Keith Jarret And Jack DeJohnette - 1973 "Ruta And Daitya"

Ruta and Daitya is an album released on ECM by jazz pianist Keith Jarrett and drummer Jack DeJohnette. It features seven duet performances recorded in the studio.

Keith Jarrett and Jack DeJohnette, who continue their formidable partnership to this day, join forces for an early and unique collaboration. This being the tail end of Jarrett’s electric period with Miles Davis, Ruta and Daitya marks an archivally important transition into his imminent acoustic pilgrimages. “Overture Communion” captures our attention from the start with a funky, wah-wahed electric piano, warmly guiding us into the album’s exciting, yet somehow always plaintive world. The title track shakes things up with a spate of hand percussion as Jarrett flutes a more abstract improvisation than the one that began the album, though to no less captivating effect. When Jarrett abandons flute for piano, a markedly different shape brands itself into the foreground. In doing so, something gets obscured. It’s not that instruments from such seemingly disparate geographies cannot tread the same path, but simply that they don’t speak to each other as complementarily. Thankfully, Jarrett’s return to flute, this time of bamboo variety, puts us right back into the conversation. DeJohnette takes up a standard drum kit for “All We Got,” a cut that runs around in circles, even as it rouses us with its gospel-infused aesthetic. Jarrett finds himself acoustically redrawn in “Sounds of Peru.” Piano and hand drums work magically this time around as the duo hones further the groove it has been searching for. Jarrett opens up his playing, giving DeJohnette a wider berth in which to lose himself. No longer do the drums skirt the periphery, but frolic in the territory proper. There is even what amounts to a percussion solo as Jarrett coos in the background with delight, thus preparing him for an inspired passage that grinds bass notes in counterpoint to his running right hand. In “Algeria,” Jarrett sings into the flute again, leaving me to wonder why we don’t hear him on the instrument more often, though perhaps its linearity is somewhat limiting to a musician with such expansive hands (hence, his propensity for polyphonic playing). “You Know, You Know” brings us full circle to the electric piano for a more laid-back coolness before we end with “Pastel Morning,” a beautiful meditation on the electric piano. In the absence of punchy distortion, it sounds almost like a vibraphone, its gentler capacities allowed to float of their own accord.

The album’s title is a curious one, and offers at best a rather opaque X-ray of the conceptual skeleton it sheathes. Ruta and Daitya refer to two island-continents, remnants of the second cataclysm to befall the great island of Atlantis. Both were populated by races of titans, known as “Lords of the Dark Face” as a means of indicating their ties to black magic. If we are to believe Madame Blavatsky, who in her second volume of The Secret Doctrine outlines their genealogical significance in her mystical, albeit highly racialized, account of creation, the Egyptians inherited the cosmological legacy of the Ruta Atlanteans, as supposedly evidenced in the similarities of their Zodiacal beliefs. Whatever the origins, there is much to ponder in Ruta and Daitya. The sensitive pianism for which Jarrett is so renowned is in full evidence throughout, though for me his flute playing really sells the album. Jarrett proves himself more than adept and plays with an addictive sense of abandon. DeJohnette, meanwhile, enchants with a melodic approach to his kit, especially in his use of cymbals.

This isn’t an album I would necessarily recommend to those just starting their Jarrett or ECM explorations. For what it is—a meeting of two consummate musical minds—its importance is a given. While perhaps not as consistently inventive as other likeminded projects (see, for example, the phenomenal Charles Lloyd/Billy Higgins effort Which Way Is East), it is certainly more hit than miss, and strikes this listener with the ambitions of its musicians’ reach every time.

Splitting his time between the electric and acoustic pianos and a bit of organ, Jarrett teams up with drummer/percussionist Jack DeJohnette in a series of experimental duets, his only electric session for ECM. The all-acoustic title number ranges all over the lot, from tootling on a bamboo (?) flute to the energizing barrelhouse gospel riffs that would bloom in the solo concerts. Tellingly, there is little in this collaboration that predicts what Jarrett and DeJohnette would do in their Standards Trio of the '80s; rather, it anticipates the exotic Third World side of Jarrett's American quartet immediately in the future and adds a finishing flourish to his jazz-rock period. Indeed, the most memorably percolating playing by both musicians turns up in the electric numbers, where Jarrett utilizes the distinctively funky, wah-wah, fuzz-tone approach on electric piano that he developed with Miles Davis. As such, this is a valuable, underrated transition album that provides perhaps the last glimpse of the electric Keith Jarrett as he embarked on his notorious (and ultimately triumphant) anti-electric crusade.

All compositions by Keith Jarrett and Jack DeJohnette except as indicated
Recorded at Sunset Studios, Los Angeles, CA, May, 1971

http://jazz-rock-fusion-guitar.blogspot.com/search?q=Jack+Dejohnette

http://jazz-rock-fusion-guitar.blogspot.com/search?q=Keith+Jarrett

Track listing:

1. "Overture/Communion" - 6:00
2. "Ruta and Daitya" - 11:14
3. "All We Got" - 2:00
4. "Sounds of Peru/Submergence/Awakening" - 6:31
5. "Algeria" - 5:47
6. "You Know, You Know" (Jarrett) - 7:44
7. "Pastel Morning" (Jarrett) - 2:04

Personnel:

Keith Jarrett – piano, electric piano, organ, flute
Jack DeJohnette - drums, percussion

Keith Jarrett - Gary Peacock - Jack DeJohnette - 2007 "My Foolish Heart"

My Foolish Heart is a double live album by American pianist Keith Jarrett's "Standards Trio" featuring Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette recorded in concert in July 2001 at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and released on the ECM label in 2007.

Pianist Keith Jarrett's career practically invites criticism or, at the very least, intense comment. His outspokenness, his utter seriousness of intent and the resulting love-hate relationship with the audience, even his vocalisms, evoke strong responses, both pro and con, from listeners.

As the years have gone by, expectations have continued to rise, almost to the point that no matter what he does, Jarrett will fail in someone's eyes, and My Foolish Heart is no exception. However, the only issue that really matters is this: does he and, by extension, the trio, communicate with and connect to the listener?

ECM has released this double-CD live recording from the 2001 Montreux Jazz Festival as a sort of now-to-then comparison to the upcoming release Setting The Standards: New York Sessions 1983, which will mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of this trio in 2008. Any Jarrett release is an event and, when combined with Jarrett's liner notes which talk about how special this performance was, practically promises a revelatory listening experience.

Revelation is, however, a very personal thing. Since this music consists of well-known standards the magic, if it is to be found, will not be in new sounds, but in the details of the performance for those who can, or desire to, hear them.

The best jazz is the music of spontaneous, unexpected creation. It requires dynamic energy and concentration plus the seeming contradictory ability to let go, forgetting all the technique and theory and just playing. In this case, what is to be played starts with the tunes themselves, with melody. A standard is labeled as such because its construction has achieved the delicate balance between the melodic phrasing and harmony that creates something unique, and being immediately identifiable and memorable.

To treat such a creation as mere changes is to violate its sanctity, and true improvisation will maintain contact, however tenuous, with the source of the inspiration. In this respect, Jarrett is masterful and there is nary a moment on any track when it is not obvious which tune is being played. The changes are respected, but so are the melody and emotional essence of the tune, with Jarrett using the musical language of conventional bebop jazz.

Bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette, acknowledged masters in their own right, obviously know Jarrett and each other extremely well. Any given performance can vary, but this one does seem to find this rhythm section in top form. DeJohnette's famous energy is controlled but white hot while Peacock, whose solos are short but meaningful, adds a delightful bounce and verve.

The trio is playing as one and this is the joy of the performance. The surprise comes with the three stride tunes, "Ain't Misbehavin,'" "Honeysuckle Rose" and "You Took Advantage Of Me," and if anyone was waiting for a reason to gush about this performance, it is here.

My Foolish Heart is an anniversary release celebrating 25 years of the Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, and Jack DeJohnette trio's traveling and performing together despite the rich and varied individual careers of its members. Recorded in 2001 at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Jarrett held the tape close to the vest until what he felt was the right time for release -- whatever that means. The bottom line is, listeners are very fortunate to have it. The official live offerings by this group have always been crystalline affairs of deep swinging communication, no matter the material.

Not only is My Foolish Heart no exception, it is perhaps the standard by which the others should be judged. Almost two hours in length, the program is comprised entirely of jazz and pop standards -- beginning with a tough, limber, punchy version of Miles Davis' "Four" lasting over nine minutes. That the music begins like this, so utterly strident and swaggering, full of lyric invention and energy, is almost reason enough for purchase.

The inherent commitment to the music is not measured: it's total. There are few -- if any -- groups in jazz that have been together for such a long time. And there are few groups new or old that are even capable enough to manage such a wide-ranging selection of the repertoire: from the title track and "Four" to "Oleo," "Straight, No Chaser," and even "Five Brothers"! But the selection of material is only the wrapper. What's inside it is not just the history of jazz but history in the making, because these three prove beyond all measure not only the vitality of the material but also the necessity of the trio interpretation of it, and indeed what is possible: bop, hard bop, post-bop, swing, and here even ragtime, played with all the seriousness and joy it demands.

The readings of Fats Waller's "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Honeysuckle Rose" and Rodgers & Hart's "You Took Advantage of Me" are wild affairs, beautifully executed, sure, but played with the requisite emotion that new interpretations require.

On this set, these tunes have been brought out of history, out of the canon of milquetoast sweetness as diversions for the purpose of entertainment, and out into the present as revelatory statements in harmony and rhythmic and lyric invention. The interplay between Peacock and DeJohnette is utterly dynamic. The way these two not only complement but also challenge one another creates a sense of balance that allows Jarrett room for flight -- not into his own quirks as a musician, but into the entire universe of jazz. Peacock and DeJohnette solo a lot here, with in-the-pocket contributions to the melodic panorama of the music.

The ballads, too, such as the delicate reading of Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne's "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry" and the curious but spot-on choice for a set closer, Cahn and James Van Heusen's "Only the Lonely," are read with such sensitivity and confidence that overly reverent interpretation (a trap for any player who risks bloodlessness) is impossible; the nature of "song" is kept as the trio offers these renditions with deep emotion and a singer's sense of space and elegance. Over 13 tunes, this band offers more surprises, delights, and jaw-dropping musical acumen than even fans believed possible.

As Jarrett writes in his liner notes, "There was no other night when we felt that we had to (almost literally) grab the audience by the throat and shake them into hearing what we were doing." Perhaps they were distracted by heat, bad sound, and lighting problems -- Jarrett speaks to these twice in his notes -- but perhaps, until they reached the ragtime segment of the set that demanded a waking response, they were just floored by the swinging intensity with which the set began.

Whatever the reason, this document is a mindblower from start to finish, and there are moments when all you can do in response is look at the box slack-jawed and wonder if what you just heard really happened. It did and it does, over and over again. This set is a magical, wondrous moment in the life of a trio when it all comes pouring out as inspiration and mastery.

Place it where you will in Jarrett's discography, My Foolish Heart is true jazz artistry.

Track listing:

CD 1
1. "Four" (Miles Davis) - 9:09
2. "My Foolish Heart" (Ned Washington, Victor Young) - 12:25
3. "Oleo" (Sonny Rollins) - 6:37
4. "What's New?" (Johnny Burke, Bob Haggart) - 7:54
5. "The Song Is You" (Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern) - 7:43
6. "Ain't Misbehavin'" (Waller, Harry Brooks, Andy Razaf) - 6:41

CD 2
1. "Honeysuckle Rose" (Razaf, Waller) - 6:45
2. "You Took Advantage of Me" (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) - 8:54
3. "Straight, No Chaser" (Thelonious Monk) - 10:05
4. "Five Brothers" (Gerry Mulligan) - 6:36
5. "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry" (Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne) - 11:09
6. "Green Dolphin Street" (Bronisław Kaper, Ned Washington) - 8:18
7. "Only the Lonely" (Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen) - 6:15

Personnel:

Keith Jarrett – piano
Gary Peacock - bass
Jack DeJohnette - drums

Miles Davis - 1972 [1991] "Live Evil" [Japan Import]

Live-Evil is an album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released on November 17, 1971, by Columbia Records. Parts of the album comprise live recordings of Davis' 1970 performance at the Cellar Door, which producer Teo Macero subsequently pieced together in production. It also features his recordings at Columbia's Studio B, with different personnel, on February 6 and June 3–4, 1970. Though all compositions were originally credited to Miles Davis, the studio recordings "Little Church" ("Igrejinha"), "Nem Um Talvez" ("Not Even a Maybe") and "Selim" are by Brazilian composer and multi-instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal, who also played with the Davis band on these tracks. "Inamorata" means "A Female Lover".

A number of famous jazz musicians feature on the album, including Keith Jarrett and Jack DeJohnette. One of the key musicians on the album, John McLaughlin, was not a regular member of Miles Davis's band during the time of recording. McLaughlin joined the band for one of the four nights at the Cellar Door, rather like a session player; this is not the case for other Davis albums that he worked on.
Davis had originally intended the album to be a spiritual successor to Bitches Brew, but this idea was abandoned when it became obvious that Live-Evil was "something completely different".

Live-Evil is one of Miles Davis' most confusing and illuminating documents. As a double album, it features very different settings of his band -- and indeed two very different bands. The double-LP CD package is an amalgam of a December 19, 1970, gig at the Cellar Door, which featured a band comprised of Miles, bassist Michael Henderson, drummer Jack DeJohnette, guitarist John McLaughlin, saxophonist Gary Bartz, Keith Jarrett on organ, and percussionist Airto. These tunes show a septet that grooved hard and fast, touching on the great funkiness that would come on later. But they are also misleading in that McLaughlin only joined the band for this night of a four-night stand; he wasn't really a member of the band at this time. Therefore, as fine and deeply lyrically grooved-out as these tracks are, they feel just a bit stiff -- check any edition of this band without him and hear the difference. The other band on these discs was recorded in Columbia's Studio B and subbed Ron Carter or Dave Holland on bass, added Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock on electric pianos, dropped the guitar on "Selim" and "Nem Um Talvez," and subbed Steve Grossman over Gary Bartz while adding Hermeto Pascoal on percussion and drums in one place ("Selim"). In fact, these sessions were recorded earlier than the live dates, the previous June in fact, when the three-keyboard band was beginning to fall apart. Why the discs were not issued separately or as a live disc and a studio disc has more to do with Miles' mind than anything else. As for the performances, the live material is wonderfully immediate and fiery: "Sivad," "Funky Tonk," and "What I Say" all cream with enthusiasm, even if they are a tad unsure of how to accommodate McLaughlin. Of the studio tracks, only "Little Red Church" comes up to that level of excitement, but the other tracks, particularly "Gemini/Double Image," have a winding, whirring kind of dynamic to them that seems to turn them back in on themselves, as if the band was really pushing in a free direction that Miles was trying to rein in. It's an awesome record, but it's because of its flaws rather than in spite of them. This is the sound of transition and complexity, and somehow it still grooves wonderfully.

