Miles Davis - Live At The Cellar Door

And yes, Jordan, it's the full Live-Evil shows deal.
This sounds a lot more enticing to me than those recent Davis boxsets that have 50 alternate takes of Go Ahead John etc.

Yes, there are six CDs worth of Cellar Door material (that's including the stuff that was already released on Live-Evil, but put back into whole-set context like the Complete Live At The Plugged Nickel 1965 box). However, there are no plans to release that stuff at this time, and I have tried in vain to squeeze so much as a set of CD-Rs out of the folks at Sony. I've heard that some or all of it is out there online, but I don't do the file-sharing thing, so I don't know.

The next thing to be released from Miles will be later this year - a box covering the 1963-64 bands (including the Seven Steps To Heaven material, everything with George Coleman, and the Miles In Tokyo album with Sam Rivers).

what other boxes are in the works? the Mobley/Coleman/Rivers stuff is the last studio era to get the retrospective treatment isnt it?

I swear I remember coming across one that I didn't have and was going to look up and get it later on, but I haven't been able to find it again.

Earlnash - are you thinking of It's About That Time?

After looking it up, that is the one. Thanks. I couldn't remember what it was called.

The Seven Steps box will be out by the end of this year—figure sometime around the holidays, most likely, for max profit.

From what I've heard/read about the Cellar Door stuff, it's good. Only the discs from the third night (i.e. the Live-Evil stuff) feature John McLaughlin, so the other four discs are funkier and less jagged. If you've heard the bootleg What I Say, which features more or less the same band (but with Leon Ndugu Chancler instead of Jack DeJohnette on drums), you have the general idea.

http://www.miles-beyond.com/sessions.htm

i've got it now, but i haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, though, nor am i likely to for a few days, so i thought i'd see if anyone had heard it.

(phil i'm sure i can sort something out if you want a copy).

It is interesting hearing the Bitches Brew material being played by a much smaller band. Jack DeJohnette gets so funky and hard on the first set version of "Directions", it is great.

You have to wonder how many shows of electric period Miles are still in the vault. I know I would like to hear a good live date from somewhere in 1968, with Herbie Hancock and Tony Williams still around and playing some of the very first electric music.

Have you heard something different?

I wish they'd put out a four-CD box of the expanded versions of Agharta and Pangaea, the way they did with Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk this past year.

Well, it makes sense to do it as their next 70's box, given that they're up to Jack Johnson. The rep from Legacy sounded fairly confident when we chatted...

I hate on many Original Jazz Classics releases that they put the bonus tracks in the middle of the CD, so you get a Bill Evans' CD that will come to one track and there is three versions in a row of the tune. I like having the bonus cuts, but I really don't like this practice.

Track titles are slightly different than on the soulseek version - basically, replace "Funky Tonk" with "Inamorata." Also, four Keith Jarrett keyboard solos have been given their own tracks, labeled "Improvisation" #s 1 through 4.

Oh, and the mix/master has been worked over with truly loving care - this shit sounds incredible. Those of you who've downloaded it must obtain it all over again, because there's no comparison between the earlier boot version and this one. Seriously.

Dr. Matt...

Does anyone have any information?

September

Frustrating news on the Cellar Door Sessions 1970 boxed set: its release date, originally earmarked for September 27, has been put on hold. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the problem involves the Miles Davis Estate, in a story not dissimilar to that of The Last Word. No new release date is set, so fingers crossed that any difficulties and differences are sorted out soon. Watch this space for a new release date, or, if the set doesn't come out, the behind-the-scenes story of why not. Meanwhile, my article on the Cellar Door has been published in JazzTimes magazine in the US. Italian, French, German, and Dutch versions are to follow soon. (More details on the set below.)

Good thing I held on to the advance copy I got back in May or whenever.

Seems kind of a weird time for the estate to weigh in - they've had what, five years or more to object? They've got the damn packaging done and everything.

On the version I've got, there's about a disc, maybe a disc-and-a-half worth of previously unreleased stuff. Some live tracks, some unused soundtrack material from the movie Street Smart, and a couple of other things. No breathtaking hidden treasures, but some solid stuff.

"Earlier this month, Seth Rothstein, VP of Columbia Legacy, confirmed the release date of the Cellar Door as November 22 in the US. A week later someone closely involved e-mailed me with the message that "Vince Wilburn has put a kibosh on the whole thing again." Wilburn, Miles' nephew and a drummer in his uncle's band 1985-1987, is the leading voice in the Miles Davis Estate. He was also the person behind the first delay of the boxed set release. The latest word is that the release is abandoned altogether, but Columbia Legacy tells me today (October 28), that they continue to be confident that the set will come out, and that they are still hoping for a pre-Christmas release. Please watch this space for official news, and more details on the story behind all this, insofar as they can be revealved without compromising my sources. "

The set is now listed as 'unavailable' on Amazon ...

