retirement).

It speaks to what a threat Miles was at this stage of his career to the jazz tradition.

Also, Dave Liebman has said he wasn't 100% on board with what was going on during his tenure with the group.

I think it speaks to Miles genius as a bandleader that he heard something in Foster and Jarrett's playing prior to joining that would work with an entirely different approach, and in an entirely (or at least mostly) unfamiliar context to what they were used to. "Hey, you know that thing you're known for doing? I actually hired you to do the opposite."

the only guys I can think of who didn't complain about what Miles made them do during his electric period are Herbie and Cosey

Even Herbie's initial reaction when Miles asked him to play a Rhodes was, "You want me to play that toy?!"

Jarrett's whining is especially ridiculous considering he made things like this:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b1/Restoration_Ruin.jpg

"You want me to play that toy?!"

I thought it was Jarrett that said this...? been awhile since I watched that doc

Michael Henderson understood exactly what was going on in those years, and loved every minute of it. In fact, Miles basically built the band around Henderson. He brought everybody in and basically said, "No more swinging - follow the kid." (Remember, Henderson was 19 when Miles stole him from Stevie Wonder.) So it's not entirely surprising that some of them might have resented the changes to one degree or another - spend all those years building up your chops, and then your boss says you need to stay on one chord for 45 minutes, locking in with some teenage funk player who's never even really listened to jazz, who had to have someone else explain to him what a big deal it was to be invited to join Miles Davis's band?

I thought it was Jarrett that said this...? been awhile since I watched that doc

Jarrett said, "I played electric piano, and organ, and I couldn't decide which one I hated more."

#32 - "Mademoiselle Mabry" (M. Davis) - from Filles de Kilimanjaro, 1968
146 points, 7 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/VKz2_19oTDE

Jarrett's whining is especially ridiculous considering he made things like this:

Townshend's autobio mentions that Jarrett got the idea for that record after hearing about Townshend's one-man-band demos (and asking Townshend about gear).

I can't believe how much running around I've had to do today, but I think I'm at the Results Desk for a couple of hours now.

lol @ Townshend anecdote! kinda funny that Jarrett even knew who he was, altho maybe Pete's enthusing about jazz provided some common ground or something

Michael Henderson understood exactly what was going on in those years, and loved every minute of it. In fact, Miles basically built the band around Henderson. He brought everybody in and basically said, "No more swinging - follow the kid." (Remember, Henderson was 19 when Miles stole him from Stevie Wonder.) So it's not entirely surprising that some of them might have resented the changes to one degree or another - spend all those years building up your chops, and then your boss says you need to stay on one chord for 45 minutes, locking in with some teenage funk player who's never even really listened to jazz, who had to have someone else explain to him what a big deal it was to be invited to join Miles Davis's band?

hahaha...I'm sure it wasn't funny to the players at the time, but I love this. Also, it just sold another copy of your book. Also, did you know Wiki has misidentified you as Ph1l "Freedom" a couple of times in various Miles entries?

Kilimanjaro is well-loved. Was one of the ones I felt I had to vote for but couldn't really pick a track. I eventually went for Tout de Suite.

#31 - "Solea" (Gil Evans) - from Sketches of Spain, 1960
151 points, 6 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/AHEzyqhDASw

The sexiest thing on Sketches.

#30 - "Frelon Brun" - from Filles de Kilimanjaro, 1968
151 points, 6 votes, one #1 vote
http://youtu.be/IMQIxw0xwgc

"It Never Entered My Mind" over the opening credits is the best reason to see Lenny.

This album just keeps on coming

I know, right?

But now for something a bit different.

#29 - "Prelude" (M. Davis) - from Agharta, 1975
153 points, 5 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/k4OSidxz28M

^^^ one ballot specified "Pt. 1" but was included with the others that didn't specify.

There's nothing really like Filles in his discography though, that precise mix of electric and acoustic. The funereal horn lines that are just a bit out of unison. Power to the People By Joe Henderson sometimes seems closer to this then any other Miles record.

#28 - "Agitation" (M. Davis) - from E.S.P., 1965
154 points, 5 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/16y5CTPUtU0

#27 - "Fall" (W. Shorter) - from Nefertiti, 1968
156 points, 5 votes, one #1 vote
http://youtu.be/7ZPgPayyBPI

I have newfound love for the studio "Agitation" (and for the studio recordings as a whole from that band), but for me it really comes to life live. My vote was for one of the Plugged Nickel performances.

xp

#26 - "Go Ahead John" (M. Davis) - from Big Fun, 1974
184 points, 7 votes, one #1 vote
The track broken into a 3-video playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL42530445C6C9F4D0

I love all the crazy panning on this song, but then hearing the version without the weird effects from the Jack Johnson set was pretty cool too.

#25 - "Bitches Brew" (M. Davis) - from Bitches Brew, 1970
185 points, 7 votes, 0 #1 votes
The track broken into a 3-video playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4E3AE2E8195A09BD

OK, more tomorrow. I keep getting interrupted by other stuff.

Alright, a few more of my picks are starting to show.

Looking over my ballot whilst listening to 'Bitches Brew', it occurred to me: I didn't vote for one song of this album. Hrmm.

I prefer slow rollouts for these. More opportunity to debate this stuff.

Bitches Brew is very much of a piece, so I can understand not picking individual songs -- tho at least two of those pieces (according to my ballot anyway) are among my very favorite things he did.

I never used to like Bitches Brew, but I do now. I'm listening to it now. I can't think of anything interesting to say about this stuff, except most of it is well cool.

Mark's already started the Fall poll so there's no need to rush the rest of these results -- I'll probably do #11-24 tomorrow and the top 10 on Friday.

I really wish I had gotten myself together to vote in this poll -- don't have the energy/focus for this kind of thing these days.

I can kind of see how a lot of musicians were ambivalent about what he was doing in the 70s, I mean a lot of those records ARE really clashy and clattery and confusing at times, and they really don't sound like anything else.

and they really don't sound like anything else.

Except things that came afterwords.

Which is reason enough on its own to be proud of them.

I love those Liebman liner notes linked above, about how mysterious the whole record-making process was to the people involved. Like they never knew if what they were playing was just some workout or sketch for something, or if it was going to turn out to be the title track of an album three years later. I can imagine how weird it would be to some of those guys for that stuff to end up canonized.

the only guys I can think of who didn't complain about what Miles made them do during his electric period are Herbie and Cosey

Did McLaughlin ever complain?

It's been great checking out more of these: Really liking Kilimanjaro and Big Fun.

how mysterious the whole record-making process was to the people involved

How were these records made? Because of the nature of the music, I can't imagine anything other than recording the band playing live. But that makes the live/studio split kind of redundant.

I think the mid-70's live albums kind of make it clear that whatever band Miles was directing was pretty much treated the same whether in the studio or in front of an audience.

The only difference between the two is the if there was an audience present, the tunes picked up speed.

Good morning, afternoon, or evening!

#24 - "Zimbabwe" (M. Davis) - from Pangaea, 1975
189 points, 6 votes, one #1 vote
The track as a 5-file playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD06A762041527EBD

My no.1

How were these records made? Because of the nature of the music, I can't imagine anything other than recording the band playing live. But that makes the live/studio split kind of redundant.

