The Miles Davis septet in 1971 - note Miles on the wah wah pedal
Here in the lounge lately I have been digging an artist who I have dipped into from time to time over the years, but never in a serious way: Miles Davis.
Among certain people I expect Miles Davis, or Miles as most people seem to refer to him as, is revered like Bob Dylan as being almost saint-like. I've never been much for the cult of personality thing around certain artists, but there are some who stand out as true geniuses. For me Bob Dylan is one and I think also Miles Davis, although I am much more familiar with Dylan's music.
I would also count Alice Coltrane in this group, even though she, because she was a woman I expect, did not receive the recognition of her husband John Coltrane. I think I will write about Alice Coltrane at another time as I consider her music to be truly transcendental.
So what of Miles? Well he had his periods ranging from the be-bop era to cool, orchestral jazz and his later electronic stuff from the late 60's to the mid 70's. I've got albums from the 50's and sixties which cover some of the early periods and I've owned the seminal fusion album Bitches Brew for many years. Yet, other than the latter album, I've never really explored his electronic period in any great deal. Some years ago I picked up a copy of Bill Laswell's album Panthalassa which is a remix of tracks from this period and I always enjoyed it.
So I had started, for no particular reason, to stream the 1969 album In a Silent Way a few months ago. Oh, this album is truly a work of beauty. It is Miles' first foray into electronic music, touching on funk, rock and ambient (not yet invented of course). Just two tracks each of 20 minutes or so long, it is music in which to lose yourself.
When in Melbourne recently I visited one of my favourite record shops and they had just landed a shipment of Miles lp's and I went straight to the rack and grabbed a copy of Silent Way and Down on the Corner, which help create the template for drum and bass which emerged later in the 90's (although there's a lot more to that story).
While riffing with the bloke in the shop he was very excited I was purchasing two Miles records and he said to me that his favourite Miles lp was Get Up With It from 1974. He explained that his all time favourite track by any artist was off this album and that my life was incomplete if I did not own a copy. The song he loves by the way is Rated X.
Now I can see a sales pitch, but he had me intrigued. Yet I resisted buying the record for a full 10 minutes before I finally gave in. I'm glad I surrendered. It is a master work. It's not for the faint of heart though. This is no cool jazzy tunes, but rather it is an at times difficult and challenging work which demands a lot of the listener. I like that in music. I don't mind a saccharine pop tune, but the records that stick with me are the ones which are hard to crack.
The opening track is called He Loved Him Madly. Over 30 minutes of ambient jazz, we don't hear Miles on the trumpet until about the 16 minute mark. Miles was digging playing the organ at this time.
The title of the track is taken from something Duke Ellington said when he closed his concerts "I love you all madly!". Duke had died a few months before this album was released and Miles was deeply affected by his death, dedicating the album to the Duke's memory.
So I give you the opening track to Get Up With It: He Loved Him Madly. Until next time - peace and love.