This is where Miles Davis turned funk into jazz, rock into soul, and chaos into Beauty. With a rotating cast of bands featuring keyboardists Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea, guitarist John McLaughlin, percussionist Airto Moreira, saxophonists Gary Bartz and Wayne Shorter, and myriad other explorers, Davis kept up with the times...and surpassed them. He rocked harder than Sly, got funkier than J.B., and turned jazz inside out, slicing the music open till blood spilled on to the floor. More focused than Bitches Brew, which is all the more surprising since it's actually a piecemeal recording from various dates and venues--some in the studio, some on stage, but all very much l-i-v-e.

There was a certain style of extended riffing that became known as "fusion" ... other artists such as the original Soft Machine were able to fuse rock and jazz in entirely different ways ... Miles and his band did it in an entirely different way from anyone else on this release.
The bulk of this album (85 minutes or so) was recorded at the Cellar Door in D.C., in late 1970. The band is tight. Jack deJohnette is kicking up dust in all directions, Keith Jarrett is at his most pointed and soulful, and guest star John McLaughlin is playing the type of brilliant solos that Miles was presumably hoping for.
"Sivad" is a killer groove piece, but "What I Say" is even more impressive. It's 20+ minutes of rolling groove placed on top of a highly aggressive beat. It's timeless energy music and Miles does some of his best soloing on top of it. Sides 3 and 4 are more deliberately formless, they're big rolling jams that don't go anywhere in particular. But Side 1 and 2 make this must-have.

Live-Evil is one of the deepest and darkest albums Miles Davis (or anyone else) has recorded. Recorded either live in the studio or on stage at the Cellar Door in Washington, D.C., Mr. Davis and his band are in a wicked state of mind. The title is a palindrome and the song titles "Selim" and "Savid" are Miles Davis backwards. That is appropriate as Mr. Davis turns his fusion work inside out. Mr. Davis gets underneath the grooves and turns them inside out, exposing their underbelly. "What I Say" is a great example of him mining for sounds undreneath the surface. A truly complex and ambitious piece of work that you will find yourself putting on and on again.

Miles' touted "Fillmore Band" didn't sound much like a band to me. In an area of music where individual virtuosity is the rule rather than the exception, give-and-take between players becomes all important. And only occasionally did the Fillmore crew get down to taking care of business as a unit. There was lots of individual brilliance of course, just like there is lots of individual brilliance on Live-Evil. But this is no collection of isolated geniuses; it's a band, and it's going to take the top of your head clean off.
The band that performs "Sivad," "What I Say." "Funky Tonk," and "Innamorata." which are the extended, "blowing" tracks on the album, is Keith Jarrett, keyboards (he has never sounded better); John McLaughlin, guitar (taking more chances than usual); Gary Bartz, saxophone (occasionally stiff, usually exciting and committed, finally the right reed player for Miles' new conception); Jack DeJohnette, drums (absolutely uncanny, and irreplaceable); and Airto, percussion (his rapport with Miles is telepathic by this time). I've saved the new bassist, Michael Henderson, for last, because he's the only really new member, and because his concept is so different from that of his predecessor. Dave Holland. Henderson plays Fender, and he doesn't play very many notes at all. His solidity, and his simplicity, have reduced the "busy" textures of the ensemble to a point where everything sounds clear, clean, and direct. Everybody is just playing away, there aren't any weak links, and there isn't any congestion to speak of. Miles reacts to this happy situation by playing his ass off, too. Inspiration is catching, especially when everybody listens. For all you technology buffs, Miles has the wah-wah pedal mastered, but he steps up to the open mike very once in a while to remind you that he doesn't need it; he just digs it.
"Little Church," "Nem Um Talvez," and "Selim" are what used to be called "ballads." They feature larger groups but there aren't any solos. Just stunning, bittersweet lines, often voiced by Miles, vocalist Hermeto Pascoal, and either Steve Grossman or Wayne Shorter on saxophone, in unison. Each of these tracks is under four minutes, and they are all things of great beauty.
This sounds like what Miles had in mind when he first got into electric music and freer structures and rock rhythms. He's been refining it in public, but they used to accuse Coltrane of practicing his scales in public. So What. In both cases, practice made perfect.

Corea and Holland had just formed the quartet Circle with Anthony Braxton, who was involved in the revival of the free jazz movement. Alone on the keyboard, Keith Jarrett developed a taste for the combination of the Rhodes piano, the Contempo organ, and the wah-wah pedal. His playing—at times more rhythmical, closer to the effects of the funk guitar or of soul-gospel trances, at times hyper-lyrical or free—brightened the sound of the group. Miles was fascinated by Jarrett’s ability to improvise from nothing and offered him interludes like the one included here in “Funky Tonk” (17’21), where Jarrett turned a shortcoming of the Rhodes to his advantage. Michael Henderson had replaced Dave Holland, and added to the latter’s flexibility a rhythmic foundation learned from Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. Recording at the Cellar Door in Washington from December 16-19, Miles called in John McLaughlin on the last day to bring more dynamism to the group. Teo Macero added to the tapes of the 19th some unreleased material from June 1970 sessions with the Brazilian composer/multi-instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal. The pastoral atmosphere of this music echoed the moods of some of Joe Zawinul’s pieces.

Track listing:

DISC 1

1. Sivad [a]
2. Little Church [b]
3. Medley: Gemini/Double Image [c]
4. What I Say [d]
5. Nem Um Talvez [e]

 DISC 2

1. Selim [a]
2. Funky Tonk [b]
3. Inamorata [c]

 Dates & Personnel:

February 6, 1970 (a): Miles Davis (tpt); Wayne Shorter (ss); John McLaughlin (el-g); Chick Corea (el-p); Joe Zawinul (el-p); Dave Holland (b); Khalil Balakrishna (el-sitar); Jack DeJohnette (d); Billy Cobham (d); Airto Moreira (perc)
Columbia Studio B, NYC

June 3, 1970 (b): Miles Davis (tpt); Steve Grossman (ss); Chick Corea (el-p); Herbie Hancock (el-p); Keith Jarrett (org); Ron Carter (b); Jack DeJohnette (d); Airto Moreira (perc); Hermeto Pascoal (d, voc)
Columbia Studio B, NYC

June 4, 1970 (c): Miles Davis (tpt); Steve Grossman (ss); John McLaughlin (el-g); Herbie Hancock (el-p); Chick Corea (el-p); Keith Jarrett (org); Dave Holland (b, el-b); Jack DeJohnette (d); Airto Moreira (perc); Hermeto Pascoal (d, voc, whistling, el-p)
Columbia Studio B, NYC

December 19, 1970 (d): Miles Davis (tpt); Gary Bartz (ss, as); John McLaughlin (el-g); Keith Jarrett (el-p, org); Michael Henderson (el-b); Jack DeJohnette (d); Airto Moreira (perc, voc); Conrad Roberts (narr)
The Cellar Door, Washington, D.C.

Airto Moreira - 1972 [2007] "Free"

Free is an album by Brazilian jazz drummer and percussionist Airto Moreira (who was credited simply as "Airto") featuring performances recorded in 1972 and released on the CTI label. The album reached number 30 in the Billboard Jazz albums charts.