They were mostly playing live in the studio, but then there was a ton of editing happening after the fact led by Miles and Teo Macero, so that the end result often sounded very different from what was played. I think the most common thing they'd do was record very long jam sessions and edit them down to the most interesting parts.

In a silent way was the first album where this really started happening. If you track down the original unedited version of shhh/peaceful, you'll find that it sounds very different from the album. The piece as recorded was a fairly standard jazz number with a melodic section and then a droney vamp for soloing. The melodic section was completely excised leaving only the vamp parts.

#23 - "Freddie Freeloader" (M. Davis) - from Kind of Blue, 1959
198 points, 8 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/RPfFhfSuUZ4

That's interesting xp because I could imagine such an editing process were I recording myself - sit me down at a piano for an hour or two with a loop on the headphones, and you might be able to retrieve ninety seconds of useable material - but these guys, I somehow imagine every improvisation being immediately otm throughout.

Supposedly, Miles only liked/approved of 16 out of the 50+ minutes recorded for IASW, necessitating Macero's editing.

#22 - "Boplicity" ("Cleo Henry," aka Miles Davis & Gil Evans) - from The Birth of the Cool, 1949/1957
208 points, 7 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/HLzqjmoZZAc

#21 - "My Funny Valentine" (R. Rodgers) - from Cookin' With the Miles Davis Quintet, 1957
209 points, 8 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/HS2BUr83O-8

'My Funny Valentine' is so beautiful.

best version of this song is on Cookin' methinks

Did McLaughlin ever complain?

It's been great checking out more of these: Really liking Kilimanjaro and Big Fun.

― EveningStar (Sund4r), Thursday, March 28, 2013 12:59 AM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

McLaughlin has made some of the worst aesthetic choices of almost any Miles alum, imo. Mahavishnu and Shakti are pretty unassailable, but a lot of his solo stuff I find unlistenable.

btw everyone should listen to the material on The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions - a lot of it is better than the album!

Almost voted for one of the Plugged Nickel "Valentine"s; I love how he plays the opening so brusquely, and the silence between that and Herbie's opening (and always affecting) cluster is some overwhelming edge-of-your-seat shit.

McLaughlin has made some of the worst aesthetic choices of almost any Miles alum, imo.

I'd go along with this, but I think Chick Corea is the all-time world champion of post-Miles free-fall.

There was never any connection between Miles and Sci3nto1ogy, was there? I don't remember him mentioned in Going Clear, and I read the autobio in college, so logically I remember absolutely nothing from that. (Chick Corea made me wonder -- he was all over the place, apparently)

I think this is basically the single most offensive musical thing ever to have happened, e.g.:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om6HDUKBbzE

but I love mahavishnu so I forgive him

JOHN NOOOOOOOOO

There was never any connection between Miles and Sci3nto1ogy, was there?

No, and now that I think about it, I don't think he addresses religion (his or anyone else's) at all in the autobio.

#20 - "Pharoah's Dance" (Zawinul) - from Bitches Brew, 1970
218 points, 6 votes, one #1 vote)
http://youtu.be/E3GvznoiXSQ

xp - That's interesting, considering how spiritual everyone got there for a while. (Also a relief) As I said, I don't really remember what was/was not included in the autobio, or any factual information, but I do remember his tone and serious attitude.

#19 - "Flamenco Sketches" (M. Davis, B. Evans) - from Kind of Blue, 1959
225 points, 6 votes, three #1 votes
http://youtu.be/F3W_alUuFkA

My #1 -- one of the most beautiful recordings ever, imo. Every bit of striving for truth and beauty in human existence is right there in the first nine notes of Evans' solo.

I think this is basically the single most offensive musical thing ever to have happened, e.g.:
http://www.youtube.com/v/Om6HDUKBbzE&fs=1&hl=en

See, I can even appreciate his playing on something like this. What makes this more offensive than 90% of the music that was on network TV at that time?

Mahavishnu, Shakti, and Devotion are the ones I put on by choice, though.

"flamenco sketches" too low, would've been an appropriate no. 1

but i guess a lot of these would've been

I think this is basically the single most offensive musical thing ever to have happened, e.g.:

Worse than this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rI9fevwT2s

Voted for all of the last 5. "Pharoah's Dance" is a great album-opener, if an entire side can count as an album-opener.

I dunno what the story is behind these non-Miles clips, but I'm having a job not guffawing out loud here.

does anyone rep for the 'Four + More' album? it's got some crazy rhythm section playing, and it's from the minute that George Coleman was in the band before Shorter came in, but i feel like it was kind of made obsolete when the Plugged Nickel material got release. also the sound is super dry.

Four & More made my ballot, yes. I first heard it at a friend's house, and thought he had the turntable set to 45 by mistake. That material is really given a working over, like you can almost hear Miles thinking "I can't wait to get to the next phase, let's hurry up with this shit"

I've heard that material on the Seven Steps box. Always thought Coleman was underrated. And yeah, the rhythm section is brilliant on that one.

See, I can even appreciate his playing on something like this. What makes this more offensive than 90% of the music that was on network TV at that time?

There's just something about the way it takes a bunch of brilliant musical talent and compresses it into the stinkiest turd. Nothing he's playing fits the style, the sound of that guitar is awful, the arrangement is painfully busy, it doesn't swing at all, etc.

Anyway I was mainly talking about stuff like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd5WWt_R6CA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4eEZ76bnQw

The square peg/round hole aspect of JM with the Doc Severinson/Tonight Show band definitely offends me. If they'd worked out a better arrangement, I could see it working, but Severinson's band was always as subtle as a cheese grater to the face.

#18 - "Seven Steps to Heaven" (Victor Feldman, M. Davis) - from Seven Steps to Heaven, 1963
225 points, 8 votes, 0 #1 votes)
http://youtu.be/J53kGW8vhWs

I guess McLaughlin's soloing was/is equally unsubtle. I just thing the juxtaposition of JM and a big band didn't work at all.

never really checked out JM after mahavishnu

i am not offended at all by JM sitting in with the Tonight Show band and shredding on Cherokee.

it was the 'doing songs with The Roots on Fallon' of its day

#17 - "'Round Midnight" (T. Monk, C. Williams) - from 'Round About Midnight, 1957
254 points, 8 votes, one #1 vote
http://youtu.be/td3SE3zEVP0

awesome

my #1 I think

TOO LOW. Had that pegged for the top 5.

Yeah, 'Seven Steps' and 'Round Midnight' were both in my top ten.

#16 - "Blue in Green" (M. Davis, B. Evans) - from Kind of Blue, 1959
261 points, 9 votes, one #1 vote
http://youtu.be/PoPL7BExSQU

Reminder, here's the Spotify playlist of the tracks as they roll out --

http://open.spotify.com/user/wmcrump/playlist/7rWU0r3OfUoutcSL0eNb9f

That was my number one.

#15 - "Rated X" (M. Davis) - from Get Up With It, 1974
264 points, 8 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/mrjFtbGKqFk

I love Rated X -- that absolutely RIDICULOUS keyboard that sounds like someone just let their toddler sit on it for a while while the band cut in and out

I want to play "Rated X" and "Concierto de Aranjuez" back-to-back for someone who's never heard any Miles just for the challenge of explaining how yes, these are by the same artist.

haha, that would blow any mind.