November

The latest news in the Cellar Door boxed set saga: a new release date has been set for December 27. I'm still waiting for official confirmation from Sony Columbia, but given the events of the last months, that would hardly set things in stone. The problem remains the Miles Davis Estate, and mainly Miles's nephew, Vince Wilburn. A few weeks before the original release date last September he wanted the credits of Adam Holzman and Bob Belden changed from 'produced by' to 'compiled by.' Understandably, this was not something these two, or Sony, were happy about. Moreover, the Cellar Door set had been more than five years in the making, and Belden's and Holzman's involvement must have been clear for ages, so the timing of the demand reeked of a hidden agenda.

When I asked one of my informants, who is very close to the fire, what's behind Wilburn's demand, he simply replied, 'God knows.' There are reports that it's driven by Wilburn's personal resentment against some of those involved in the making of the Cellar Door, including Holzman. My own, entirely speculative, take on it is that Wilburn has a love/hate relationship with his uncle and his music. On the one hand he owes his entire income and reputation to his uncle (what noteworthy things has Wilburn done on his own since 1987?)—on the other Miles hurt Wilburn badly when he sacked him from his band in 1987. By all accounts Wilburn never fully recovered from this—see the story of The Last Word, the Warners boxed set that was repeatedly delayed and in the end torpedoed by the Estate, alledgedly with Wilburn at the controls. Why the rest of Miles's family, including his son Erin, puts up with Wilburn obstructing Miles releases nobody really knows.

Certainly Sony has been reluctant to put up with Wilburn's last-minute changes of heart, but while the company has the full rights to the recording and can do what it wants with it, the company apparently feels that it can't simply go against the wishes of the Estate. (That's not even talking about the physical threats that Wilburn is said to have made against some of those involved.)

Whatever way, initially a compromise was found, whereby a sticker would be added to the already printed boxed set, saying 'compiled by Bob Belden and Adam Holzman.' This led to the November 22 release date. Then Wilburn again threw, as it was put, a 'kibosh.' The exact nature of the new compromise that has led to the planned late December release date is unclear, but probably involves a fresh art work re-print.

Of course it's possible that the Estate will have another last-minute change of mind, which would spell the end of the Cellar Door. That would be very bad news indeed, for, as one informant told me, if the Cellar Door doesn't come out, it may well mean the end of any more new Miles Davis releases, and would almost certainly terminate the boxed sets series. So fingers crossed that common sense, and respect for Miles's music and legacy, prevail.

The pity is that if this box dies, then the next one will be scuppered as well - and that box was to focus on On the Corner material.

i kind of wish they'd go back a bit further for these boxes. there's only so much 70s stuff i can listen to, even tho i love it and the majority of it is good. it's obvious why they keep doing the 70s--so much more on tape, i'm sure--but there has to be some late 50s/early 60s studio stuff lying around...

Naive, yeah, 1972-75 would take us from On the Corner to Miles' 'retirement' in '75. Should include some great stuff, actually, like Get Up with It. I'm looking forward to that box more than the Cellar box.

Bugged, the Columbia box reissue plans went from Miles' signing with Columbia ('55?) to the Jack Johnson period. The Cellar and Corner boxes were added to the plan later. Before the Cellar box was announced as part of the numbered metal-spine box series, they'd gone through everything Miles had recorded with Columbia. So there's nowhere to go but forward, really.

Red China Blues 4:06
On the Corner (take 3) 19:57
What If 7:17
Black Satin 5:15
One and One (Black Satin pt 2) 6:09
Helen Butte (Black Satin pt. 3) 16:43
Mr. Freedom X (Black Satin pt. 4) 6:40
Jabali (take ?) 5:43
Jabali (take ?) 11:02
Untitled Original 720612a (take ?) 6:58
Untitled Original 720612b (take ?) 10:35
Untitled Original 720612c 7:05
Ife 21:34
Untitled Original 721129 30:17
Agharta Prelude (take 14) 17:35
Agharta Prelude (take 15) 9:24
Michael's Tune (take 4) 4:16
Billy Preston 12:34
Billy Preston (take ?) 20:36
Untitled Original 730104 (M. Davis) (take 1) 12:36

some missing sessions in Feb 1973

Untitled Original 730723 (take 4) 5:12
For Dave/Untitled Calypso (take ?) 5:12

some missing sessions in May 1973

Untitled Original 730726a/Big Fun 6:36
Big Fun (take ?, not the issued Big Fun) 6:36
Holly-wuud 2:50
Untitled Original 730726b 3:00
Untitled Original 730726b 3:25
Untitled Original 730723 4:09
Calypso Frelimo (part 1) 1:23
Calypso Frelimo (part 2) 15:48
Calypso Frelimo (part 3) 12:45
Calypso Frelimo (part 4) 15:44

