#21

They played some Miles Davis at my Grandad’s funeral and I remember thinking “Oh man, Black Moon sampled this”. Which got me into Bitches Brew, and a few other things subsequently. Jazz just seemed like too wide a genre to get into though, which has always made me keep it at arms length outside of people like Miles Davis and Charles Mingus. Going to load my phone up with a few bits from this thread though.

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#22

Bitches Brew

In terms of the influence it had upon acid jazz/jazz rock it revolutionised everything

#23

I’ve yet to explore much of his discography but my top picks are the below and they are all 5* records really:

  1. In A silent Way
  2. Sketches of Spain
  3. Kind of Blue
  4. On the Corner
  5. Seven Steps to Heaven
#24

Got round to enjoying in Kind of Blue yesterday. Others to follow.

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#25

If you’re interested in Miles I would recommend reading his autobiography- one of the most entertaining music autobiographies I’ve read

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#26

An oft overlooked Miles record, and one of my personal favorites, is My Funny Valentine. It’s a live recording of the ballads and mid-tempo numbers from a '64 concert at the Philharmonic Hall. It was shortly before the second great quintet was completed with the addition of Wayne Shorter so the band features the core of Hancock/Carter/Williams and George Coleman on Sax.

Apart from All Blues (for Kind of Blue obvs) the pieces are all standards that Miles would return to repeatedly throughout his career so its a really interesting way of charting his development by comparing to earlier performances.

The quality of the recording is astounding (some say its one of the greatest concert recordings of all time) and the depth and the lyricism of playing is enchanting. I could listen to Miles’ solos of Stella by Starlight for hours.

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#27

he did so so so many different things over the years

i’d recommend going on youtube and clicking links of various live sets

i’m not sure if any musician has gone through so many style so well in a career

niche but i really like this cover of Human Nature

#28

This is one of the first Miles albums I got into and it’s a great starting point for anyone. The version of My Bloody Valentine is unsurpassed.

Also when I finished University and first had to wear a suit and tie to work I spent a long time getting one just like the one Miles wears on the cover.

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#29

Just seen this is on YouTube. One of the absolute best, totally stunning piece of music.

There was always a tension between Miles and some of his younger band members who were getting into free jazz and wanted to explore it more. Unlike Coltrane Miles was somewhat conservative and resisted this trend but this peformance is the closest he got to free jazz in my opinion.

Really interesting to see how he ‘conducts’ the band, often one note is enough to signal a total change in direction.

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#30

Great video. Need to watch that properly later

#31

Good recommendation. Ill check it out. Ive got a couple of Miles Live albums including live at Carnegie Hall but the sound quality isnt great on that one!

#32

Started listening to a lot of recommendations early on and then I just settled in to listen to all the albums in the original Columbia run of 1955 to 1975

which is quite a lot!

Seems none of the Blue Note ones are in Spotify (or rather I’m not searching each individually but the ones I was trying weren’t).

It’s now beginning to merge a little but ESP is up next which is apparently the first of the albums with the Quintet including Herbie Hancock so that should be interesting.

#33

Everyone in that book is either bad, a motherfucker or a bad motherfucker.

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#34

Thanks for the ‘On the Corner’ recommendation, it’s fantastic.

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#35

i’m a Miles novice but On the Corner is unbelievably good

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#36

Even though it’s ghostwritten there’s a real sense of Miles’s genuine voice growling away in your ear when you read it (Quincey Troupe is not your normal hack ghostwriter though). It’s a great book.

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#37

Absolutely love Birth of the Cool - the arrangements on it are absolutely staggering in places (Gil Evans at his best, perhaps).

The high note in Moon Dreams and the chords that fall out of it is one of my favourite Miles moments of all time.

#38

Totally my favourite too.

70s Miles is definitely the best Miles for me. All the studio albums from Bitches Brew through to Get Up With It are incredible.

For anyone that likes electric Miles, would massively recommend Agharta and Pangaea, two ‘electric period’ live albums he recorded in Japan. Not really heard anything else like them. Think anyone into heavier psyche stuff would really dig them. Huge influence on bands from Acid Mothers Temple to Squarepusher by all accounts

#39

Think I’m right in saying that they were both recorded on the same day - one was the afternoon show, the other the evening!

#40

You are exactly right in saying that - makes it even more incredible. Imagine having tickets for both shows!

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