#14 - "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down" (M. Davis) - from Bitches Brew, 1970
268 points, 9 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/9hU6G6hmt2k

#13 - "Nefertiti" (W. Shorter) - from Nefertiti, 1968
272 points, 10 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/NcRg-duiWgQ

Nefertiti is best known for the unusual title track, on which the horn section repeats the melody numerous times without individual solos while the rhythm section improvises underneath, reversing the traditional role of a rhythm section.[6]

Love "Nefertiti," probably my favorite studio track from that band (although I may have put "Circle in the Round" higher on my ballot).

I was just listening to some of the recordings with George Coleman, and I really don't get Tony Williams' antipathy towards him ("Take George with you!"). He's not the squaresville straight-ahead player he was made out to be (by Williams) in the autobio. And I generally prefer his sound to Wayne's. But without Wayne, the band's book would've been a fuck of a lot thinner.

"Runs the Voodoo Down" is not one of my faves on Bitches Brew. Not sure why, it's just never really gelled for me.

#12 - "On the Corner/New York Girl/Thinkin' of One Thing and Doin' Another/Vote for Miles" (M. Davis) - from On the Corner, 1972
283 points, 10 votes, one #1 vote
http://youtu.be/alA8sjIejRk

Includes individual votes for On the Corner (26 pts), New York Girl (29 pts) and Vote for Miles (27 pts); 7 ballots specified the full four-title suite.

isn't the story with Nefertiti that they cut a take with killer solos, which was lost due to some technical reason? then rather than try to recapture or match what they just played, they decided to just repeat the head over and over. or is that apocryphal?

xp

There's almost 'lost films' levels of pathos to that

I felt slightly guilty voting for the four-in-ones, but it's just such a good deal.

i can't remember where i originally heard that, but iwanttobelieve.jpg

ok, last one for today, then Top 10 tomorrow...

flamenco sketches has an interesting history -- iirc on the sessions for Everybody Digs Bill Evans, Bill recorded "Some Other Time."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV53dWisQBw
He came up with this nice little two-chord vamp for it. He was fucking around with the vamp, and Orrin Keepnews liked the sound and wanted to just record that. What resulted was "Peace Piece" which made it onto the album while Some Other Time did not. Miles then had Bill reprise his Peace Piece vamp for Flamenco Sketches, and the chords of Flamenco Sketches sort of match up to parts of Some Other Time (intentionally or not IDK)

#11 - "Footprints" (W. Shorter) - from Miles Smiles, 1967
304 points, 10 votes, two #1 votes
http://youtu.be/62p-CXrYmf4

And I don't normally do this, but re: Footprints -- TOO LOW!

^it was my #1

Speaking of lost-films-level tragedy...how unfortunate is it that there's no alternate takes or anything of the "Miles Smiles" stuff?

it looks like there are some! but not much.

http://www.discogs.com/Miles-Davis-Miles-Davis-Quintet-1965-68/release/1410360

The word 'vamp' getting used a lot itt. Is that because 'deep cuts' is kinda redundant in a Miles poll?

no a vamp is a thing, it's a kind of thing

it's a short section that repeats, like a loop, and you can play other things over it or not.

Ah right, I was thinking vamp as in cutting loose at the end and all ad libbing, like the Clash would do. Which is more or less the opposite of this kind of vamp iiuc.

My #1 ("Flamenco Sketches") -- one of the most beautiful recordings ever, imo. Every bit of striving for truth and beauty in human existence is right there in the first nine notes of Evans' solo.

― The Complete Afterbirth of the Cool (WilliamC), Thursday, March 28, 2013 12:42 PM

Yes, yes, and yes again. I love Evans' "Some Other Time" almost as much.

Ah right, I was thinking vamp as in cutting loose at the end and all ad libbing, like the Clash would do. Which is more or less the opposite of this kind of vamp iiuc.

― Ismael Klata, Thursday, 28 March 2013 21:42 (1 hour ago) Permalink

I think that's because bands often play a vamp at the end of a song (especially live) and then cut loose and ad lib over it. But the vamp itself is just the short repeating harmonic/rhythmic idea.

'My Funny Valentine' is so beautiful.

btw everyone should listen to the material on The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions - a lot of it is better than the album!

*#20 - "Pharoah's Dance" (Zawinul) - from Bitches Brew, 1970
218 points, 6 votes, one #1 vote)
http://youtu.be/E3GvznoiXSQ*

There's a bit well into it where the band percolates for about two minutes and when Miles comes in he plays the same child-like phrase about ten times -- each time with a different phrasing and contour.

I love it.

isn't the story with Nefertiti that they cut a take with killer solos, which was lost due to some technical reason? then rather than try to recapture or match what they just played, they decided to just repeat the head over and over. or is that apocryphal?

xp

For instance, there are all sorts of stories about how Miles and Shorter (particularly the latter) by '67 felt like they could literally play anything and Hancock (supported by Carter and Williams) would be able to make it "work" harmonically. In a lot of ways, that ability to make "out" "in" is the reason jazz players hold Herbie in such high esteem.

To some extent, having the rhythm section provide the variation and improvisation on "Nefertiti" is a logical next step in that evolution.

Well said, NTI. What's endlessly fascinating on the Plugged Nickel set isn't just when Hancock chooses to lay out, but how he exploits the shit out of those silences; he'll come in with the most perfect chord or run imaginable to break -- or sometimes increase -- the tension.

Recap --

11.	Footprints	304	10	2
12.	On The Corner/New York Girl/Thinkin' of One Thing and Doin' Another/Vote for Miles	283	10	1
13.	Nefertiti	272	10	0
14.	Miles Runs the Voodoo Down	268	9	0
15.	Rated X	264	8	0
16.	Blue In Green	261	9	1
17.	Round Midnight	254	8	1
18.	Seven Steps to Heaven	225	8	0
19.	Flamenco Sketches	225	6	3 
20.	Pharoah's Dance	218	6	1
21.	My Funny Valentine	209	8	0
22.	Boplicity	208	7	0
23.	Freddie Freeloader	198	8	0
24.	Zimbabwe	189	6	1
25.	Bitches Brew	185	7	0
26.	Go Ahead John	184	7	1
27.	Fall	156	5	1
28.	Agitation	154	5	0
29.	Prelude	153	5	0
30.	Frelon Brun	151	6	1
31.	Solea	151	6	0
32.	Mademoiselle Mabry	146	7	0
33.	Yesternow	142	6	0
34.	Filles de Kilimanjaro	140	7	0
35.	It Never Entered My Mind	139	4	0
36.	Someday My Prince Will Come	138	6	0
37.	Tout de Suite	135	5	0
38.	Générique	127	5	0
39.	E.S.P.	114	5	0
40.	Stuff	112	6	0 
41.	Prayer (Oh Doctor Jesus)	112	4	0

It's hard to think of 18 and 19 as anything but a dead heat, 225/6/3 vs 225/8/0, but # of votes is always my first tiebreaker over number of #1s. This next one is even closer. So, here's the top 10!

#10 - "Milestones" (M. Davis) - from Milestones, 1958
304 points, 12 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/BeZomqLM7BQ

That was my #2. I only know it through a Miles/Coltrane best-of. The words that come to mind when I listen to the opening are "light touch."