30 fragments of He Loved Him Madly which made up the final edit

Dominique (take 1) 31:10
Mtume 15:08
Maiysha 14:50
Untitled Original 741106a (take 2 pt. 1) 18:17
Untitled Original 741106a (take 2 pt. 2) 2:26
Untitled Original 741106b (take 14) 15:36
Turn of the Century 15:47
Untitled Original 760330a (take 3) 4:23
Untitled Original 760330a (take 5) 5:05
Untitled Original 760330a (take 10) 9:11
Mother Dearest Mother (take 4) 5:57
Mother Dearest Mother (take 7) 11:23
Mother Dearest Mother (take 10 pt. 2) 6:15
Song of Landa (take 2) 4:04
Song of Landa (take 6) 4:34
Song of Landa (take 10) 9:35
Untitled Original 741106b/TDK Funk 5:33

skipping a session on March 2 1978 in which a drying-out Miles just plays organ

Discussion seems to have died once this actually got released. Is it worth springing for?

Also; does this one only come in the short box version or did it get rereleased as a tall box like some of the other boxes did?

don't think it was -- neither was the Seven Steps set, as far as I know. Not sure what the deal is with that, except that the long boxes seem to be priced quite a bit lower.

I totally dig this set fwiw.

yeah -- it's best played loud.

Cool. Now that I have a few of them the hankering is growing for the rest and this would be one of my top picks that I'd love to hear and immerse myself in. I might get a copy off amazon marketplace where they're not too pricey (about £35).

This is one of the greatest box sets. Such a blessing to be able to hear Keith Jarrett run wild on two electric keyboards over some of the sickest grooves ever, for hours. Every member of the band is an absolute beast on this though.

I'm still hoping a Japan 1975 box will happen someday; I've read that a few shows from that tour beyond the Agharta/Pangaea shows were recorded for radio broadcasts, but the only soundboard bootleg I'm aware of is Tokyo 1/22/75.

agreed, the cellar door stuff smashes just about any other live miles from that era. the funkiest miles ever got, i reckon.

i've honestly been waiting for the 75 japanese stuff to show up in a bootleg series installment — tho it seems like those have gone dormant for the last few years.

It really is a great set. I actually prefer to hear the stuff with McLaughlin as Live/Evil - I love how Miles and Macero crafted that album - but the earlier sets are marvelous to hear. I wish the Electric Factory show at Philly was available in this quality because it's possibly even better - it wasn't recorded professionally on multi-track, but at least we have a soundboard recordings and IIRC an in-house video feed too.

I can’t remember if there was any official announcement or not, but my understanding is that the Miles Bootleg Series is no more, which is a shame. With only one exception — the one which is essentially a session reel from Miles Smiles and maybe good for one listen — the sets were all brilliantly curated, and the live ‘67 box is among my favorite Miles recordings (which is to say, one of my favorite recordings).

my understanding is that the Miles Bootleg Series is no more, which is a shame.

― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Monday, December 6, 2021 2:20 PM

ahh . . . yeah, that's too bad. seems like there's so much more "out there." wonder if there's any further big archive releases that could happen with the miles catalogue?

also agree that the bootleg series volume 5 was underwhelming. my favorites are the first three volumes.

anyway, yeah. cellar door roolz.

The first three volumes of the Bootleg Series are incredible, and the fourth wasn't perfect but it had some really good stuff, too.

The metal spine box sets just changed my world (i’m including the Japanese Plugged Nickel box too)

plugged nickel also top gear. serious business.

Plugged Nickel is great - I think Live in Europe 1967 is even better (i.e. volume 1 of the Bootleg Series) simply because everyone's in top shape and they get to do their originals too, but both sets are essential. Setlists are so different anyway with Plugged Nickels based off of standards.

Earlier on this year's Rolling Jazz, I dug out some old Miles Europa, while trying to get past my prob w the Quintet (I like 'em better live for the most part, but not always live, even):
I played one of those Legal-in-Italy CDs (from before Media Lord Berlusconi became PM), Double Image(Moon, 1989), live in Paris, 1969, and here Shorter's effective enough, switching back and forth from tenor to soprano, rattling along between Miles and Chick Corea, with Dave Holland and Tony Williams providing subway momentum...another formerly Legal-In-Italy set, Two Miles Live (Discarios, 19??), live in Vienna 11-05-71---boot sites usually say: Wiener Konzerthaus, Vienna (Austria)
Österreischer Rundfunk radio broadcast (B+)