Other than a couple of obscure efforts for Buddah in 1970, this was percussionist Airto's debut as a leader, and this is still his most famous record. A brass section arranged by Don Sebesky is heard on two tracks, and such all-stars as keyboardist Chick Corea, flutist Hubert Laws, the reeds of Joe Farrell, and even pianist Keith Jarrett and guitarist George Benson make worthwhile appearances. Flora Purim joins Airto in the one vocal piece ("Free"), and "Return to Forever" receives an early recording. The music combines together jazz, Brazilian music, and aspects of fusion and funk quite successfully.

Airto Moreira's first album for Creed Taylor's nascent jazz-fusion label CTI contributed magnificently to Taylor's modus operandi--expanding the boundaries of jazz to include elements of indigenous cultures, rock, and even classical modes. FREE is Airto in full, unencumbered flight.

His version of Chick Corea's own genre-defining classic "Return to Forever" sets the listener adrift in a choppy sea of vocal atmospheres, crests of electric piano, and Airto's simmering squall lines of percussion. The title track conjures the Brazilian rainforest with a thick underbrush of rhythm, tribal howls, and chatter. Airto and his cohorts play a wonderful array of ceremonial woodblocks, wood flutes, and other natural Brazilian noisemakers. Accompanying the percussionist are such stellar figures as Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Stanley Clarke, Ron Carter, and George Benson.

I have a lot of Airto's stuff, particularly the CTI and Arista recordings, but I never owned this one. Originally I thought "How different could this one be from the rest?", but one listening proved I was mistaken in that notion. Airto brings an all-star cast that includes his associates in the original Return to Forever (the album for ECM had just been recorded so this was captured at an amazing period for Airto's development) Chick Corea and the amazing Joe Farrell, as well as Keith Jarrett (a rare guest appearance for him) and the CTI stable of Ron "The Rock" Carter on bass, George Benson on guitar, Hubert Laws on flute and others. Airto plays ALL PERCUSSION heard, including drum kit -- something only rarely heard like on the original RTF ECM recording but something we should hear more of-- I saw Airto play standard kit in the 90s and his feel is amazing, particularly on the Brazilian-infused selections, of course (as a jazz drummer myself, I know a little bit about such things). There is lots of tasty flute on these cuts, giving an airy, light feel to the music. A great choice of material as well, better than the other CTIs of Airto because it really has an ensemble feel and the Sebesky arrangements lend a beautiful feel to the whole thing-- I hear a lot of the same approach on Jobim's masterwork from the same period "Stone Flower"... so, killer musicians + great tunes= one hell of an outing for the pioneering percussionist and grand master of all things struck with a stick. Salud Airto!  

Here is a jem of an album. Airto Moreira, or Airto, as he was known in the early days, was a fusion pioneer who participated in the most important projects, has recorded some superb albums under his own name. When you think Miles, Weather Report, Chick Corea - think Airto. This album is one of his very best, for its subtlety, depth of feeling and lush arrangements with flute, piano, guitar, electric piano, lots of percussion, voices as well. You get a superb rendition of Return To Forever, gorgeous Flora's Song, the wild, almost savage Free, the rest of the album some pretty elegant and hip Brazilian fusion with a variery of rythms. Dreamy, exotic music.

Track listing

    "Return to Forever" (Chick Corea) - 10:17
    "Flora's Song" (Flora Purim) - 8:30
    "Free" (Airto Moreira) - 11:50
    "Lucky Southern" (Keith Jarrett) - 2:36
    "Creek (Arroio)" (Victor Brazil) - 6:12
    "So Tender" (Jarrett) - 5:01
    "Jequié" (Moacir Santos) - 2:57
    "Creek" (Arroio) (Altenate Version) - 9:23 

    Recorded at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on March 23 and April 12, 13 & 20, 1972

Personnel

    Airto - percussion, vocals
    Hubert Laws - flute
    Joe Farrell - soprano saxophone, flute alto flute, bass flute, piccolo
    Chick Corea - piano, electric piano
    Keith Jarrett - piano
    Nelson Ayres - electric piano
    George Benson - guitar
    Jay Berliner - guitar
    Ron Carter - bass
    Stanley Clarke - electric bass
    Flora Purim - vocals
    Burt Collins, Mel Davis, Alan Rubin - trumpet, flugelhorn
    Wayne Andre, Garnett Brown, Joe Wallace - trombone
    Don Sebesky - arranger

Miles Davis - 1970 [1997] "Live at the Fillmore East"

Miles Davis at Fillmore is a 1970 live album by jazz trumpeter Miles Davis and band, recorded at the Fillmore East, New York City on four consecutive days, June 17 through June 20, 1970, originally released as a double vinyl LP. The performances featured the double keyboard set-up Davis toured with for a few months, with Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea playing electronic organ and Fender Rhodes, respectively. The group opened for Laura Nyro at these performances.

Compositions include, besides the standard "I Fall in Love Too Easily", tracks from his fusion studio albums Bitches Brew and In A Silent Way. The live performances were heavily edited by producer Teo Macero, and the results were named for the day of the week the band performed; only on the 1997 Columbia CD reissue were the compositions and composers identified and indexed. Promotional LP copies divided the sides into short individually titled pieces, but still did not identify the original compositions and composers.

Miles Davis at Fillmore was released on vinyl as a double album, with liner notes written by Morgan Ames of High Fidelity, and Mort Goode. It was released on CD in Japan in 1987, but not made available on CD in the States until 1997, when Columbia released it as one of five live albums from the same period (the others being Live-Evil, In Concert: Live at Philharmonic Hall, Dark Magus, and Black Beauty: Live at the Fillmore West). This reissue featured additional liner notes by drummer Jack DeJohnette. Columbia aimed the release for the jazz market but also for college and alternative radio stations.

Fresh off the symbolic groundbreaking success of his award-winning jazz-rock extravaganza Bitches Brew in 1970, Miles Davis gave his showstopping SRO live performance at the Fillmore East in New York City the same year when Miles and his band gave the rock audience a superlative and ambitious live experience that the trumpet master one of several jazz musicians to become a bonafide attraction at the Fillmore.

Miles Davis At Fillmore gradually showcases a rousing first class performance heralded by fast-paced interplay, sheer aggression, a supercharged trumpet- band camaraderie, fantastic instrumental settings, and multi-dimensional rhythms which give this live date it’s exhilarating edge played with style and grand excellence which had made it this a magnificent live hit. Starting off with a “1-2-3” track warm-up, the track set gets off to a roaring start with stark round of composi-
tions like It’s About That Time, a slick two-minute version of the classic standard I Fall In Love Too Easily, Sanctuary and the final track Willie Nelson (a special ode to the country and western master).

With a dynamic band line-up that consists of Steve Grossman or tenor or soprano saxophone, Chick Corea on Fender Rhodes electric piano, Keith Jarrett on electric organ, Dave Holland on bass--both electric and acoustic alike, Jack DeJohnette on drums and Airto Moreira on percussion or cuica, you will find Miles Davis At Fillmore to be an absolute high octane listening experience as Miles and the band brings the music to direct heights that is played an incessant fever pitch as these elements help emphasized the album’s success on the jazz and R&B charts. When it comes to Miles’ bold controversial entry into The Jazz-Rock Era, he had truly made a tremendous difference when he alienate both the jazz community and jazz purists while attracting a younger rock and R&B audience with his radical electric fusion artistry, but Miles would remain true to his own groundbreaking originality in such an electronic setting no matter what it took.

