Miles Davis - Bitches Brew. 2LP
Bitches Brew is Davis' era-defining double album, filled with swirling, extended jams and kaleidoscopic mix of acoustic and electric instruments, snaky groove rhythms and loud rock power.
For many jazz fans, it had a scary, confrontational vibe. It was divisive and still is; some go for it, others back away. But in March 1970 when the album was released, the music community—even Miles’ own producer—were simply stunned, and the title was just part of it.
Columbia Records ultimately believed in what Miles was doing, accepting the name he chose for it, agreeing to an Afro-futurist cover image (painted by German artist Mati Klarwein), releasing it as a double-LP (his first), and actively promoting it to a new, youthful audience. The investment paid off: Bitches Brew sold more than 100,000 units, an unheard of number for a jazz musician.
Musically, Bitches Brew is the confluence of multiple priorities. It is series of studio experiments with different double-quintet lineups. There were the compositions: loose, fractured constructions that moved from one mesmerizing moment to another, the result of splicing together parts of different performances. Some are smooth to the ear, other transitions obvious and jarring.
The musical details captivate and surprise: a liberal use of echo, reverb, and other studio effects. Dissonant passages with a sense of menace.
Miles’ leap from one side of the great generational divide to the other had happened so quickly. He had gone from ties and Italian suits to loud, patterned shirts and leather trousers. From playing onstage with an acoustic quintet blowing familiar ballads, to a rock-jazz band with long hair making loud, electronic sounds that felt like shapeless jams—all in two short years. Bitches Brew was Miles’ last, determined leap from one era to another, and no turning back.
TRACK LISTING
SIDE A
Pharoah's Dance
SIDE B
Bitches Brew
SIDE C
Spanish Key
John Mclauglin
SIDE D
Miles Runs The Voodoo Down
Sanctuary