Miles Davis (tpt); Gary Bartz (ss, as); Keith Jarrett (el-p, org); Michael Henderson (el-b); Ndugu Leon Chancler (d); Charles Don Alias (cga, perc); James Mtume Forman (cga, perc)
Yeah, The Lost Septet, never as a full line-up, in the studio at the same time, apparently. Here. Miles draws dry ice and other smoke from the fractive frictions of wah-wah, Echoplex, pitch controls, whatevs, revealing passing patterns, incl. indentations, on the inner surfaces of his glass headpiece, sounds like, also for instance KJ's organ sustains metallic sheets which his electric piano hand taps more patterns into, while Gary B's alto and soprano go for microtones from the slaugherhaus, Henderson's bass is bruise as much as blues, drums are all around the town, in a supportive way---Disc One has a *bit* more variety, segmentation; Disc 2 grabs me by the back of neck right off and don't let go.

― dow, Thursday, March 4, 2021

i love the ndugu stuff! he seemed like an odd fit for miles —kind of like when sam rivers was in miles' group for a bit in the mid-60s— but i really like that stuff because it just has a different feel.

idk where else to post this, BUT—

i was ambling around middle america about twenty years ago and found this in a small record shop in a strip mall. it's nothing special — for this band. but if you just want to hear more, it's definitely satisfying.

(tangent: i also found a late 60s cannonball adderley live thing seemingly from the same series in the same shop and that set is . . . uhm, holy hell, it's pretty decent lemme tell ya)

I got that same Olympia 11 Juillet 1973 CD at the Virgin Megastore in Chicago around the same time as you. Agree that it's not a top-tier set, but it's nice to have because 73 is under-documented on official live releases.

So damn good!
Wiki:
Dark Magus is a live double album by American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Miles Davis. It was recorded on March 30, 1974, at Carnegie Hall in New York City, during the electric period in the musician's career. Davis' group at the time of the concert included bassist Michael Henderson, drummer Al Foster, percussionist James Mtume, saxophonist Dave Liebman, and guitarists Pete Cosey and Reggie Lucas. He also used the show to audition saxophonist Azar Lawrence and guitarist Dominique Gaumont. Dark Magus was produced by Teo Macero and featured four two-part recordings titled after Swahili names for the numbers one through four.

Dark Magus was released after Davis' 1975 retirement, upon which his label, Columbia Records, issued several albums of various outtakes. After releasing the live recordings Agharta (1975) and Pangaea (1976), Columbia decided that they did not approve of the albums, and Dark Magus was released only in Japan, in 1977 by CBS-Sony. The label's A&R executive Tatsu Nosaki suggested the album's title, which referred to the Magus from the Zoroastrian religion.

Along with Davis' other records during the 1970s, Dark Magus was received ambivalently by contemporary critics, but it inspired noise rock acts during the late 1970s and the experimental funk artists of the 1980s. The album was not released in the United States until July 1997, when it was reissued by Sony Records and Legacy Records. In retrospective reviews, critics praised its jazz-rock aesthetic and the group members' performances, and some believed certain parts foreshadowed jungle music.
Got this with Black Beauty as 80s Japanese import double-cd sets, $50 each in 80s dollars---worth it though. Was glad when this and Black Beauty were ffinally US-released in '97.
As wiki also sez:
Black Beauty: Miles Davis at Fillmore West is a live double album by American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Miles Davis. It was recorded on April 10, 1970, at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, shortly after the release of the trumpeter's Bitches Brew album and the recording of Jack Johnson (1971). Black Beauty was produced by Teo Macero, Davis' longtime record producer.

A jazz-rock album, Black Beauty captured one of Davis' first performances at a rock venue during the early stages of his electric period. At the concert, he led his band—saxophonist Steve Grossman, bassist Dave Holland, keyboardist Chick Corea, drummer Jack DeJohnette, and percussionist Airto Moreira—through one continuously performed set list which functioned as a musical suite for soloists to improvise throughout. He signaled changes from one piece to the next with phrases played on his trumpet.
As article also mentions, some people don't like the sound quality, but I think it works for this music.

The Miles Bootleg Series is back!

https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/14643

This will be part of the next CD set, which will cover 1981-85.

Has anyone copped the Complete Columbia Albums box? I’ve noticed the price on used ones is finally starting to come down…

I think me a decade ago —when the Bootleg Series was really in full swing— would have scoffed at that forthcoming Montreal set. But these days okay yeah, sure! Excited to check it out.

Whiney, I didn't even know what you were talking about and had to go look it up. The cheapest on on Discogs right now is under $200 and I think that's an absolute bargain. It's missing some of the outtakes and other extra stuff from the Complete Sessions box sets and the packaging looks a little sparse, but I imagine it would be the last Miles Davis purchase one should ever need to make.