Also described as his Miles’ first electric live session, here’s another highly lauded chapter that will remain as upbeat and daringly up to date as ever.

Teo Macero meticulously edited the four concerts at the Fillmore East in June 1970 so that they would fit onto a double-LP album. The group now included two keyboards: Chick Corea took over the electric piano and the newcomer Keith Jarrett, in spite of his aversion to electric keyboards, contented himself with a small electric organ, a Fender Contempo. Jarrett, who venerated Miles, went along, very playfully, spicing up the free deliriums of the Corea-Holland-DeJohnette trio, without, however, being able to really participate: the two keyboards were located on opposite sides of the stage and the still rudimentary sound system of the powerfully amplified music prevented them from hearing one another.

Each musician used the bass ostinatos—the only identifiable elements in the pieces—to get their bearings (along with, on Wednesday night, a variation on the riff from “Bitches Brew,” a significant revelation of Jarrett’s approach).

Marguerite Eskridge, Davis' girlfriend at the time, appeared in the album cover's photo collage.

On March 25, 2014, the full recordings of the performances were issued as Miles at the Fillmore - Miles Davis 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3.

https://jazz-rock-fusion-guitar.blogspot.com/search?q=Miles+Davis

Track listing:

Disc one

 Wednesday Miles (June 17, 1970)
1. "Directions" Joe Zawinul 2:29
2. "Bitches Brew" Miles Davis 0:53
3. "The Mask" Miles Davis 1:35
4. "It's About That Time" Miles Davis 8:12
5. "Bitches Brew/The Theme" Miles Davis 10:55
 Thursday Miles (June 18, 1970)
6. "Directions" Joe Zawinul 5:35
7. "The Mask" Miles Davis 9:50
8. "It's About That Time" Miles Davis 11:22

Total length: 50:51

Disc two

 Friday Miles (June 19, 1970)
1. "It's About That Time" Miles Davis 9:01
2. "I Fall in Love Too Easily" Jule Styne & Sammy Cahn 2:00
3. "Sanctuary" Wayne Shorter 3:44
4. "Bitches Brew/The Theme" Miles Davis 13:09
 Saturday Miles (June 20, 1970)
5. "It's About That Time" Miles Davis 3:43
6. "I Fall in Love Too Easily" Jule Styne & Sammy Cahn 0:54
7. "Sanctuary" Wayne Shorter 2:49
8. "Bitches Brew" Miles Davis 6:57
9. "Willie Nelson/The Theme" Miles Davis 7:57

Total length: 50:14

Personnel:

Miles Davis – trumpet
Steve Grossman – tenor and soprano sax, flute
Chick Corea – Fender Rhodes electric piano
Keith Jarrett – Fender Contempo Organ
Dave Holland – acoustic and electric bass
Jack DeJohnette – drums
Airto Moreira – percussion, cuica

Charlie Haden Michael Brecker - 2002 "American Dreams"

American Dreams is an album by bassist Charlie Haden featuring saxophonist Michael Brecker recorded in 2002 and released on the Verve label.

Michael Brecker’s tenor saxophone, with its declamatory pronouncements and keening high notes, commands attention throughout American Dreams, but Haden’s bass is at the bottom of the dreamy feeling that pervades all but one track.

Haden’s title composition opens the album with the bassist playing a folk song-like melody over strings arranged in rich layers by Alan Broadbent. As the strings fade, pianist Brad Mehldau introduces a second melody. Haden interacts with Mehldau. Brian Blade skips brushes across drums and cymbals, crystal strokes against time that’s as soft as the mood. Just a degree above silence, the strings slip in under the trio, swelling as Haden works his way back into the first theme and concludes a performance of great simplicity and beauty.

The orchestral writing on six pieces arranged by Broadbent and three by Jeremy Lubbock is ripe with harmonic interest; on the two by Vince Mendoza sounds are more purely functional. Highlights include Broadbent’s scoring for violins and cellos on “America the Beautiful,” his paraphrase of the melody in support of Haden’s solo on “Young and Foolish” and Lubbock’s work with two ballads written by Dave Grusin with Alan and Marilyn Bergman. Lubbock’s mysterious ending on a sixth chord had me going back several times to the conclusion of “It Might Be You.”

Accommodating himself to the strings, Mehldau minimizes the role of his left hand and, for the most part, plays sparely. He turns a couple of finger-bobble lemons into lemonade. Mehldau has satisfying solos on Don Sebesky’s “Bittersweet” (formerly called “You Can’t Go Home Again”) and Ornette Coleman’s “Bird Food.” The Coleman piece, a slice of neobop, is the only uptempo quartet performance on an album of reflective music but, somehow, it fits with the others-a bit of Haden magic.

This quartet-plus-strings session is Charlie Haden's paean to an ideal America, made during a time that was ripe for such reflections. The band, with Haden on bass, Michael Brecker on tenor, Brad Mehldau on piano, and Brian Blade on drums, is unassailably strong. But listeners could have lived without the ear-candy sheen provided by the 34-piece orchestra, arranged primarily by Alan Broadbent, with additional contributions from Jeremy Lubbock and Vince Mendoza. (Broadbent and Mendoza also penned charts for Jane Monheit's In the Sun, released two weeks earlier.) Aside from outright banalities like "America the Beautiful" and "It Might Be You" (yes, the Stephen Bishop lite-radio hit), there are some saving graces, like Keith Jarrett's "Prism" and "No Lonely Nights," Mehldau's "Ron's Place," and Haden's two originals, "American Dreams" and "Nightfall." But Pat Metheny's "Travels" goes soggy without its Midwestern guitar twang, and Ornette Coleman's "Bird Food," one of only three tracks not to feature the orchestra, is so wildly out of place that its impact is somehow diminished -- notwithstanding a vivid pedal-point interlude about six minutes in.

American Dreams is an addition to Verve Records' collection of ..."with Strings" sessions pioneered by legedary producer Norman Granz. Charlie Parker, Ben Webster, Harry Carney and others gave this genre a shot for Verve. Something about the grit of the sax sound in front of the orchestral string washes that jazz fans seem to either love or hate.

The strongest impression several listenings of of American Dreams leaves is: What a great quartet. "Charlie Haden with Michael Brecker" the label proclaims, but it could just as well say The New Charlie Haden Quartet. Pianist Brad Mehldau and drummer Brian Blade round out the core quartet, and the unit achieves a rare level of cohesion. Maybe it's the bassman, Charlie Haden; a truly great bassist brings everyone up a notch or two. He did it on bluesman James Cotton's '96 CD, "Deep in the Blues"; he does it with his own Quartet West.

Mehldau benefits the most here. His conversations with Brecker's sax are intimate and precise, his soloing inventive and restrained; and his "Ron's Place," done with just the quartet, is a pensive gem.

Songs by Pat Metheny, Keith Jarrett, Haden's old running mate Ornette Coleman, an unexpectedly beautiful take on the unlikely "America the Beautiful," deft string arrangements, a few quartet takes to break the pacing up and keep it interesting

An essential CD for fans of the Verve ..with Strings genre.