I cannot believe I forgot to put "Milestones" on my ballot.

Yeah, it's definitely on any Miles' Greatest Hits-type record.

Interesting that it's on a Coltrane comp as well. As u listen to it now, I'd never noticed how in a lot of ways it's more of a Coltrane showcase than a Miles one.

#9 - "Spanish Key" (M. Davis) - from Bitches Brew, 1970
316 points, 12 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/ibanLlREjTk

McLaughlin's playing is so great on this...reminds me of the Sonny Sharrock quote, "I consider myself a saxophonist with a very fucked-up axe."

#8 - "Concierto de Aranjuez (Adagio)" (Joaquín Rodrigo) - from Sketches of Spain, 1960
323 points, 12 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/0kSmLTmS1xI

lovely

The first time "Spanish Key" hits that arrival point (signaled by Zawinul IIRC) is the jazz equivalent of James Brown taking it to the bridge in "Sex Machine."

If I had voted for something on Bitches Brew, it probably would have been 'Spanish Key.'

I believe Sketches of Spain was the first thing I bought by Miles. You could do a lot worse than have that intro to "Concierto de Aranjuez" be your introduction to the guy.

spanish key now will (and should) always be associated with one of the greatest videos ever:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CXfEiUXuJKc#t=69s

*#23 - "Freddie Freeloader" (M. Davis) - from Kind of Blue, 1959
198 points, 8 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/RPfFhfSuUZ4*

The first time "Spanish Key" hits that arrival point (signaled by Zawinul IIRC) is the jazz equivalent of James Brown taking it to the bridge in "Sex Machine."

OTM. One of my favorite moments in a Miles composition (though my vote was for the live version on It's About That Time, second show).

#7 - "Black Satin" (M. Davis) - from On the Corner, 1972
395 points, 14 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/dbbCZaI313A

sleigh bells + handclaps + whistling
this is just so messed up, in the very best ways

Wow, surprised to that this high.

I mean, I voted for it, but still, not THAT high. . .

Agreed -- I was feeling little grumpy about OTC when I filled out my ballot, but if anything was going to make it would've been this one. Still, this is really, really high.

#6 - "He Loved Him Madly" (M. Davis) - from Get Up With It, 1974
447 points, 13 votes, one #1 vote
The song in a 4-video playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5A5BBEC4620E23F4

Wow

I love that there are a few surprises in the top 10!

That was my number one. I could listen to "He loved him madly" on a loop all day and never get bored with it.

Get Up With It was one of my many Miles blind spots going into the poll. Didn't have time to absorb it sufficiently to feel like I could vote for anything on it, but I already regret not voting for "HLHM." That album and Big Fun are the two I most look forward to getting to know.

I was bored silly by HLHM the first time I heard it, wondering when they were gonna get to the fireworks factory. Now it's one of my favorites.

#5 - "All Blues" (M. Davis) - from Kind of Blue, 1959
505 points, 16 votes, 0 #1 votes
http://youtu.be/JIfdYs8WErM

He Loved Him Madly is very beautiful. What's the title about?

It's Miles' tribute to Duke Ellington, who had died about a month earlier. Duke ended his concerts by telling the audience "We love you madly."

i think it's a reference to the duke ellington (who had died around the time of the release of Get Up With It)song "Love You Madly", right?

sorry, xpost

"All Blues" was my #2. My favorite on KoB by a fair distance (tho I'm not surprised "So What" will top it in the poll). I love the simmer of it.

Evans provides great support in "All Blues," but leaves the inventive leaping-over-a-tall-building to the horns, especially Coltrane.

Well, the top 4 seem pretty obvious at this point -- just a question of order.

#4 - "Right Off" (M. Davis) - from A Tribute to Jack Johnson, 1971
529 points, 15 votes, one #1 vote
http://youtu.be/D_w3-Bx9rnI

Tipsy, was this one of your 4?

Despite its pedigree, "He Loved Him Madly" has always left me a little cold. Which makes me think...

Who are the best critical voices of Miles' electric music? I don't mean Stanley Crouch, etc., but someone who intelligently criticizes it? At this point, this period has been so critically resurrected. And not to disrespect the good work folks like Phil and Paul Tingen have done bringing to light aspects of the era that went under appreciated for so long, but it's difficult to actually find much quality writing that judges it poorly using contemporary criteria.

The only ones who come to mind are Ian MacDonald, who wrote a good piece on 70s reissues in Uncut before shuffling from this mortal coil -- he was particularly hard on Macero.

Also, the Jack Chambers bio(s) (which I read in college when these records were impossible to find) has its place -- tho there's a bit of the "this music insults the intellect of the people" criticisms that followed Miles 70s output around in the press until the 90s. The funny thing is that the first volume, which covers the early years, talks glowingly about his electric music in the context of the 60s music. But when he actually writes about the electric years in the second volume, he is often pretty unforgiving.

Still, Chambers made some decent points -- that the length of some of these cuts is a problem (Big Fun in particular -- but also in places on Bitches Brew), that the brutalist approach to editing doesn't always serve the music very well, and so on.

Any others come to mind?

Recalling now that when I saw Spiritualized on the Pure Phase tour, they played the entirety of He Loved Him Madly over the PA before taking the stage. Seemed appropriate.

Except Jason Spaceman thought it was about him.

Any others come to mind?

Didn't Lester Bangs have a back-and-forth with himself about the merits of On The Corner? It's been years since I read those pieces, so I might be misremembering.

Any others come to mind?

I'm drawing a blank, but I'm way, way out of the critical loop.

Tipsy, was this one of your 4?

Yup. Given the placement in the albums poll, I figured.

#3 - "So What" (M. Davis) - from Kind of Blue, 1959
543 points, 18 votes, two #1 votes
http://youtu.be/DEC8nqT6Rrk

Now THAT is shocking.

That's why I love these polls.

Re. "Right Off," not enough love, in the midst of the jazz v rock debate, for how unbelievably powerful the opening to this is. IIRC, it's an edit, but holy god is it a good one if so. Whether Cobham is swinging or not, he's absolutely pounding the shit out of the skins in this -- and McLaughlin, lets just say, isn't duetting with Doc Severinsen. Combined with Henderson missing the key change and Miles (inverting the Herbie "make it work" approach I mentioned upthread) entering in dramatic fashion, "Right Off" is pretty potent stuff.

I didn't vote for it. Nice riff, but he has better tunes imo.

'Right Off' does kick butt and take names, for sure. Have you heard the box set, NTI?

RE: 'So What'
I purposely put it out of my top ten because I thought it would be a sure thing at number one.

"So What" is like the "Yesterday" of jazz -- the one tune that everyone knows regardless of whether they know or even care for the genre (or music for that matter). Overplayed or not, it's pretty much perfect.

I have the JJ box -- the only one, I think, that actually delivers on the promise of being the *complete* sessions. It's rougher sledding as a result, but more useful in an academic sense. Which at the end of the day, these boxes are.

So basically this will be the first poll where the album and track winners are identical.

Just wondering, because, using the stuff on that box set, it would be possible (and fun, depending on how nerdy one is) to try and recreate 'Right Off' the way it appeared on the proper album.

