Mike Broadman
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2001
- Messages
- 4,950
Hey all, just lettin' you know that I got the new 20 CD box set that contains the complete Montreaux festival concert performances.
Rather than reviewing the entire gargantuan thing after listening to it all, which will take me like a month or so, I'll post tidbits for those who are interested.
Packaging
Very cool. A rectangular black thick cardboard box with a picture of a smiling Miles holding his horn up contains the tomes of material inside. Opening the box reveals a slick black tall booklet that has pictures of and drawings by Miles, some notes and the track information- a stylish way to provide the information in a small package. The CDs themselves are in two booklets of 10 discs each, with each booklet being the same size as most CD box sets (like the Plugged Nickel set, for example). The one thing I don't like is that the tracks are only listed in the booklet, not on the CD case or the back of the box.
Each performance is on two CDs except for the last two. The 19th CD was a concert Miles did with Quincy Jones and an orchestra performing some Gil Evans work. All the rest of the music has never been released before.
Right now I am spinning the first CD, a performance from 1973. There are only two tracks, each simply called "Miles in Montreaux," so this is just the band jamming on new riffs. The band is essentially the one on the Dark Magus album. Dave Liebman on sax and winds and Pete Cosey on guitar take the bulk of the solo spots, while Foster, Henderson, and Mtume cook with their rhythm section. And what about Miles?- he kicks the whole thing into gear with his short, melodic statements, while popping in and out with his trumpet, adding some texture with the organ, and directing the mayhem.
Jazz purists beware: this music is not for you. Michael Henderson's bass lines of repetitive riffs that come from soul and R&B (he had played with Stevie Wonder before Miles) instead of jazz turns a lot of people off. This music is more in line, at least conceptually, with acid jazz or trance. But it's damn good stuff.
There's a reason why the vast majority of the 70s material is live. This music exists solely on the basis on emotion, reaction, and improvisation.
The other 18 CDs are from 1984-1991, a period which is universally dismissed. However, there is some A-class stuff in that era and I am excited at the prospect of hearing the extended versions of some of those songs. The studio album tracks are generally limited to about 5 minutes a pop, while these live tracks are listed as much longer.
The 2nd disc has three tracks, two of which are on other albums (Ife, Calypso) and a third new jam.
Of course, the third disc is where we get to the meat of the set, but we must wait until I get there...
Rather than reviewing the entire gargantuan thing after listening to it all, which will take me like a month or so, I'll post tidbits for those who are interested.
Packaging
Very cool. A rectangular black thick cardboard box with a picture of a smiling Miles holding his horn up contains the tomes of material inside. Opening the box reveals a slick black tall booklet that has pictures of and drawings by Miles, some notes and the track information- a stylish way to provide the information in a small package. The CDs themselves are in two booklets of 10 discs each, with each booklet being the same size as most CD box sets (like the Plugged Nickel set, for example). The one thing I don't like is that the tracks are only listed in the booklet, not on the CD case or the back of the box.
Each performance is on two CDs except for the last two. The 19th CD was a concert Miles did with Quincy Jones and an orchestra performing some Gil Evans work. All the rest of the music has never been released before.
Right now I am spinning the first CD, a performance from 1973. There are only two tracks, each simply called "Miles in Montreaux," so this is just the band jamming on new riffs. The band is essentially the one on the Dark Magus album. Dave Liebman on sax and winds and Pete Cosey on guitar take the bulk of the solo spots, while Foster, Henderson, and Mtume cook with their rhythm section. And what about Miles?- he kicks the whole thing into gear with his short, melodic statements, while popping in and out with his trumpet, adding some texture with the organ, and directing the mayhem.
Jazz purists beware: this music is not for you. Michael Henderson's bass lines of repetitive riffs that come from soul and R&B (he had played with Stevie Wonder before Miles) instead of jazz turns a lot of people off. This music is more in line, at least conceptually, with acid jazz or trance. But it's damn good stuff.
There's a reason why the vast majority of the 70s material is live. This music exists solely on the basis on emotion, reaction, and improvisation.
The other 18 CDs are from 1984-1991, a period which is universally dismissed. However, there is some A-class stuff in that era and I am excited at the prospect of hearing the extended versions of some of those songs. The studio album tracks are generally limited to about 5 minutes a pop, while these live tracks are listed as much longer.
The 2nd disc has three tracks, two of which are on other albums (Ife, Calypso) and a third new jam.
Of course, the third disc is where we get to the meat of the set, but we must wait until I get there...