Track listing:

All compositions by Charlie Haden except as indicated

01 "American Dreams" - 4:52
02 "Travels" (Lyle Mays, Pat Metheny) - 6:46
03 "No Lonely Nights" (Keith Jarrett) - 5:18
04 "It Might Be You" (Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Dave Grusin) - 4:55
05 "Prism" (Jarrett) - 5:21
06 "America the Beautiful" (Katharine Lee Bates, Samuel A. Ward) - 5:23
07 "Nightfall" - 5:07
08 "Ron's Place" (Brad Mehldau) - 7:30
09 "Bittersweet" (Don Sebesky) - 6:46
10 "Young and Foolish" (Albert Hague, Arnold B. Horwitt) - 5:38
11 "Bird Food" (Ornette Coleman) - 7:31
12 "Sotto Voce" (Vince Mendoza) - 5:12
13 "Love Like Ours" (Bergman, Bergman Grusin) - 4:25

Recorded at Signet Soundelux in Los Angeles, California on May 14–17, 2002

Personnel:

Charlie Haden — bass
Michael Brecker — tenor saxophone
Brad Mehldau — piano
Brian Blade — drums
Unidentified String Orchestra
Alan Broadbent (tracks 1, 3, 6, 9, & 10), Jeremy Lubbock (tracks 4, 7 & 13), Vince Mendoza (tracks 2 & 12) — arranger, conductor.

Gary Burton & Pat Metheny - 2009 "Quartet Live"

Quartet Live is a 2009 live album by American jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton. The record also features Pat Metheny on guitar, Steve Swallow on bass, and Antonio Sanchez on drums. The album was recorded in June 10–11, 2007 at the Yoshi's jazz club and released in 2009 via Concard Jazz label.

When Gary Burton finally retired from his career as a Berklee administrator and professor, he also cut back on regular touring with a quartet, instead assembling groups for shorter durations. These performances come from two nights at Yoshi's in Oakland, reuniting the vibraphonist with former sidemen Pat Metheny and Steve Swallow, along with Metheny's regular drummer at the time, Antonio Sanchéz, who joined them for what was intended to be a one-shot concert a few years earlier at the Montreal Jazz Festival. The music includes both old and new material, with the former sounding fresh rather than a mere autopilot run-through that some reunion bands might offer, while the recent works prove to be just as enticing. The quartet's interpretations of Swallow's compositions include an intricate, fast-paced take of "Falling Grace" along with a lively "Hullo, Bolinas" (both of which Burton has played many times over his long career). Duke Ellington's "Fleurette Africaine (Little African Flower)" has been a part of Burton's repertoire since the mid-'80s, and though the vibraphonist's approach is brighter and played at a faster tempo than the composer's brooding recording, this updated look builds upon Ellington's magical gift for melody with brilliant improvising all around. Burton contributed the funky blues "Walter L," which finds the musicians having a lot of fun with its catchy theme. Metheny's "Question and Answer" also appeared on an earlier recording with Burton and Chick Corea, but the omission of piano gives this version a simmering, more intricate air. This reunion will hopefully lead to future recorded reunions by these four gifted musicians.

This much-anticipated quartet gathering, the New Quartet Live Album with Burton, Metheny, Swallow and Sanchez, is simply great! I love the flow of songs and the 4 sound wonderful together and sport-on. Pat has 3 songs; Gary has 1 song, as does Chick Corea - Neville Potter, Keith Jarrett and Duke Ellington. Carla Bley has 2 songs, as does Steve Swallow. Altogether there are 11 songs and IMO, Missouri Uncompromised is Super as is Little African Flower. The Album ends with Question and Answer and @ 13:02 in Length it is really performed smoking Hot! Pat plays his guitar synth on Q & A and I think it caps off the album really well and in my view, he sensitively plays his guitar synth to the scale of Yoshi's. The sound quality is excellent and the album was recorded in June of 2007 at Yoshi's in Oakland, CA. This new and hot Quartet Live album is highly recommended!

The album features three original members and jazz legends Gary Burton, Pat Metheny and Steve Swallow along with another new member, and perhaps one of the most prominent jazz drummers of his generation, Antonio Sanchez. The 11-song album was recorded live at Yoshi’s Jazz Club in Oakland, CA. Quartet Live! starts off with Chick Corea’s “Sea Journey,” one of many songs Corea wrote for the Burton group, and features songs written by Carla Bley (“Olhos de Gato” and “Syndrome”) and Keith Jarrett (“Coral”). Metheny’s composing talents are also represented here by tunes composed during his Burton Quartet years: the fast and furious “Missouri Uncompromised,” the haunting “B and G,” and “Question and Answer,” one of Pat’s most well-known pieces. The story begins in 1967 when bassist Steve Swallow joined with vibraphonist Gary Burton to form the original Gary Burton Quartet. In the early 1970s, then 19-year old guitarist Pat Metheny joined Burton’s band and one of the most celebrated careers in music began. A decade ago Metheny discovered drummer Antonio Sanchez, inviting him to join The Pat Metheny Group, and the two have been playing together ever since. The result is four legendary musicians, improvisers and composers all, each at the top of his game, bringing modern jazz history to life on Quartet Live!

This group sounds as if it's on even more of a roll on this California live recording than it was at a thrilled Barbican last summer. A guitar/vibes dialogue might sound like a recipe for lots of notes and chamber-jazz, but this band is as hard-grooving as Gary Burton's original 1970s quartet - which also featured this group's bass guitarist, Steve Swallow, and a 19-year-old Metheny. Burton, one of the most creative figures in the first wave of jazz-rock, achieved a near-perfect balance of striking tunes, jazz fluency and country-rock conviviality - and Metheny's singing sound and blues/rock licks were the ideal foil. This group recaptures all that, with help from Metheny's fiery young drummer Antonio Sanchez. There isn't a dud track, with the skimming groove of the opening Sea Journey bearing beautifully phrased and flowing solos from Burton, Metheny and Swallow, and the Latin ballad Olhos de Gato and the smoky Coral drawing gentle ruminations from vibes and guitar that are too fresh for smooth jazz. There's a storming blues on Walter L, a staccato postbopper over scalding drumming and Swallow's gleeful walk on Missouri Uncompromised, a glistening Burton dance over the lightest brushes groove on Hullo, Bolinas, and Carla Bley's chiming Syndrome is a bonus.

The combination of musicians sets this up to be a winner. The set list gives good distribution of compositions by Gary, Pat and Steve, with Antonio riding on his incredible skills. I agree with the growing swell of accolades that characterizes him as among the best (if not THE best) drummers currently on the jazz scene.

http://jazz-rock-fusion-guitar.blogspot.com/search?q=Gary+Burton

http://jazz-rock-fusion-guitar.blogspot.com/search?q=Pat+Metheny

Track listing:

01 Sea Journey 9:00
02 Olhos De Gato 6:36
03 Falling Grace 7:18
04 Coral 6:23
05 Walter L 5:30
06 B And G (Midwestern Night's Dream) 6:53
07 Missouri Uncompromised 7:34
08 Fleurette Africaine (Little African Flower) 7:34
09 Hullo, Bolinas 4:48
10 Syndrome 4:42
11 Question And Answer 13:02

Personnel:

Vibraphone – Gary Burton
Guitar – Pat Metheny
Electric Bass – Steve Swallow
Drums – Antonio Sanchez

Tim Miller - 2005 "Trio"

Tim Miller brings a distinctive voice to the world of jazz guitar. His career has taken him to Paris, New York, and Boston, where he is an associate professor of guitar at Berklee College of Music. Guitar Player magazine characterized his playing as "pure melody consciousness with remarkable control, a breathy, violiny tone [and] bell-like consistency." Miller's music combines explosive raw energy that is artistically balanced with soulful melodic compositions.

