In A Similarly Silent Way

Hey! Let's talk about records that have a similar vibe to Miles Davis' classsssssic album In A Silent Way. Why? Because I am listening to Joe Henderson's Power To The People record for the first time and it is sounding awesome. It's got Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter on it, and was recorded in 68 or 69, so it's not surprising that it's got that IASW feel to it, though this one sounds a little more raucous. So! What else is along these lines -- jazz/nonjazz/whatever.

The first thing that comes to mind is Zawinul by Joe Zawinul--it even has a version of "In a Silent Way" on it.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1070/579521188_dd5d3a181e.jpg?v=0

Also, "Rain Dance" from Herbie's Sextant.

"Rain Dance" whaaaa? Freaky synth blurpees isn't really what I think of when I think of In A Silent Way. It's great though don't get me wrong.

strangely enough, i always got an In a Silent Way vibe from much of Endtroducing..., of all things.

2nd the Zawinal pick.

The first thing that comes to mind is Zawinul by Joe Zawinul--it even has a version of "In a Silent Way" on it.

― President Keyes, Monday, October 13, 2008 8:52 PM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^^third this...recently picked that up on used vinyl...absolutely GORGEOUS record...am super in love with it....

almost makes up for all those horrid weather report albums dude did...almost.

also...um...(prepares to duck)...tortoise?

haha

there's a donald byrd record from the late 60s called Kofi which is pretty heavily indebted to Silent Way -- not sure who's playing on it. Byrd sure is a bandwagon jumper! He's great, but it seems he's never met a trend he didn't try. but yeah, the early mwandishi stuff, definitely. zawinul, definitely -- does any weather report sound like this? i haven't really explored them very much. i s'pose there are a bunch of ECM kinda dudes who do stuff like IASW, but I haven't heard a lot of that. Any of Cannonball Adderley's late 60s-early 70s stuff lean in this direction? I think I've only heard Phenix ...

haha, sure, Tortoise! i mean, Future Days is certainly on the Silent Way tip ... interesting idea about DJ Shadow, i kinda know what you mean. Becalmed but ominous sorta thing.

Okay, maybe "Rain Dance" was a bit too freaky a choice, even though I do think it's kinda in the same vein as "Shhh/Beautiful".

If you're willing to go to a totally different genre, I think 1 by Pole has a very similar feel to IASW: minimal, looped, nocturnal, pacifying, blue.

the necks, "hanging gardens"

(like, totally)

yeah, i was going to ask if there was any electronic music that recalled this -- will check out the Pole record.

xp Was just about to say Necks, their whole output kind of fits surely?

don't know the necks! who are they? recent?

first neu! record (kinda)

I was just about to suggest The Necks as well...

http://www.discogs.com/release/327414

Brian Eno - Discreet Music

It's the ultimate hybrid of JAZZ and AMBIENT an sounds like an improvised JAMsession: by mixing these three words together I hereby invented a brand new musical style >
this is JAMBIENT !

gross

but the necks are awesome. hanging gardens is one of my favorite records.

lol, jambient

[It's the ultimate hybrid of JAZZ and AMBIENT an sounds like an improvised JAMsession: by mixing these three words together I hereby invented a brand new musical style >
this is JAMBIENT !]

Ewww. Hadn't noticed that.

What about He Love Him Madly?

I give you JAMBIENT

Haha. Move D has some explaining to do :)

http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=14108

Paul Schütze - Apart (disc 1) (electronic / microtonal take, but definitely chasing 'Shhh / Peaceful" - his later band 'Phantom City' was more about 70's Miles) - http://www.furious.com/PERFECT/schutze1.html
Brian Eno - "Iced World" (I wish The Drop had just been a 60 minute version of this track)

isn't that somewhat closer to ambient er...Eno than jazz? Fripp & Eno, say?

(christ, that jambient post has made me almost physically ill--just imagining the horror, the horror. *shivers*)

xxxp

i have a record with Tony Allen and Doctor L called Psycho on Da Bus that definitely reminds me of IASW, but with an afrofunk edge.

http://www.myspace.com/doctorlmind

http://www.last.fm/music/Doctor+L,+Tony+Allen,+Jean+Phi/Psycho+On+Da+Bus

definitely listen to K.I.S Compatible in the lastfm flash player (might be a bit more mellow bitches brew, but still has those sounds)

Bohren Und Der Club Of Gore maybe? Especially Geisterfaust.

