Miles Davis: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7: That’s What Happened 1982-1985

In 1955, Miles Davis and his quintet could show up in the Van Gelder studio, pretend they were playing a club set, and reel off song after song in marathon sessions to close out his contract with Prestige Records. By the early 1980s, not only the music, but recording technology and production techniques had changed radically. By the time the music on the latest installment of The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7: That’s What Happened 1982-1985 was recorded, as John Scofield relates in his commentary in the 48-page booklet, Miles “would record the rehearsals and the gigs and listen to everybody’s solos - including his own - and take the parts he liked and have Gil Evans transcribe the solo. Then that would become a new tune ... The tapes were always supposed to be running ... ”The three disc package presents two CDs of previously unreleased fragmented jams from sessions for the Star People, Decoy and You’re Under Arrest albums, with the third disc devoted to the sextet’s performance at the Montréal Jazz Festival in July 1983. Molding a finished piece from a pre-existing song is considerably different than jamming in the studio and trying to come up with something good. While there are plenty of fine moments sprinkled through the selections on the first two discs, it’s not too surprising that the most satisfying performances are the alternate takes of Time After Time and Human Nature, the nine minutes of the full studio session for Time After Time, and the sole take of the Tina Turner hit What’s Love Got To Do With It. To a Miles Davis devotee, every scrap is worthy of hearing, which I wouldn’t dispute. But when this box set gets pulled off the shelf, it’s likely to be those tracks that get played the most. The booklet includes reminiscences by Scofield, bassists Darryl Jones and Marcus Miller, guitarist Mike Stern, and drummer Vince Wilburn, Jr., plus an essay by the late Greg Tate, along with numerous photos of Miles and the band on stage. The concert on disc 3 was performed just a couple of weeks after the session that produced Freaky Deaky, the piece that ends disc 1. The live set features songs from the Star People album. The consistently exciting guitarist John Scofield gets a lot of solo space, as does a boisterous Bill Evans on saxophone. The thumping rhythm team of Darryl Jones on electric bass and Al Foster, a stalwart on drums, brings the funk. Miles himself spends a lot of time directing the flow from his keyboards, popping out for beautifully nuanced trumpet solos. Edits of Speak (That’s What Happened) and What It Is totaling around eight minutes were issued on the Decoy album, but this is the first release of the complete show. While the set list remained fairly consistent between the summer of 1982 and the end of 1983, the dynamic Creepin’ In, which closes the show with Evans on flute and a bass solo by Jones, was played just this one time. Over the course of 78 minutes, there are a few moments of the band treading water while waiting for the next wave of inspiration, but the enthusiastic audience never seems to mind. And if electric Miles Davis music is your thing, you won’t mind either. Recommended. 

Columbia/Legacy 19439863852; Collective personnel on Discs 1 and 2: Miles Davis (tpt, kybds) J.J. Johnson (tbn) Bill Evans (ss, ts) Bob Berg (ss) Mike Stern, John Scofield, John McLaughlin (g) Robert Irving III (kybds, drum pgm) Marcus Miller, Darryl Jones (el b) Al Foster (d) Vince Wilburn, Jr., (d, drum pgm, perc) Steve Thornton, Mino Cinélu (perc) Disc 1 (66:19): Santana (1/1 or 1/2/83)/ Minor Ninths, Part 1/ Minor Ninths, Part 2 (10/20/82)/ Celestial Blues, Part 1 Celestial Blues, Part 2/ Celestial Blues, Part 3 (10/20/82)/ Remake of OBX Ballad/ Remake of OBX Ballad (full studio session) (10/11/82)/Freaky Deaky, Part 1/ Freaky Deaky, Part 2 (6/30/82). Disc 2 (61:43): Time After Time (alternate)/ Time After Time (full studio session) (1/26-29/84)/Theme From Jack Johnson (right Off); Intro (1/27/84)/ Never Loved Like This (studio session demo) (1/84)/ Hopscotch (slow)/ Hopscotch (fast) (12/27/84)/What’s Love Got to Do With It (12/26/84)/Human Nature (alternate) (12/26/84)/ Katia (full studio session) (1/85). Disc 3 (78:36), Miles Davis (tpt, kybds) Bill Evans (ss, ts, fl) John Scofield (g) Darryl Jones (el b) Al Foster (d) Mino Cinélu (perc); Montréal, July 7, 1983; Speak (That’s What Happened/ Star People/ What It Is/ It Gets Better/ Hopscotch/ Star on Cecily/ Jean-Pierre/ Code 3/ Creepin’ In. www.legacyrecordings.com