Sorry that the rollout hasn't included more commentary from me -- thank you all for picking up the slack, and thank you most of all for voting!

So without further ado, the top 2 presented together.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/49/Miles-davis-in-a-silent-way.jpg

#2 - "In a Silent Way/It's About That Time" (J. Zawinul/M. Davis) - from In a Silent Way, 1969
576 points, 16 votes, two #1 votes
http://youtu.be/DCnUpl6B46M

------------------

#1 - "Shhh/Peaceful" (M. Davis) - from In a Silent Way, 1969
757 points, 20 votes, three #1 votes
http://youtu.be/gT1e2_uTwmI

wow so this, the albums poll and the jazz poll makes it pretty damn clear: ilx REALLY REALLY loves in a silent way. i really really love it too.

Two polls in a row (Madonna and Miles) where my #1 was the poll #1 one. I am the consensus!

lol wow

hey can anyone recommend a good book on the second quintet? analysis + history/anecdotes

The #1 votes for tracks were really spread out, compared to the album poll's #1 votes. Even combining the 2 sides of IASW, its five was half the number IASW got in Albums. "Shhh/Peaceful" and "Flamenco Sketches" tied with three #1s each.

Now that's consensus. Thanks William; sorry I couldn't add so much to the thread, but I really don't have much to say about these records. I mean I like them, but y'know.

hey can anyone recommend a good book on the second quintet? analysis + history/anecdotes

Honestly, the liner notes in the box set.

RE: the results
I can't say I'm all that surprised —In A Silent Way has long been my personal favorite— but I guess I just expected more pre-65 stuff overall.

Here's my ballot:
1. Blue in Green
2. In A Silent Way
3. Fran Dance
4. 'Round Midnight
5. Boplicity
6. Seven Steps to Heaven
7. If I Were A Bell
8. The Ghetto Walk
9. Nefertiti
10. Miles Ahead
11. So What
12. Shh/Peaceful
13. Stablemates
14. Concierto de Aranjuez (Adagio)
15. Agitation
16. Thisness
17. He Loved Him Madly
18. Walkin'
19. The Sorcerer
20. Mademoiselle Mabry
21. Gondwana
22. My Funny Valentine
23. Milestones
24. Back Satin
25. Generique
26. Footprints
27. Solar
28. Half Nelson
29. Dig
30. Blue Haze

Thanks, Will. This was a very fun poll to watch unfold.

Thanks for a great poll, William. Really enjoyed it.

Regarding editing, the wiki page on "Live-Evil" gives a listing of every edit point - and source - for the long live pieces which is interesting.

I'm especially interested to see how many '80s tracks turned up on people's lists. Here's mine:

1. On the Corner/New York Girl/Thinkin’ One Thing and Doin’ Another/Vote for Miles

2. He Loved Him Madly

3. So What

4. Prelude (from Agharta)

5. Jean Pierre (long version from We Want Miles)

6. Right Off

7. Rated X

8. Pharaoh’s Dance

9. Nefertiti

10. Tutu

11. Agitation

12. Go Ahead John

13. Frelon Brun

14. Dr. Jackle

15. Concierto de Aranjuez

16. Human Nature

17. Milestones

18. Two Bass Hit

19. Honky Tonk

20. Basin Street Blues

21. Seven Steps to Heaven

22. Shhh/Peaceful

23. Footprints

24. Stuff

25. Joshua

26. Teo

27. Some Day My Prince Will Come

28. Fat Time

29. That’s Right

30. Hannibal

Great poll, WmC. Most challenging one I've done, and learned a lot.

That's a lot of 80's stuff you put in there. I had one song up for consideration from the 80's: 'Mr. Pastorious.' Obviously didn't make my list in the end though.

Still a good one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oaqwh_Y6VXc

Not too surprised that my #1 didn't place, I guess.

1. Yesterdays (Miles Davis Volume 1)
2. Rated X
3. Shhh/Peaceful
4. Spanish Key (Live at the Fillmore East, March 7, 1970: It's About That Time, second show)
5. Concerto de Aranjuez
6. 'Round Midnight ('Round About Midnight)
7. Right Off
8. Footprints (Paris '67)
9. Bess, You Is My Woman Now
10. Boplicity
11. On the Corner/New York Girl/Thinkin' One Thing and Doin' Another/Vote for Miles
12. Solea
13. Agitation (Plugged Nickel, 12/23/65)
14. When I Fall In Love (Steamin')
15. Moja
16. Generique
17. Calypso Frelimo
18. Moon Dreams
19. Gone
20. Bitches Brew
21. He Loved Him Madly
22. Julien Dans L'Ascenseur
23. Prelude (Agharta)
24. Nefertiti
25. Milestones
26. Circle in the Round
27. Blue in Green
28. No Blues (Plugged Nickel, 12/22/65)
29. Mademoiselle Mabry
30. So What

Great poll, WilliamC! Thanks for doing this!

balls:

http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/CulturalStudies/AfricanAmericanStudies/~~/dmlldz11c2EmY2k9OTc4MDE5NTM5Mzg0Mg==

It's been a great poll for opening my ears to some pre-Columbia stuff. I can't say it did the same for 1981 and after, but I have issues with the slick 80s production on a lot of it.

hey can anyone recommend a good book on the second quintet? analysis + history/anecdotes

this looks heavy on the musicological analysis, hence it has been sitting unopened on my shelf for a while

xpost

Full results! Albums on one sheet, tracks on the other.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmhW_PgsyKKodFJMbzI2aFBSUlFySUhqaGlLRkZZVEE&usp=sharing

On the tracks page, where there were point ties, sometimes I had to override the spreadsheet's placement order (alphabetical by song title) with the number of votes, which was the first tiebreaker. I didn't bother trying to change the spreadsheet though.

great poll william I enjoyed it lots. Thank you!

1. Zimbabwe
2. Funky Tonk
3. He Loved Him Madly
4. Fat Time
5. Round Midnight
6. Iris
7. On Green Dolphin Street
8. Fall
9. Jean Pierre/You're Under Arrest/Then There Were None
10. Sivad

11. Blues For Pablo
12. Miles Runs The Voodoo Down
13. Tout de Suite
14. Riot
15. On The Corner/New York Girl/Thinkin' of One Thing and Doin' Another/Vote for Miles
16. Summertime
17. Milestones
18. Human Nature
19. Great Expectations
20. Red China Blues

21. MDI/Something's On Your Mind/MDZ
22. Soaking
23. Dear Old Stockholm
24. Mood
25. Shhh/Peaceful
26. Concierto de Aranjuez

Just the 26 because I had to rush mine out in the end. I feel defeated by the whole exercise, really - if I'd had a year then maybe I'd've done a better job. But it was great fun anyway, I second the 'learning a lot' thing.

i think 'Tutu' (from Live Around the World) was the only '80s track on mine

Good work WilliamC, really enjoyed this poll - I had no idea what the consensus tracks would be beyond a handful of obvious ones so this has been an eye-opener.