While living in Paris, he played extensively with drummer Aldo Romano. This led to recordings and European concerts and jazz festivals. Miller later joined the faculty at Berklee and recorded Sides with saxophonist George Garzone. He also played in a quartet with fellow guitarist Mick Goodrick. In 2005, Miller released his first solo recording, Trio, which has received critical acclaim.

Tim Miller's third indie effort stands out by manifesting his influences as an aural whole. Compositionally, the freedom and openness in the music reflects the deep influence of Keith Jarrett, while sonically, the air-infused yet electric guitar sound dances with bass and drums mixed in a pastoral acoustic style. Even with headphones, the listener hears the trio of instruments entwined in the air, coupled by intense playing and musicianship.
From the perspective of guitar-related influences we hear the chordal inspiration of a fellow Bostonian, voicing-god Mick Goodrick. Linearity is Miller's calling card, seamlessly melding Allan Holdsworth's 21st Century legato technique with a non-guitar-centric, truly jazz vocabulary and phraseology, with notes percussing from the fretboard in pianistic fashion.

Another facet that takes Trio up a notch is the particular attention paid to tone and articulation on the high end. Miller devoted requisite consideration and time to sonics, and the dividends are sumptuous. An advocate of the ergonomically correct Klein axes, Miller's performance on "Untied sounds as if he's playing two of them at once, electric for the atmospheric chords of the intro and acoustic for the quick sixteenth-note turn-backs found on high, doubled by the drums. Take Toriyama's tone is apart from the more athletic norms of the "fusion realm, with more of the room than the kit in the mix. His use of slackened snare, coupled with bassist Josh Davis' booming upright sound, is especially effective on this track.

Miller employs a super-thick tone for his solo, alternating bop-legato mastery with sax-like repeated figures that belie the layout of the fretboard. Miller can lay into a rock'n'roll repeating hyperspeed four-note figure akin to traditional Hendrix or Page twelfth-fret pentatonics, but in the middle of the neck, using four notes at spread intervals of the harmony-of-the moment, something more out of Mike Brecker's vocabulary.

While the recording weighs in at the forty-minute mark, there's much to be said for concentration and self-editing. "Sparkle is ninety seconds of inspired melodic riffing against Toriyama's percussion arsenal and will alone reward consecutive listening surpassing the total of the disc's real time. It would be an interesting musical exercise to map out here where each of Miller's melodic phrases begins or ends, or to pick the midpoint of each. I am sure each roadmap would in turn comprise alternate songs. Similarly, the three minutes of "MG, dedicated to mentor and Berklee fellowman Goodrick, forge a successful marriage of modern rock balladry with jazz.

"Straight Lines is the composition of the set, a mid-tempo cut smoldering with the passion and memorable melody usually reserved for ballads, especially in Miller's opening solo salvo. The two "Density compositions, using minimal themes fashioned from rhythmic chordal materials growing out of and into weaving strands of single-note improvisation, reveal substantial rewards unearthed by exploring repetition as a means of mining new melodic and improvisational territory.

The Generic Modality Compression method Tim Miller uses for his musical expression makes wonders to the listeners' sense of imagination. At least that is how I feel about his approach. It makes it even more adventurous for guitarists like myself. But that is just a side effect of Miller's music unique beauty.

Nothing should stand between this one getting heard and Miller's justifiably meteoric ascension on the worldwide guitar-watchers org-chart.

An excellent CD that showcases Tim's unique jazz voice and his incredible chops. Using a hybrid picking style with fingers and pick, his playing is nothing short of amazing. Elements of Keith Jarrett, Allan Holdsworth, Chick Corea, and Mick Goodrick can be heard as influences on his playing. This is a cutting edge CD for those interested in one of the new leaders in the progressive jazz scene. Highly recommended...also his new CD Trio2 available on his website timmillermusic.com.

Track listing:

01 Intro 0:57
02 Untied 3:55
03 Shift 3:56
04 Paris 2:40
05 Sparkle 1:29
06 Straight Lines 4:33
07 The Trees, The Sun 4:05
08 Density One 4:05
09 TR 4:47
10 Two View 4:09
11 Density Two 2:29
12 MG 2:56

Total length: 40:01

Personnel:

Tim Miller: guitar;
Joshua Davis: bass;
Take Toriyama: drums.

Miles Davis - 1974 [1991] "Get Up With It" [Japan Import]

Get Up with It is a compilation album by American jazz musician Miles Davis. Released by Columbia Records on November 22, 1974, it compiled songs Davis had recorded in sessions between 1970 and 1974, including those for the studio albums Jack Johnson (1971) and On the Corner (1972). In The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), J. D. Considine described the compilation's music as "worldbeat fusion".

One track, "Honky Tonk," was recorded in 1970 with musicians such as John McLaughlin and Herbie Hancock. "Red China Blues" had been recorded in 1972 before On the Corner, while "Rated X" and "Billy Preston" were recorded later that year with the band heard on In Concert. The remaining tracks were from 1973 and 1974 sessions with his current band including Pete Cosey.
"He Loved Him Madly" was recorded by Davis as his tribute to then-recently deceased Duke Ellington, who used to tell his audiences "I love you madly." English musician Brian Eno cited it as a lasting influence on his own work.

In a contemporary review, Rolling Stone magazine's Stephen Davis praised Davis' adventurousness and direction of his rhythm band, whom he called a "who's who of Seventies jazz-rock". Robert Christgau of The Village Voice wrote that, although Davis' recent albums have sounded slapdash with "noodling over a pick-up rhythm section," he still plays Get Up with It "since it contains over two hours of what sometimes sounds like bullshit: it's not exactly music to fill the mind. Just the room." In a 1981 review, Christgau wrote that only two of the six shorter songs—"Maiyisha" and "Honky Tonk"—make up "more than good" background music, but the two long pieces "are brilliant: 'He Loved Him Madly,' a tribute to Duke Ellington as elegant African internationalist, and 'Calypso Frelimo,' a Caribbean dance broken into sections that seem to follow with preordained emotional logic."
Alternative Press gave Get Up with It a rave review when it was reissued in 2000, calling it "essential ... the overlooked classic of psychedelic soul and outlandish improv ... representing the high water mark of [Davis'] experiments in the fusion of rock, funk, electronica and jazz". Stylus Magazine's Chris Smith said that it is "not an easy album to write, let alone think, about. It’s a bit more of an anything-goes hodgepodge than it is a sprawling masterwork, and is probably written about the least of all Miles’ electric work."

A confusing, bold, weird and remarkable statement that in many ways sums up a confusing bold weird and remarkable period of Davis' musical development. Tracks come from sessions between 1970 and 1974 (his last officially released studio material before his five year "retirement") and are of varying quality. I'm not a big fan of the straight blues "Red China Blues" which wastes a provocative title, and I don't feel like the closing 12 1/2 minutes of "Billy Preston" really goes anywhere interesting, though there are moments along its length when I'm entertained even if they don't stick in the memory after they're done. From here though, the quality level rockets upward, with the easy-going "Maiysha" next up quality-wise, making a nice groove that's suddenly derailed by a freaky Pete Cosey solo. "Mtume" is a fierce groover that shows off the great percussionist, but also allows for some nice interaction between the guitars and shows off his 70's "Pete Cosey group" in fine form - if this was a lightweight track, you can imagine how much better they can be. "Honky Tonk" is a nice, disjointed rhythm experiment from 1970 with many of the Bitches Brew players on it, including John McLaughlin who sounds great on this cut, though for me Miles' solo steals the show.