 

Bruce Forman: Reunion!

  The latest release by journeyman guitarist Bruce Forman on his own B4Man-Music imprint is called Reunion!, a fine trio session with bassist John Clayton and drummer Jeff Hamilton. The reunion in this case is the actual instruments they all brought to the studio: Forman is playing Barney Kessel’s guitar, Clayton wields a bass that was owned by Ray Brown, and Hamilton sits at Shelly Manne’s drum set. As a recording unit for Contemporary Records, Kessel, Brown, and Manne were known as The Poll Winners. You could call them the New Poll Winners, I suppose, but there’s nothing revivalist about this trio. What they do have in common with those well-respected forerunners is irresistible swing, great taste in material, a knack for just the right tempos, and the impeccable solo work. Forman writes that the session was “like kids getting together and playing their parents’ instruments.” That’s a warm feeling that comes through on every track of this immensely pleasurable session. Definitely worth seeking out. 

B4Man-Music; Bruce Forman (g) John Clayton (b) Jeff Hamilton (d); no recording information; Rope-A-Dope/ This is New/ Feel the Barn/ Gravy Waltz/ Barney’s Tune/ April in Paris/ Hammer’s Back in Town/ BRS/ Stardust/ On Green Dolphin Street/ The Daze/ Love Potion #9; 46:42. www.bruceforman.com

Piano Trios!! (Part 4): Craig Davis, Matthew Fries, Chris Parker

  According to the online Jazz Discography, pianist, composer, and arranger Michael “Dodo” Marmarosa participated in 140 sessions, at first with big bands led by Charlie Barnet, Tommy Dorsey, and Artie Shaw, and in small groups like Shaw’s Gramercy Five and various Slim Gailliard ensembles. He played with both Lester Young and Charlie Parker, made trio recordings for Dial in 1947, and did some small band record dates in the Sixties for Argo and Prestige. Obviously, he was very well-respected by his contemporaries, and yet today he’s mostly remembered for his name. Pianist Craig Davis is out to change that, and he’s enlisted the non-pareil bass and drums team of John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton to assist him on Tone Paintings: The Music Of Dodo Marmarosa. Clayton and Hamilton first recorded together as members of the Monty Alexander trio in May 1976. Over the forty-plus years since that date, they’ve teamed on a vast number of record dates, and they’ve co-led The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra since 1989. Having them on a session ensures an endless source of solid swing. Along with ten of Marmarosa’s delightful originals, all first recorded between 1945 and 1947, Davis has written one tune for the project, A Ditty For Dodo, which fits snugly in the middle of the set. He’s a gifted pianist, with a bouncy and propulsive rhythmic sense, and an elegant style reminiscent of Hank Jones and Barry Harris. If these deeply felt and passionate renditions of Marmarosa’s bop-era tunes don’t start to encourage more musicians to play them, it won’t be for lack of trying. Tone Paintings will keep your toes tapping and your spirit lifted. Definitely recommended. 