My ballot:

TRACKS
1. Gone, Gone, Gone
In a Silent Way
All Blues
Bitches Brew
Prayer (Oh Doctor Jesus)
John McLaughlin
Shhh/Peaceful
My Funny Valentine
Maiysha
Concierto de Aranjuez (Adagio)
Milestones
He Loved Him Madly
So What
Great Expectations
Black Satin
Eighty-One
Little Church
The Pan Piper
‘Round Midnight
Spanish Key
Bags’ Groove
Right Off
E.S.P.
On the Corner/New York Girl/Thinkin’ of One Thing and Doin’ Another/Vote for Miles
Yaphet
Dear Old Stockholm
Freddie Freeloader
Fall
Ascent
Two Bass Hit

ALBUMS
1. In a Silent Way
Porgy and Bess
Bitches Brew
Sketches of Spain
On the Corner
Kind of Blue
Agharta
Tribute to Jack Johnson
Get Up With It
E.S.P.
Milestones
'Round About Midnight
Bags Groove
Steamin' With the Miles Davis Quintet
My Funny Valentine
Miles Smiles
Big Fun
Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants
Cookin' With the Miles Davis Quintet
Relaxin' With the Miles Davis Quintet

Loved this WC -- this must be the first poll I've voted in where the top two weren't even on my ballot!

1. Pharaohs Dance
2. Right Off
3. Nefertiti
4. Milestones
5. Fall
6. Rated X
7. Sivad
8. My Funny Valentine
9. Concerto de Aranjuez
10. Spanish Key
11. So What
12. Freddie the Freeloader
13. All Blues
14. Zimbabwe
15. Miles Ahead
16. Summertime
17. My Man's Gone Now
18. Gondwana
19. Ife
20. Someday My Prince Will Come

Albums
1. Bitches Brew
2. Kind of Blue
3. Sketches of Spain
4. Pangaea
5. In a Silent Way

since voting i've been mostly only in the mood for Miles when i'm at home listening; and also just scored a handful i'd never thought to check out before: Pangaea, MFV, Four + more, oh and that KILLER Montreux box stuff. thx for all the work William!

The size of the discography made this tougher for everybody -- and I'd say from the somewhat lower turnout that it did chase off some potential voters -- so I'm glad y'all thought it turned out ok. Thanks again to everyone who voted/listened/commented! I just updated the Spotify playlist with the top 2.

1. Shh/Peaceful
2. All Blues
3. Bags' Groove
4. Moja
5. Concierto de Aranjuez
6. Gone
7. Spanish Key
8. On the Corner/New York Girl/Thinkin' One Thing and Doin' Another/Vote for Miles
9. Airegin
10. So What
11. In a Silent Way/It's About That Time
12. Right Off
13. Pharaoh's Dance
14. Black Satin
15. Boplicity
16. Tabu
17. Freddie Freeloader
18. Toute de Suite
19. Wili
20. Bitches Brew
21. Solea
22. Flamenco Sketches
23. Yesternow
24. Springsville
25. Generique
26. Filles de Kilimanjaro
27. My Funny Valentine
28. Summertime
29. Saeta
30. Blues by Five

Oops, forgot to bold "Springsville" in there, too. And "Wili," too. Most surprised at "Bags' Groove" not placing, but the one I'd really love to direct more love to is "Gone" -- the only original on Porgy and Bess, and straight classic.

"Gone" love seconded. The outtake sequence on the box is fascinating for how Gil Evans manages to consistently trip up these insanely accomplished musicians; even on the master, Philly Joe and the bass clarinetist still fuck up one of the sequences.

So What
Rightoff
In a Silent Way/It’s About That Time
Boplicity
Shhh/Peaceful
All Blues
Concierto di Aranjuez
Yesternow
Gondwana
Prayer (Oh Doctor Jesus)
Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
Vote for Miles
Prelude
Black Satin
Helen Butte

I need to shout out what is probably my favorite track that has not even been mentioned in this thread so far:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWBWF2mxNBI

you have to let it run for a while, it's a builder

1. Flamenco Sketches
2. Milestones
3. It Never Entered My Mind
4. Blue in Green
5. I Want to Stay Here
6. So What
7. Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
8. In a Silent Way
9. Right Off
10. Shhh/Peaceful

Followed this to learn, and I got some direction on what to look for, so thanks.

I need to shout out what is probably my favorite track that has not even been mentioned in this thread so far:

It was actually a toss-up for me between this and "Mademoiselle Mabry" on my ballot. Definitely an underrated track.

TRACKS
1. Shhh/Peaceful - In a Silent Way
2. Bitches Brew - Bitches Brew
3. Pharaoh’s Dance - Bitches Brew
4. Spanish Key - Bitches Brew
5. Miles Runs the Voodoo Down - Bitches Brew
6. Sanctuary - Bitches Brew
7. So What - Kind of Blue
8. All Blues - Kind of Blue
9. He Loved Him Madly - Get Up With It
10. Footprints - Miles Smiles
11. Rated X - Get Up With It
12. Blue in Green - Kind of Blue
13. Boplicity - Birth of the Cool
14. Orbits - Miles Smiles
15. Circle - Miles Smiles
16. Freedom Jazz Dance - Miles Smiles
17. Dolores - Miles Smiles
18. E.S.P. - E.S.P.
19. Agitation - E.S.P.
20. Iris - E.S.P.
21. Black Satin - On the Corner
22. Stuff - Miles in the Sky
23. Black Comedy - Miles in the Sky
24. Tout de Suite - Filles de Kilimanjaro
25. Petits Machins - Filles de Kilimanjaro
26. Filles de Kilimanjaro - Filles de Kilimanjaro
27. Solea - Sketches of Spain
28. Calypso Frelimo - Get Up With It
29. Maiysha - Get Up With It
30. The Sorcerer - Sorcerer

William will agree you need to watch this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxSFSdcGPLM

1. Go Ahead John
2. Shhhpeaceful
3. Great Expectations
4. Freddy Freeloader
5. Lonely Fire
6. It's About That Time
7. All Blues
8. Tout De Suite
9. Solea
10. Will O' The Wisp
11. The Little Blue Frog
12. The Pan Piper
13. Petits Machins
14. Black Satin
15. One And One
16. Miles Runs The Voodoo Down
17. Blue In Green
18. All Blues
19. Filles De Kilimanjaro
20. Spanish Key
21. Pinocchio
22. Country Son
23. Paraphernalia
24. Honky Tonk
25. Frelon Brun
26. Eighty-One
27. Footprints
28. Mood
29. Dual Mr. Anthony Tillmon Williams Process
30. Splash

Really enjoyed this poll, thanks for the effort William. Only just getting acquainted with Porgy and Bess and Ascenseur pour l'échafaud. It is such a huge, multifaceted beast is the Miles oeuvre. I don't know how he fitted it into one lifetime.

