Miles Davis Complete In A Silent Way Sessions CD

3cds-Deluxe Longbox Package.

Personnel: Miles Davis (trumpet); Wayne Shorter (soprano & tenor saxophones); Joe Zawinul (electric piano, organ); Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea (electric piano); John McLaughlin (guitar); Dave Holland (bass); Tony Williams (drums, tambourine); Joe Chambers (drums); Teo Macero (tambourine)
Reissue producers: Michael Cuscuna, Bob Belden.
Recorded on September 24 and November 11, 12, 25 & 27, 1968, and February 18 & 20, 1969. Includes liner notes by Michael Cuscuna & Bob Belden.
Personnel: Miles Davis (trumpet); John McLaughlin (guitar); Wayne Shorter (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock (electric piano); Joe Zawinul (organ); Dave Holland (bass instrument); Jack DeJohnette (drums, tambourine); Joe Chambers, Tony Williams (drums); Teo Macero (tambourine).
Liner Note Authors: Michael Cuscuna; Bob Belden.
Of all the recording sessions completed by Miles Davis with his various bands, the sessions surrounding In a Silent Way Sessions in 1968 and 1969 are easily the most mysterious and enigmatic. For starters, they signified the completion of his transformation from acoustic to electric sound, and secondly, they marked the complete dissolution of the "second" quintet of Davis, Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, Wayne Shorter, and Ron Carter that had begun on Filles de Kilimanjaro. The addition of Chick Corea as a second keyboard player and the replacement of Ron Carter with Dave Holland had changed the sound of the band's dynamic, textural, and rhythmic palettes. The final break with Davis' own previous musical sound happened when he added guitarist John McLaughlin and keyboardist/composer Joe Zawinul (for a temporary three-keyboard sound).
The music on the In a Silent Way Sessions comes packaged three ways, all of it chronologically ordered: there is the material used to finish Filles de Kilimanjaro ("Mademoiselle Maby" and "Freon Brun"); material that has been, up until now, unissued in any form; session outtakes that appeared, in edited form, on Circle in the Round, Water Babies, and Directions; unissued and rejected takes; and finally, the music recorded for In a Silent Way itself as it was rehearsed, played, and finally, heavily edited into the released album, which also appears here.
This was an ambitious undertaking, even if it only covered six months in the recording life of Davis (September 1968 through February 1969), whose musical inspirations and directions were crisscrossing as they were changing direction. With the exception of one tune, Davis or Zawinul composed everything here. Zawinul, though a jazz veteran, was discovering new ways to write -- particularly since the advent of the electric piano -- and proved to be a profound influence on his employer. The other heavy influence on Davis during this volatile, fertile period was Tony Williams, who was soaking up the pop music of the day, from the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's album (via a girlfriend's suggestion) to the in-his-prime James Brown, to Jimi Hendrix.
On disc one the set begins with the missing tracks from the quintet box set: "Mademoiselle Mabry" and "Frelon Brun." Hearing them in this context, as the first complete expressions of Davis' new sound, is revelatory. For the first time the three-chord vamp in "Mademoiselle Mabry" comes across as the fitting tribute to Hendrix it should have been, echoing the turnaround tags in "The Wind Cries Mary." These tracks mark the entrance of Dave Holland into the band and the first marked absence of Hancock. The contrast in styles, from Hancock's chunky, groove-laden chords and single-note runs and Corea's deep, cerebral spaciousness, is remarkable; it's a wonder they were issued on the same record at all. The simple, slow jam riff the former tune evokes was, in some way, the cornerstone on which the material for these sessions would be built, while the latter provided the space and pace for its establishment.
The elegantly spaced-out "Two Faced" anSpin (12/01, p.154) - 7 out of 10 - "...Quite good....This holds up fine 32 years after its release..."
Q (12/01, p.154) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Fascinating..."
Uncut (12/01, p.112) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...We hear the IN A SILENT WAY material both finished and in its raw state....A must for hardcore Miles students..."
Down Beat (11/01, p.70) - 4.5 stars out of 5 - "...Compelling....suffused with the same elegance and power that marked everything the mid-'60s Quintet produced..."
JazzTimes (10/01, pp.92-3) - "...Traces the band's steady journey into more atmospheric sounds..."