Listening to Bennie Maupin's Jewel In The Lotus from 1974 -- definitely has a bit of the IASW vibe. Hancock's on this one too, naturally. Either way, wow, beautiful record! GET IT.

I would say that each of those records by the Mwandishi members are similar to In a Silent Way — not just the Maupin, but Eddie Henderson's Sunburst and Julian Priester's Love, Love as well.

Especially Geisterfaust.

read this as Geirzeist

this thread covered similar ground:

Miles Davis - In A Silent Way

on it i suggested the already-mentioned 'zawinul' alb, and also 'timeless' by jon abercrombie/jan hammer/jack dejohnette, especially the magnificent title track

'hanging gardens' is a v gd call; parts of 'ege bamyese' by can and of course 'zawinul/lava' on eno's 'another green world' also vibrate w/ some of the same teo macero space/time splice magic

check out the Polwechsel/Fennesz-Wrapped Islands disc I put out a few years back (on Erstwhile). I thought about namechecking IASW in the PR, but decided in the end it was a bit too much of a stretch. definitely an overlapping vibe, though, worth investigating for sure...

Harvest Time off this:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/MyJazzWorld/SO5iM5Qvo2I/AAAAAAAADVY/_Ac7ce5N2DY/PharoahSanders_Pharoah.jpg

Hmmm, the image was there for a second. Anyway, it was Pharoah Sanders' "Pharoah" album (aka Harvest Time). It has lovely cover art too.

Okay maybe I made up that "(aka Harvest Time)" part. Anyway, I'll be quiet now.

Except to say that it can be heard here: http://myjazzworld.blogspot.com/2008/10/pharoah-sanders-pharoah.html

Nice, I've never heard this album

hey! this one hasn't been mentioned yet: Van Morrison's Common One! It opens and closes with a Silent Way tribute pretty much. Great album, by the way, maybe one of Van's most underappreciated? Maybe just underappreciated by me -- hadn't heard it til recently. I also heard some of the Necks, and yeah, they are rad too.

found a good selection for this thread, purchased on a whim this weekend:

herbie mann - the stone flute

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm181/karl_ktarn/3-34.jpg

here's a review i found online:

A startlingly original departure from the trademark soul-jazz sound of Herbie Mann, this spacious and atmospheric 1970 recording flows within the vein of Miles Davis' Bitches Brew-era explorations. Throughout the record, Mann's flute floats in and out over sparse string arrangements, a light and airy gust of psychedelic bliss. The album opens with the exotic Eastern sounds of "In Tangier," arranged with unmistakable references to the original version recorded by 60s pop-icon Donovan on Hurdy Gurdy Man. Violins, viola and cello are all used to create a feeling of sailing through the celestial ether in a stoned state of mind. The second track is a rare cover of "Flying," the spaced-out Beatles instrumental from The Magical Mystery Tour, which Mann manages to recreate with an even more hallucinatory vibe. "Miss Free Spirit" is a strongly avant-garde affair, held together by Miroslav Vitous (soon to join Weather Report), who keeps things grooving along with just the right amount of restraint. Vibraphonist Roy Ayers showcases his bold imagination and technical prowess as a forward-thinking jazz player, a talent that would soon be suppressed as his commercial funk persona took over in the 70s. A major highlight is guitarist Sonny Sharrock's solo on "Miss Free Spirit," which makes a strong case for why Miles Davis recruited him to play (albeit uncredited) later that year on the epic Jack Johnson soundtrack. This is a totally unique Herbie Mann record, a must for fans of late 60s and early 70s fusion experiments of the highest caliber.
---John Ballon (email)

The Tortoise thread revive made me go hunt down Jeff Parker's solo records, and they would fit the bill here.

"almost makes up for all those horrid weather report albums dude did...almost."

why hate? they put out some wonderful dreamy stuff. i remember hearing weather report for the first time expecting some bleating prog fusion stuff and i couldn't believe how ambientmellowpretty it was. (long time ago. first album with airto.)

i just don't like 'em i guess. i have a couple...heavy weather..and something else...