My ballot --

TRACKS

#1
Flamenco Sketches
He Loved Him Madly
In A Silent Way/It's About That Time
Black Satin
Footprints
On the Corner/New York Girl/Thinkin' of One Thing and Doin' Another/Vote for Miles
Shhh/Peaceful
Nuit Sur les Champs-Élysées (take 4)
Circle in the Round
Generique
Sanctuary
Fall
Blue in Green
Pharoah's Dance
Seven Steps to Heaven
So What
Gone
Saeta
Rated X
Concierto de Aranjuez
Prayer (Oh Doctor Jesus)
Bitches Brew
Spanish Key
Go Ahead John
Masqualero
Eighty-One
All Blues
Summertime
Blues for Pablo
Round Midnight - #30

ALBUMS

1. In A Silent Way
2. On the Corner
3. Kind of Blue
4. Ascenseur Pour l'Echafaud
5. Miles Smiles
6. Sketches of Spain
7. Dark Magus
8. Bitches Brew
9. Get Up With It
10. Seven Steps to Heaven
11. Porgy and Bess
12. Birth of the Cool
13. Filles de Kilimanjaro
14. Miles in the Sky
15. Nefertiti
16. The Complete Concert 1964
17. Miles in Tokyo
18. E.S.P.
19. Milestones
20. Miles Ahead

SIDEMEN

Tony Williams
Bill Evans
John McLaughlin
Dave Holland
John Coltrane

William will agree you need to watch this


These videos make me realize that as intense as the music from those live records is during the 70s, in some ways you still don't quite understand how radical they were until you see the performances -- the living room-like setup, guys in their 20s w the enormous Afros and silk shirts, Mtume playing thumb pianos and the like. For a Miles Davis band, who was playing to stuffed shirt white audiences only a few years earlier, it's pretty incredible.

Herbie on 'Nefertiti', confirming the 'lost first take' story (although there still weren't solos on that version):

http://www.scribd.com/doc/122187618/Herbie-Hancock-The-Nefertiti-Interview

HH: By the way, that was me, who said to Miles “let’s play the melody only.” That was my suggestion. I thought that the rhythm sections could give colors from underneath. Miles said “Wayne, let’s do the melody,” and they did. We succeeded. You can hear how the rhythm section develops. By the way, you know that the first take of “Nefertiti,” wasn’t actually recorded on the original album? We were all really trying to find the real meaning of the song, and no one pressed the “record button”. In take 2 we tried to reproduce the sound of take 1. The first take was the real original, but we didn’t record it. So you’re actually listening to take2 on the album.
--Oh, really?
HH: Yes. That’s right. When we finished the original “Nefertiti” album, Miles said to Teo Macero, “Teo, from now on, press the “record button,” whenever we grab our instruments; whenever you hear anything!!! Never mind about take 2,3,or 4, CBS record L35 or any of that kind of shit man!!! Get the music on the tape!!!” So after that, the music was always recorded. He never forgot to push the “record button”again, (laughs). Anyway, the first version was a masterpiece. Who listened to it? Only people inthe studio at that time. They never forgot that. Ask Ron Carter. He can tell you about the“Nefertiti,” which was not recorded. That was more than 20 years ago.

Ohhhh, man.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Teo_Macero.jpg

=

http://0.tqn.com/d/animatedtv/1/0/Y/K/familyGuy_Meg_single1_72.jpg

Rather,
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Teo_Macero.jpg

=

http://0.tqn.com/d/animatedtv/1/0/Y/K/familyGuy_Meg_single1_72.jpg

No way!

Way.

Miles Davis Way.

Volume 3 of the Bootleg Series coming out in March.

Looks to be the complete/unedited At Fillmore shows.

Sweet, I was just jamming Vol 2 the other day, there will never be enough live Miles boots!

yeesh i still need to get vol 2. this should be good, though "a substantial contribution from Carlos Santana" in the liners ehhh.

"a substantial contribution from Carlos Santana" = a picture of Santana wearing a tie-dyed Miles t-shirt

honestly i'd rather they throw it over to keith jarrett so he can explain why all of this music is terrible. at least that would be kind of entertaining.

I wonder if Jarrett winces and writhes around when he's typing.

lol probably

but seriously, whatever jarrett thinks, him and corea dueling during this period is some seriously killer stuff.

Totally. I love how Miles got such amazing performances out of musicians by forcing them to do what they didn't want to do. I don't think Jarrett touched an electric instrument (or Corea an Echoplex) after his stint with Miles.

Paul Tingen chimes in on the upcoming release: http://miles-beyond.com/news.htm

Also, huh:

There's a nice, impressionistic essay by Michael Cuscuna, who was at one of the concerts, and the pre-release version also contains an interview with Santana. Reportedly Santana was unhappy with the album's cover, which he said had nothing to do with Miles, and he withdrew his cooperation and his section of the liner notes will be omitted from the release when it sees the light of day on March 25th. These are the rumours I've heard, let's see what the reality is.

Weird song ID request, but just wondering if anyone knows what Miles song was used in the clip from his entry in Microsoft Encarta circa-1994.

can't help you, but i am smiling b/c i spend shit loads of time as a 10-14 year-old exploring music clips and articles via this mid-1900s CD-ROM from Billboard/All Music Guide. got into tons of jazz as a kid b/c of this

"b/c i SPENT spend shit loads of time as a 10-14 year-old"

to clarify i am no longer a pre-adolescent

Was reading PDF's ranking of Miles' studio albums this morning and had a desire to listen to You're Under Arrest -- and WTF?? -- it seems to be the sole album of his not on Spotify.

Miles Davis At Newport 1955-1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4

looks good... though i'm not actually that crazy about the newport 58 set.
is that 75 set the last time he played in the 70s?

It's his last live recording of the 70s, but supposedly the last performance was a few months later.

And yeah, there's a bit too much already-released stuff here. I would've rather they didn't include the 1969 set and instead included the full 1975 set.

OK, I could give a shit about Disc 1, but Discs 2 and 4 look fantastic, and Disc 3 should be pretty awesome, too (I already have Bitches Brew Live, so I already have the 1969 material, but the '73 and '75 stuff will be cool).

I was hoping Vol. 4 would be four discs from the 1971 band heard on Disc 4. Oh, well...

Ha, I was just listening to Vol.3 the other and thinking we were about due for Vol.4, yeah I feel sort of mixed about the selection (was also really hoping for like 4 discs of unreleased 70s stuff) but I'll definitely get it...yeah disc 2 and 4 look like they could be awesome.

Does it still sometimes feel like Sony/Columbia doesn't know what to do with the 71-75 recordings? Like even here it's almost like they are luring people in with mostly released stuff from 55.

yeah just seems like an all 75 box is important... maybe other than agharta/pangaea and this july recording, columbia doesn't actually have that much in the vaults?

just discovered this by the way
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrH8Fremjjo

Does it still sometimes feel like Sony/Columbia doesn't know what to do with the 71-75 recordings?

It really does. I mean, even when they remastered and reissued a bunch of the 70s albums in double-digipaks in the early '90s (At Fillmore, Black Beauty, In Concert: Live at Philharmonic Hall and Dark Magus), they left the crappy versions of Agharta and Pangaea on the market.

there's a tape of miles in 75 at the bottom line (which I think i learned about from yr book?) that smokes. audience recording though...

I was always a little lukewarm on Agharta and Pangaea until I hunted down vinyl copies and was blown away, the fact that Sony/Columbia hasn't remastered/reissued those is baffling.

This Newport box feels like a way of getting certain shows out of the way that wouldn't have fit on their respective/presumptive boxes.

In other words, the 1967 Newport set wouldn't have fit/made sense for the 1967 Bootleg Series, but there likely aren't enough unreleased 1967 shows to put it on another box with.

I know there's a slew of 1973 European shows (audio & video), and I remember there being talk of a big 1975 box some years ago.

