Pioneering Jazz "Fusion"

Introductory music:  


Karlheinze Stockhausen (1928-2007):  Gesang der Jünglinge (Song of the Youths)  1955  (14:00).  



The turn to electric instrumentsMiles in the Sky and Filles de Kilamanjaro

Miles in the Sky (1968), and Filles de Kilimanjaro (1968)—which tentatively introduced electric bass, electric piano, and electric guitar on some tracks—pointed the way to the subsequent fusion phase of Davis's career. Davis also began experimenting with more rock-oriented rhythms on these records. 

By the time the second half of Filles de Kilimanjaro was recorded, bassist Dave Holland and pianist Chick Corea had replaced Carter and Hancock in the working band, though both Carter and Hancock occasionally contributed to future recording sessions. Davis soon began to take over the compositional duties of his sidemen.

Filles de Kilimanjaro     (14:00)  

   Side 1    

   2. "Frelon brun" (Brown Hornet) –   5:39  (Corea & Holland)
       "Tout de suite" (Right Away)   – 14:07 
(Hancock & Carter)
   3. "Petits machins" (Little Stuff) –    8:07  (Hancock & Carter)

   Side 2   

 
   1.  "Filles de Kilimanjaro" (Girls of Kilimanjaro) – 12:03
(Hancock & Carter)
       "Mademoiselle Mabry" (Miss Mabry) – 16:32 
(Corea & Holland)
 
   The first and last tracks were recorded in September 1968, the others in June. All songs were credited to Miles Davis.



In A Silent Way and Birches Brew:

Davis's influences included 1960s rock and funk artists such as Sly and the Family Stone and Parliament/Funkadelic,[2] many of whom he met through Betty Mabry (later Betty Davis), a young model and songwriter Davis married in September 1968 and divorced a year later. The musical transition required that Davis and his band adapt to electric instruments in both live performances and the studio. By the time In a Silent Way had been recorded in February 1969, Davis had augmented his quintet with additional players. At various times Hancock or Joe Zawinul were brought in to join Corea on electric keyboards, and guitarist John McLaughlin made the first of his many appearances with Davis. By this point, Shorter was also doubling on soprano saxophone. After recording this album, Williams left to form his group Lifetime and was replaced by Jack DeJohnette.

Six months later, an even larger group of musicians, including Jack DeJohnette, Airto Moreira, and Bennie Maupin, recorded the double LP Bitches Brew, which became a huge seller, reaching gold status by 1976. This album and In a Silent Way were among the first fusions of jazz and rock that were commercially successful, building on the groundwork laid by Charles Lloyd, Larry Coryell, and others who pioneered a genre that would become known as jazz fusion. Throughout 1969, Davis' touring band included Shorter, Corea, Holland, and DeJohnette; as the group never completed a studio recording, it has been subsequently characterized as the "lost quintet" by many critics.[41][42] The quintet's repertoire included material from Bitches Brew, In a Silent Way, and the 1960s quintet albums, along with an occasional standard.

Both Bitches Brew and In a Silent Way feature "extended" compositions (more than 20 minutes each) that were never actually "played straight through" by the musicians in the studio. Instead, Davis and producer Teo Macero selected musical motifs of various lengths from recorded extended improvisations and edited them together into a musical whole that exists only in the recorded version. Bitches Brew made use of such electronic effects as multi-tracking, tape loops, and other editing techniques.[43] Both records, especially Bitches Brew, were big sellers. Starting with Bitches Brew, Davis's albums began to often feature cover art much more in line with psychedelic art or black power movements than that of his earlier albums. 

Davis took significant cuts in his usual performing fees in order to open for rock groups like the Steve Miller Band, Grateful Dead, Neil Young, and Santana. Several live albums (with a transitional sextet/septet including Corea, DeJohnette, Holland, percussionist Airto Moreira, and saxophonist Steve Grossman that expanded to encompass Keith Jarrett on electronic organ by June 1970) were recorded at these performances: Live at the Fillmore East, March 7, 1970: It's About That Time (March 1970), Black Beauty (April 1970), and Miles Davis at Fillmore: Live at the Fillmore East (June 1970).



In A Silent Way   (12:00)



    Side 1.

       "Shhh/Peaceful - 18:16
           "Shhh" – 6:14
           "Peaceful" – 5:42 

           "Shhh" – 6:20"  

     Side 2.

      "In a Silent Way/It's About That Time
           "In a Silent Way" – 4:11
           "It's About That Time" – 11:27
           "In a Silent Way" – 4:14"

Miles Davis - trumpet
Wayne Shortersoprano saxophone
John McLaughlinelectric guitar
Chick Coreaelectric piano
Herbie Hancock – electric piano
Joe Zawinulorgan
Dave Hollanddouble bass
Tony Williamsdrums


Bitches Brew musicians by track  (25:00)

     
        Bitches Brew       (Davis)      (0:00 - 8:00)       (8:00)
        Spanish Key        (Davis)      (0:00 - 9:30)       (9:30) 
        Sanctuary            (Shorter)    (0:00 -   7:30)     (7:30)
      Pharaoh's Dance  (Zawinul)  (7:00 - 11:30)     (4:30)

The 1970s Fusion Heyday    (Wiki Article on Jazz Fusion)   (12:00)

           
           Tony Williams Lifetime (1969) w/ John McLaughlin on 1st album
        Mwandishi (1971) / Headhunters (1973)  Two bands with Herbie Hancock with Bennie Maupin       
        Weather Report  (1971) -  Wayne Shorter and Joe Zawinul
        Mahavishnu Orchestra (1971) -  John McLaughlin and Billy Cobham
        Return to Forever  - (1973)  Chick Corea and Lenny White (later (1974) Al DiMeola - guitar)      
        The (Acoustic) Guitar Trio  -  John McLaughlin, Al DiMeola, Paco de Lucia (1976)

Later Miles Davis  
 
        The Last Concert  (1991)   (28:00 of 50:00)

            Human Nature  (Michael Jackson)   (00:00 -  15:15)     15:15
            All Blues  (15:15 - 23:15)   8:00  (play on Day 3?)
            In A Silent Way  (24:15 - 31:30)   7:15
            Watermelon Man  (31:30 - 44:35)  13:00
            Jean-Pierre  (44:15 - 49:45)   5:15






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