While admitting that I probably have no idea what I'm talking about, doesn't some Jon Hassell have the same vibe?

the earlier pre-jaco weather report stuff is different than the later stuff like heavy weather though. i think anyone who digs shorter/zawinul stuff with miles would dig the first WR album and the live in tokyo stuff.

i think i only have jaco type stuff. the way all the instruments sound on the two i have really bothers me....it gets my inner rockist/jazzist all up in arms.

the zawinul album i was talking about upthread is probably my favorite record i've bought this year so maybe i should check it out.

anyway i don't wanna be a negative nelly and distract peeps from peepin that herbie mann record, it's great!

have to say thanks again on this thread for the Necks reccs! Eeeyowch, they are incredible.

this album is like son of silent way: maybe a little funkier.

http://www.jazz.com/assets/2008/1/10/albumcoverEddieHenderson-Sunburst.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg6ZLG41C6s

Psychic Temple - Music For Airports (Live Studio Performance)

yes! this rules, wow

nice!

this one fits in: https://cached.media/homage

Not obscure, but after listening to In A Silent Way since age 17, I loved discovering Freddie Hubbard's Red Clay a few years ago.

totally. don't sleep on Straight Life either

Nice one tyler - like that.

Do we need an ambient Americana thread? I guess the Fahey one does the trick but still...

not a bad idea — there's that "wide open desert music" thread, but that might be slightly more specific

Got to say the 2 keyboard version of the Allman Brothers with Chuck Leavell on electric piano and only Dickie on guitar doing “Elizabeth Reed” off the Wipe the Windows live album has a silent way vibe. Worth checking out if unfamiliar with the take.

one of the biggest miles rips ever; intentionally so. still good imo-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEdP5DWFRcc
mark !sh@m ― "azael"

did you know our friend mark is a fairly hardcore scientologist?

Yup but I still listen to Miles too, despite the latter's own personal shit

Huh. I didn’t know that. I guess he might be responsible for Van Morrison giving a special thanks to L Ron Hubbard in the liner notes to Inarticulate Speech of the Heart.

i ask this mostly from a place of ignorance because my knowledge of both groups is very superficial-
what about some of isotope 217 + chicago underground duo stuff?

(also kinda want a similar discussion for bands/albums/songs that rip bitches brew because have ya'll heard vitamin f by fontanelle? if yer gonna rip something off, that's how it's done!)

Vitamin F is great; if you like that, I also recommend checking out Vibration Black Finger's Blackism.

will do ty!

also kind of answering my own question, here's the chicago underground duo doing a sorta sparse miles/gil evans mood-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIlHBjdZsoI
"red gradations" (2000)

that's great.

Not to make it weird, but the 10-piece jazz-adjacent band I lead just released a record from our first pro-studio session, where the keyboard player had access to a nice Rhodes--accordingly, maybe this back half of the 15-min B-side on it where that Fender Rhodes playing is most prominent is the one time we ventured In A Similarly Silent Way? Curious as to what ILMers might think, and if it isn't your bag, then no biggie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0iL6kAol3I

(Ah, the timestamp didn't seem to work--Rhodes-prominent Kinda Silent Way section starts at around 7:05)

not to make it weird, but this is really excellent music imo

Cheers! Thank you for typing that--I'd also rec one of the horn players in the band, Brodie West's Eucalyptus for a more properly-pedigree'd actual jazz group (I OTOH am musically illiterate/need to hire a bandmate who is an arranger to make 'real' charts) with half of these same players in it: https://brodiewest.bandcamp.com/track/squiggly-line

Brodie also has a quintet that's less groovy/with more jagged rhythmic edges to it (am trying to keep these specific track selections at least very vaguely Silent-Way-y, sorry for thread derail): https://brodiewest.bandcamp.com/track/fortress

craig, does you ilx mail work?

craigfraid at the googlemail should do the trick!

great thanks!

cosign this is great!

Terje Rypdal’s. “ What Comes After” from 1974 has boodles of Bitches Brew/Silent Way vibe with some of that icy ECM atmospherics.