Even the cover of this new box, which is a cool picture, but it's really burying the lede so to speak with regards to what's actually on the dicss

yeah i dunno - may just be that even though electric miles has become more accepted in recent years, kind of blue miles is still the most likely to sell?

I keep coming back to "Go Ahead John."

My uncle, a jazz pianist, posted this little rant on Facebook today. I understand just enough of it to find it fascinating. Was not at all aware of people playing the melody line on "All Blues" the way he's complaining about, but it makes sense. As does his argument about why it's so wrong...

Ok. Virtually every jazz musician knows tunes from Kind of Blue. Miles wrote those tunes and recorded them at a time of experimentation into modes and that was part of the reason he used Bill Evans, because Evans had some of the same interests as Miles in modes and modal harmony. So, Kind of Blue is legendary for a lot of reasons, but "All Blues," in particular, is one of those reasons. And of all of Miles' tunes from that album, probably even more than So What, All Blues is played the most performed by jazz musicians. And Miles' melody is a perfect example of what he was trying to do at that time. Now, I don't want to sound picky, but why is it that so many horn players, or for that matter anyone given the responsibility of playing the melody that Miles wrote and played, do not play it right. True, there are parts of the head that Miles phrases differently, but there is one place that he specifically always plays the same...the tenth bar (or, since you might call the tune in 3/4, instead of 6/4, the 20th bar) is the heart of that tune.

It is amazing to me how many do not play that simple part of that beautiful lead trumpet melody correctly. It could be in part because the various fake books that are out there have the melody written wrong, but that's not an excuse. Just listen to the damn song. It is that bar that is the heart of the song and his minimalist concept. As is true in many blues, the melody over the V chord is where the tension builds in order to resolve back to the I and then turn around. But almost every player I play with, if he or she is given the lead melody to play, plays an A over the V chord (D aug. 9), a Bb, as does Miles, at the Eb aug. 9, but then descends back to an A when the chord returns to D aug. 9. Miles doesn't do that. He doesn't do that the first time through the melody; he doesn't do that the second time; and he doesn't do that on the out chorus. The two saxes playing backgrounds do mirror the two chords, but not Miles. He hits the Bb and holds it out over the changes as they return to Daug. 9.

Ok. I know. This all seems so anal on my part. But I don't think it is. In fact, that held out Bb is the essence of what Miles was trying to do. A simple note takes on a completely different meaning held over changes moving underneath and that too is the essence of his modal approach. To him, one note could be a whole story in itself. And there is no doubt that is the way he wanted the melody stated. He never plays the head without that held out Bb, even if he uses other phrasing on other parts of the melody. Ok. Enough. I'm one to talk about playing someone's melody correctly...I know. But damn, this is possibly the most famous tune in modern jazz.

Thought Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool was excellent. I saw it at Hot Docs today; it's an American Masters production, so it might have played PBS already. It's a very conventional photos/footage + talking heads affair, and I don't think I'd want it to be anything else. (The Coltrane documentary from a couple of years ago was offbeat and intermittently annoying.) I liked every one of the interviewees, especially describing Davis's music--they really tried to find the right words to convey what effect it had on them (with lots of excerpts to help them along). Frances Taylor's self-regard is charmingly hilarious the first few times she's in the film--you enjoy it--then her story turns very sad, and you understand why she needs that. "Flamenco Sketches" at the end is an especially moving rebuke to anyone who decides they're not going to listen to someone's music anymore because they've done horrible things. (I'm differentiating between a sincere reflexive revulsion from such music--I don't have a problem with that--and, something else I've encountered here and there, a more self-conscious "I refuse to listen to such-and-such" because you think you're making the world a better place by not doing so.)

One thing that's crucial, I think, is how good Carl Lumbly's voiceover narration as Miles Davis is. They don't clarify anything at the beginning, so it's almost like they intentionally leave some ambiguity in place--is that actually Miles Davis's voice, something he left behind for future use? I knew that was highly unlikely, but Lumbly's that good. Looking at his filmography, he's been around a long time but I've seen next to nothing he's been in. He was in To Sleep with Anger, which I've never seen; I think I remember his small part in Pacific Heights.

My uncle, a jazz pianist, posted this little rant on Facebook today. I understand just enough of it to find it fascinating. Was not at all aware of people playing the melody line on "All Blues" the way he's complaining about, but it makes sense. As does his argument about why it's so wrong...

/Ok. Virtually every jazz musician knows tunes from Kind of Blue. Miles wrote those tunes and recorded them at a time of experimentation into modes and that was part of the reason he used Bill Evans, because Evans had some of the same interests as Miles in modes and modal harmony. So, Kind of Blue is legendary for a lot of reasons, but "All Blues," in particular, is one of those reasons. And of all of Miles' tunes from that album, probably even more than So What, All Blues is played the most performed by jazz musicians. And Miles' melody is a perfect example of what he was trying to do at that time. Now, I don't want to sound picky, but why is it that so many horn players, or for that matter anyone given the responsibility of playing the melody that Miles wrote and played, do not play it right. True, there are parts of the head that Miles phrases differently, but there is one place that he specifically always plays the same...the tenth bar (or, since you might call the tune in 3/4, instead of 6/4, the 20th bar) is the heart of that tune.

It is amazing to me how many do not play that simple part of that beautiful lead trumpet melody correctly. It could be in part because the various fake books that are out there have the melody written wrong, but that's not an excuse. Just listen to the damn song. It is that bar that is the heart of the song and his minimalist concept. As is true in many blues, the melody over the V chord is where the tension builds in order to resolve back to the I and then turn around. But almost every player I play with, if he or she is given the lead melody to play, plays an A over the V chord (D aug. 9), a Bb, as does Miles, at the Eb aug. 9, but then descends back to an A when the chord returns to D aug. 9. Miles doesn't do that. He doesn't do that the first time through the melody; he doesn't do that the second time; and he doesn't do that on the out chorus. The two saxes playing backgrounds do mirror the two chords, but not Miles. He hits the Bb and holds it out over the changes as they return to Daug. 9.

Ok. I know. This all seems so anal on my part. But I don't think it is. In fact, that held out Bb is the essence of what Miles was trying to do. A simple note takes on a completely different meaning held over changes moving underneath and that too is the essence of his modal approach. To him, one note could be a whole story in itself. And there is no doubt that is the way he wanted the melody stated. He never plays the head without that held out Bb, even if he uses other phrasing on other parts of the melody. Ok. Enough. I'm one to talk about playing someone's melody correctly...I know. But damn, this is possibly the most famous tune in modern jazz./

Watching this, extremely '80s, and what a cruel exercise to make a bunch of high school trumpet players perform in front of Miles Davis on television:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XnLblYNfIg

But there's a 16 year old Joey DeFrancesco on keys, and Miles ignores questions to ask "what's your organ player's name?"

Why, hello, Miles Davis' Dark Magus It's been a few years. Relax, plug in those wah-wah pedals, have a drink.

What's the best book about Miles' transition from the second quintet to the electric period. Preferably this would go to 71 or 72 at least, if not 74.

I recommend Running the Voodoo Down: The Electric Music of Miles Davis, but of course I would.

That's the one.

I should have known.