MCG Jazz MCGJ 1056; Craig Davis (p) John Clayton (b) Jeff Hamilton (d); Glendale, CA, May 1-2, 2021; Mellow Mood/ Dodo’s Bounce/ Dodo’s Blues/ Escape/ A Ditty For Dodo/ Opus No. 5/ Compadoo/ Dary Departs/ Tone Paintings I/ Battle Of The Balcony Jive/ Dodo’s Lament; 50:53. www.mcgjazz.org

Pianist Matthew Fries is joined by the stalwart bassist John Hébert and the experienced drummer Keith Hall for Lost Time, performing a batch of beguiling original tunes. The eminently tasteful Fries and Hall have worked together backing vocalist Curtis Stigers starting in 2004, so their rapport comes as no surprise. While Hébert is probably most known for his work in Mary Halvorson’s bands from 2008 to 2015, he’s played on dozens and dozens of record dates since first recording with a large Peter Herborn ensemble in 1997. His connection to saxophonist Andrew Rathbun, who produced this session, goes back to 1998. In spite of the pandemic isolation, where one might expect music reflecting feelings of introspective morosity, the mood of Fries’ tunes is often upbeat, like the solidly swinging Quarantine. There’s plenty to enjoy here, including The Fog, which opens the set with an immediate sense of the musicians functioning as equals in the music; the absorbing Heroes, with its multiple tempo shifts handled with imperturbable aplomb by the trio; the introspective ballad Continuum, which features one of several fine bass solos by Hébert; and the wistful and delicate Lost Time, which closes the vinyl version of this music. Two songs (another pretty ballad called Nine Robins and the jaunty June Blues) are available only for downloading or streaming. Happily recommended. 

Xcappa XCP1005 (vinyl, download and streaming); Matthew Fries (p) John Hébert (b) Keith Hall (d); Chicago, IL, July 21, 2021; The Fog/ Insomnia/ Quarantine/ Heroes/ Continuum/ Lost Time/ Nine Robins*/ 8 June Blues*; 55:44. (* tracks are download or streaming only) xcappa.com

Watching the Chris Parker Trio at work in the studio on a video press release while they were recording Tell Me, I was struck by the sheer joy that was obvious on the faces of pianist Kyoko Oyobe, bassist Ameen Saleem, and drummer/leader Chris Parker as they played. The veteran Parker, who’s played with everyone from the Brecker Brothers, Lionel Hampton, and Gato Barbieri to Cher, Bob Dylan, and Aretha Franklin, sounds totally relaxed in the trio format, giving his partners plenty of solo space. The deep pleasure that I saw on the video is evident in the music. Saleem has a powerful sound. He generally keeps his solos short and to the point, seamlessly shifting from soloist to accompanist. Oyobe, with only a few previous recordings to her credit, seems like the real deal. She’s got a great sense of time, technique to spare, and a penchant for long flowing lines. Her standout solo comes on Tophland, where she dazzles as she rides the waves of Parker’s propulsive drumming. The trio is equally effective at tempos like the brisk Coolypso, adapted from Monk’s Let’s Cool One or the deliberate pace of Dwa Serduzska, Parker’s delicate arrangement of a Polish folk song, which makes for an engrossing listening experience. The trio set ends with the title track, Tell Me, and everyone has their say on this happy swinging tune. Parker has placed a quartet track at the end of the CD, Title Waived. Steven Bernstein gives it atmosphere with a slew of brass instruments, guitarist Chris Biesterfeldt and bassist David Finck bring the funk, and the whole thing has a late-night slow groove. Not bad, really, but out of place just the same. But that’s no reason to ignore the trio material, which is well worth hearing. 

M’Bubba; Kyoko Oyobe (p) Ameen Saleem (b) Chris Parker (d) on * only: Steven Bernstein (tpt, slide tpt, tbn, euph) Chris Biesterfeldt (g) David Finck (b) Parker (d); NYC, no dates indicated; Coolypso/ Desaparecido/ Inferno Avenue/ Dwa Serduzska (for Hanna)/ Minky, Don't You Weep/ Nippon Days, Nippon Nights/ Tophland/ West Cornwall Bridge/ Tell Me/ Title Waived*; 59:24. www.chrisparkerdrums.com