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
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