I really like this video of Miles playing 'Time After Time' at one of his final concert appearances in Japan (I think) in the late 80s. Though clearly not in great shape, Miles still does the business with a wonderful performance.
It's an odd album in that Miles was trying out Hank Mobley to replace Coltrane and Trane inadvertently made Hank look bad with his masterful solo in "Someday My Prince Will Come" and of course Miles and Trane are amazing (sans Mobley) on "Teo." A strange, transitory time in Miles' career but a fine album and one I often return to.
I won't be satisfied until this thread has more posts than the Zsa Zsa Gabor thread...
One of my first exposures to Miles Davis was an episode of VH-1's New Visions series. This must've been around 1988 or so, though this clip is from 1990. It was hosted by Nile Rodgers. Anyway, Miles was featured on one and it showed his paintings and went through his history. It was all so fascinating and was the begininng of my interest in jazz.
"Solar", from 1954's Walkin', the album recognized as Miles' comeback from the edge of his early '50s heroin-induced oblivion. It's also the first Miles album I ever owned.
I loved much of Miles Davis' musical output, but I never liked the 1965-68 Quintet that featured Wayne, Herbie, Ron, and Tony (yes, I'm on a first-name basis with these guys) as I did the other work in Miles' career. I loved these musicians in their separate realms, but not in Miles' group.
Loved hearing Tony today via "In a Silent Way." It was cool to hear Chick in the studio album, too. (Along with HH.) I haven't listened to one of Chick's albums in gosh knows how long, though?
I think I ended-up on the wrong side of the board, but then saw this Miles Davis thread.
My personal Miles favorites are Porgy and Bess, Sketches of Spain, and Kind of Blue. Honorable mention for Round About Midnight, Birth of Cool, Bitches Brew, Silent Way, Live Evil, and Tutu. The Columbia years are very interesting times also for Miles, so I like those too (e.g., Nefertiti, Sorcerer's Way, Miles In the Sky).
Anyway, Marcus Miller produced and played bass for Miles on Tutu. Around 2000-2002 he and his band were doing a 20 minute Miles/Marcus/Hannibal/Tutu suite if you ever got to see him play out. He did this intro where he spoke about the importance of Miles, etc. Real Nice.
Can't find that exact suite, I'm sure there's at least a sample somewhere. You'll see at youtube, there's a bunch of different MM / Tutu vids, but I didn't care for the newer stuff.
He is basically carrying the "Miles Torch" these days. He always includes Miles' material during his sets, etc. Same with Coltrane, but not as much. Marcus loves Miles, and I suppose that's important so the music lives on.
I think I ended-up on the wrong side of the board, but then saw this Miles Davis thread.]
Nice to know there are some more Miles/jazz fans out there in film score nerdland. Miles, along with most jazz artists, are complete strangers to the '80s-loving, Jedi crowd.
My personal Miles favorites are Porgy and Bess, Sketches of Spain, and Kind of Blue. Honorable mention for Round About Midnight, Birth of Cool, Bitches Brew, Silent Way, Live Evil, and Tutu. The Columbia years are very interesting times also for Miles, so I like those too (e.g., Nefertiti, Sorcerer's Way, Miles In the Sky).
Almost every title you named is a Columbia release. I guess Miles, along with Dave Brubeck and to an extent, Duke Ellington, were the leading lights of Jazz having signed with that label.
I've been enamored with Miles' work, and jazz in general, for twenty years now. It never gets old and always sounds fresh.
I should have said "late Columbia stuff" and that may have helped identify the period most easily (viz., late 60s). I'm a little younger, so the late 50s sextet stuff sometimes seems less innovative to me (e.g., Working, Musings, All-stars, etc.).
I do have some of the Prestige recordings, and some with Thelonius, but those I have mostly bc of Thelonius.
I wonder if those newer clips are landing with you guys... I know it's not acoustic jazz, but it's really the only Miles game in town. Could you imagine Wynton lining up 3 Hammonds and Fenders Rhodes to do Silent Way's Shh at Lincoln Center?
I came to Miles in a roundabout way. I started on guitar and bass when I was young in the late 70s. Typical main street stuff. Dad/son jazz teacher type of thing. Anyway, I was turned onto RTF, Mahavishnu, and Weather Report, bc that's where the great guitartists and bassists of the time were, and it exploded backwards from their.