I had heard this record a few times years ago and pulled it out this morning and thought it sounded pretty good to me. Definitely going to give it some more listens.

Sounds good to me this morning, thanks for the recommendation

The second track on that LP reminds me a bit of early Tangerine Dream. It is a pretty far out record for 1973 as parts of it sound near ambient music too.

The self-titled Terje Rypdal one on ECM from 1971 is supposed to be pretty good too, which I have on my internal list to check out.

The first four Rypdal albums on ECM: s/t, What Comes After, Whenever I Seem to Be Far Away, and Odyssey, are all great. Also check out Sart, collectively billed to Jan Garbarek, Rypdal, Arild Andersen and Jon Christensen.

Enthusiastic cosign on Rypdal's What Comes After. I hear it as an album-length exploration of the sonic world established by Miles on "Yesternow" from Jack Johnson.

Also Descendre from 1980 is outstanding. Some of the most futuristic jazz I know, esp. "Circles" and "Innseiling"

"Keep It Like That - Tight" on Terje Rypdal is practically a re-write of "Yesternow" - different notes but a carbon-copy arrangement.

The long title track of Whenever I Seem to Be Far Away is a pretty singular mix of ECM-style fusion, 20th-century classical and space-rock guitar.

Astonished, for all the Necks talk, that nobody mentioned https://underworld.bandcamp.com/album/drift-underworld-the-necks
especially "A Very Silent Way"

"Keep It Like That - Tight" on Terje Rypdal is practically a re-write of "Yesternow" - different notes but a carbon-copy arrangement.

Just listening to this alb now - final track, 'Tough Enough', also leans v heavily on 'Right Off'.

Thanks to this thread I just ordered three of the first four Rypdal albums from ECM (Odyssey isn't available right now).

Odyssey is available as a 3CD box (it was originally a double LP) with a bonus third disc of otherwise unavailable live stuff. Worth it.

https://www.discogs.com/release/3687568-Terje-Rypdal-Odyssey-In-Studio-In-Concert

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VANC0mWz-cY
khan jamal - scandinavian dawn

Van Morrison's Common One! It opens and closes with a Silent Way tribute pretty much.

haha, yes! i am just getting to this point in my van journey; so here i am. i guess it's all pretty much connected

Common One completely rules--would also highly rec the Montreux 1980 Van set (posting "Haunts Of Ancient Peace" from that since it's the Silent Way-iest song on that setlist): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6G34zJzcAU

awesome

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jfh-tGLPlBI

Blutations--thanks for posting, a cool interp for sure

Awesome drumming and Reese Wynans playing out this world on this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-z9mI1GzR0

Thanks for sharing that, that is really nice.

One of John Zorn's current projects, Chaos Magick, features a lot of trippy organ and atmosphere. This is the first track from their new album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y7wcPcfRCE

Came across a couple of similar silent ways in some search through the grand archives.

Donald Byrd- Blackbyrd - Live at Montreaux 1973

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMGfk83k9s4

This is a really cool groove and I love the separation of jobs among the group.

"Sure I can hold the trumpet with one hand and play that percussion part..."

The pull out of the camera where you can both see the band and the audience's feet caught my eye watching people dig to the music.

I thought was awesome and have watched it quite a few times. Seems like something some of you people might dig if you never saw it before.

Awesome sound and video production for the time too.

That performance was released on CD recently as Live: Cookin' With Blue Note At Montreux; it's really good. Includes a version of Stevie Wonder's "You've Got It Bad Girl" and three pieces not on any of his studio albums.

Nice. Need to keep that in mind.

Man it would probably be awesome fun to take the hot tub time machine and hang out at Montreux in the early 70s. I bet that was an interesting scene mix.

At least to my midwest US understanding, that seems that is like the richy rich party town that has a bit of a bohemian background. Don't know much about it this side of a Rick Stieb video, knowing Smoke on the Water and a lot of live music videos from the festival.

Rick Steves not Dave Stieb...different traveler.

That was cool thanks!
What's the drummer keep looking at off to his right?

mmm, i thought of this thread when i was listening to harold budd's pavilion of dreams, specifically the first song!

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