Miles in Tokyo
| Miles in Tokyo | |
|---|---|
| Live album by Miles Davis | |
|
Publication |
|
| Label (s) | Sony Music Entertainment Japan / Columbia Records |
|
Format (s) |
LP / CD |
|
Title (number) |
5 (7) |
|
running time |
54:15 |
| occupation | |
|
Kiyoshi Itoh , Reissue: Michael Cuscuna , Bob Belden |
|
|
Studio (s) |
Kohseinenkin Hall, Shinjuku , Tokyo |
Miles in Tokyo is a jazz album by Miles Davis . It contains a live recording from the Kohseinenkin Hall in Tokyo on July 14, 1964 and was initially only released in Japan by Sony Music Entertainment Japan in 1969 . It wasn't until 2005 that the recording was released as a compact disc in the United States and Europe on Columbia Records .
Background of the recordings
After George Coleman (who was still involved in the live album My Funny Valentine in February 1964 ) left the Miles Davis band because he did not fit into its musical development, the trumpeter was looking for a new tenor saxophonist:
- “My first choice to replace George was Wayne Shorter , but Art [Blakey] had just made him musical director for the Jazz Messengers . So we hired Sam Rivers . Then we gave some concerts in Tokyo and Osaka . "
This was done on the recommendation of Tony Williams , who also came from Boston. At 44, Rivers was significantly older than anyone else in the band, but Williams liked that. Rivers then took part in Davis' first live recording in Japan; it remained the only recordings of the tenor saxophonist with Miles Davis. The quintet played the then known live repertoire, mostly jazz standards .
Sam River's play on Live in Tokyo was very different from Coleman's on the previous lps; Rivers, who worked with the jazz avant-garde of the time, was unwilling to play in the standard side . “It didn't work right with Sam; it just didn't fit, ” Herbie Hancock said later. “Sam is of course a great musician. But he wasn't what we were looking for. But then we were very sure to know what we were looking for, what Wayne had. "
Miles Davis insisted that the recording could only be released in Japan.
Track list
- Miles Davis: Miles in Tokyo (Columbia SONX 60064-R, SONX-60064-R)
A1 Introduction by Teruo Isono - 1:10
A2 If I Were a Bell ( Frank Loesser ) - 10:18
A3 My Funny Valentine ( Richard Rodgers , Lorenz Hart ) - 12:45
B1 So What (Miles Davis) - 7:50
B2 Walkin '(Richard H. Carpenter) - 9:11
B3 All of You ( Cole Porter ) - 11:10
B4 Theme (Go-go) and Announcement - 1:19
reception
Germain Lineares wrote in All About Jazz that tenor saxophonist Sam Rivers was a more experienced and bolder experimenter than his predecessor George Coleman. Nevertheless, one notices occasionally during the recording why Davis and Rivers did not go together. For example, in If I Were a Bell, Rivers played deliberately eccentric in his solo after a lucid and melodic statement by Davis: “He does this with so much force that his movements are neither subtle nor nuanced; they're conspicuous. ”Still, in the lonely and somber sounding My Funny Valentine, Rivers showed greater care in sticking to the song melody, a process that resonates well with the rest of the group. So What happens faster here than in the version on Kind of Blue , again Davis and Rivers differ in their melodic playing postures.
Still, it's Miles Davis who changes his style in Walkin ' and adds some restless elements to his approach. "He chases fast and whipping through his solo, provoking Tony Williams to some manic beats." For his part, Williams sounds best in contexts that are more out than in , and the involvement of Sam Rivers allows greater rhythmic scope for action. Herbie Hancock also brings in some dissonant and interesting moments in Walkin ' . In the finale All of You you meet Miles Davis “subdued and lyrical”, Rivers “becomes docile” and the rest of the group create a wonderful groove . In summary, the author noted that Miles in Tokyo was a deviation, making it a "rare gem and worth buying."
Scott Yanow gave the album four (out of five) stars in Allmusic, saying that Davis paid little attention to Rivers' avant-garde style and the two apparently failed to develop a connection. The live album that documents this short collaboration is of high quality, both Davis and Rivers are in good shape, and the young rhythm section drives the trumpeter to develop his style further.
Peter Wießmüller commented on the album that Miles Davis' decision to only let the recording appear in Japan is understandable, "because the balance within the group, and not least the rhythm section, is not always balanced". This applies in particular to the opening piece If I Were a Bell . The author, on the other hand, praises the “dreamlike security” of the trumpeter in My Funny Valentine , and Sam Rivers also has a few nice solos in the standard. However, Ron Carter and Tony Williams did not always play together. An increase is So What, in which the rhythm section swings enormously, and Rivers weaves a lot of free elements into his solo. The recording with Walkin ' would get another increase ; Here Sam Rivers appears alongside Miles Davis "very rich in contrast, but also a bit extravagant."
Individual evidence
- ↑ Miles Davis with Quincy Troupe : Miles Davis. The autobiography. Heyne, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-453-17177-2 , p. 364.
- ^ Richard Cook : It's About That Time: Miles Davis on and Off Record . 2007.
- ^ Keith Waters: The Studio Recordings of the Miles Davis Quintet, 1965-68
- ^ A b Peter Wießmüller: Miles Davis. Oreos, (Collection Jazz), Schaftlach around 1985.
- ↑ Album information at Discogs
- ^ Review of the album by Germain Lineares (2005) at All About Jazz
- ^ Review of the album Miles in Tokyo by Scott Yanow at Allmusic (English). Retrieved December 29, 2013.