Then there's the great stuff, which numbers among the finest achievements Miles ever put down on tape: "Rated X" is an incredibly noisy, challenging and difficult piece of music, supposedly inspired as much by Stockhausen as any jazz antecedent. Miles sticks to a noisily dissonant organ here while electric guitar and electric sitar create churning, rhythmic patterns with very little in the way of "soloing" over a ferocious rhythm that the bass, drums, and percussion set up - a rhythm that Miles stops and starts on cue. This one's a bracing number that's not always what I'm in the mood for, but when I am ready to engage it, I don't know if he's ever been better. And as has been said many times here and elsewhere, the long tracks - "He Loved Him Madly" and "Calypso Frelimo," both over 32 minutes each - simply take the cake. "He Loved Him Madly" is a long, slow burning tribute to Duke Ellington in the year of his passing which builds over ambient rhythm and guitar into a fine flute solo setting the stage for an absolutely brilliant and gut-wrenching Davis trumpet solo. "Calypso Frelimo" is more "up," with a fast, dense opening sequence featuring solos by the horns, a slowed-down middle segment that gives a lot more (musical) space for everyone to work in, and then a return to the density and rocketing tempo of the beginning that allows the guitars to roam over the top, punctuated by brief trumpet statements (possibly meant to guide the proceedings). It's simply amazing, and each of the ten+ minute segments has its own flavor and character, though together they hold a cumulative power that the tracks separated probably wouldn't have garnered. Amazing stuff.

When Get Up with It was released in 1974, critics -- let alone fans -- had a tough time with it. The package was a -- by then customary -- double LP, with sessions ranging from 1970-1974 and a large host of musicians who had indeed played on late-'60s and early-'70s recordings, including but not limited to Al Foster, Airto, John McLaughlin, Reggie Lucas, Pete Cosey, Mtume, David Liebman, Billy Cobham, Michael Henderson, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Sonny Fortune, Steve Grossman, and others. The music felt, as was customary then, woven together from other sources by Miles and producer Teo Macero. However, these eight selections point in the direction of Miles saying goodbye, as he did for six years after this disc. This was a summation of all that jazz had been to Davis in the '70s and he was leaving it in yet another place altogether; check the opening track, "He Loved Him Madly," with its gorgeous shimmering organ vamp (not even credited to Miles) and its elaborate, decidedly slow, ambient unfolding -- yet with pronounced Ellingtonian lyricism -- over 33 minutes. Given three guitar players, flute, trumpet, bass, drums, and percussion, its restraint is remarkable. When Miles engages the organ formally as he does on the funky groove that moves through "Maiysha," with a shimmering grace that colors the proceedings impressionistically through Lucas, Cosey and guitarist Dominique Gaumont, it's positively shattering. This is Miles as he hadn't been heard since In a Silent Way, and definitely points the way to records like Tutu, The Man with the Horn, and even Decoy when he re-emerged.
That's not to say the harder edges are absent: far from it. There's the off-world Latin funk of "Calypso Frelimo" from 1973, with John Stubblefield, Liebman, Cosey, and Lucas turning the rhythm section inside out as Miles sticks sharp knives of angular riffs and bleats into the middle of the mix, almost like a guitarist. Davis also moves the groove here with an organ and an electric piano to cover all the textural shapes. There's even a rather straight -- for Miles -- blues jam in "Red China Blues" from 1972, featuring Wally Chambers on harmonica and Cornell Dupree on guitar with a full brass arrangement. The set closes with another 1972 session, the endearing "Billy Preston," another of Davis' polyrhythmic funk exercises where the drummers and percussionists -- Al Foster, Badal Roy, and Mtume -- are up front with the trumpet, sax (Carlos Garrett), and keyboards (Cedric Lawson), while the strings -- Lucas, Henderson, and electric sitarist Khalil Balakrishna -- are shimmering, cooking, and painting the groove in the back. Billy Preston, the organist who the tune is named after, is nowhere present and neither is his instrument. It choogles along, shifting rhythms and meters while Miles tries like hell to slip another kind of groove through the band's armor, but it doesn't happen. The track fades, and then there is silence, a deafening silence that would not be filled until Miles' return six years later. This may be the most "commercial" sounding of all of Miles' electric records from the '70s, but it still sounds out there, alien, and futuristic in all the best ways, and Get Up with It is perhaps just coming into its own here in the 21st century.

Tracks Listing

Disc 1
1. He Loved Him Madly (32:20)
2. Maiysha (14:56)
3. Honky Tonk (5:57)
4. Rated X (6:53)

Disc 2
5. Calypso Frelimo (32:10)
6. Red China Blues (4:10)
7. Mtume (15:12)
8. Billy Preston (12:35)

Total time: 123:52

Personnel:

- Miles Davis / trumpet (3), electric trumpet with wah-wah (1,2,5-8), organ (1,2,4,5,7), electric piano (5)

With:
- Steve Grossman / soprano saxophone (3)
- John Stubblefield / soprano saxophone (5)
- Carlos Garnett / soprano saxophone (8)
- Dave Liebman / alto flute (1,5)
- Sonny Fortune / flute (2,7)
- Lester Chambers / harmonica (6)
- Pete Cosey / electric guitar (1,2,5,7)
- Dominique Gaumont / electric guitar (1,2,7)
- Reggie Lucas / electric guitar (1,2,4,5,7,8)
- John McLaughlin / electric guitar (3)
- Cornell Dupree / electric guitar (6)
- Khalil Balakrishna / electric sitar (4,8)
- Badal Roy / tabla (4,8)
- Herbie Hancock / clavinet (3)
- Keith Jarrett / Fender Rhodes electric piano (3)
- Cedric Lawson / Fender Rhodes electric piano (4,8)
- Michael Henderson / bass guitar
- Al Foster / drums (excl. 3)
- Billy Cobham / drums (3)
- Bernard Purdie / drums (6)
- James Mtume Foreman / percussion (excl. 3)
- Airto Moreira / percussion (3)
- Wade Marcus / brass arrangement (6)
- Billy Jackson / rhythm arrangement (6)

Releases information: Recordings made in NYC - 1970 (track 3), 1972 (4,6,8), 1973 (5) and 1974 (1,2,7)

Pat Metheny - 1983 [1986] "Travels"

 

Travels is the Pat Metheny Group's first live album, released in 1983. It won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance.

The album consists of live material recorded in July, October, and November 1982, in Philadelphia, Dallas, Sacramento, Hartford, and Nacogdoches (Texas). The Group for this album consisted of Pat Metheny, Lyle Mays, Steve Rodby, Dan Gottlieb, and guest Nana Vasconcelos.

It was voted number 570 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).

Travels was recorded as part of the tour for the Group's 1982 studio album, Offramp, but also featured previously unrecorded and unreleased songs.

In the liner notes for his ECM Rarum compilation album, Metheny expressed great love for the live rendition of "Are You Going with Me?" and appreciated the audience for whom it was played in Philadelphia.

The track "Song for Bilbao", dedicated to audiences in Bilbao, Spain, was often played as an encore.

This is a truly remarkable album for jazz and non-jazz fans alike. Although Metheny's compositions are quite complex, they are immediately accessible. melodic and at times dream-like. This album will quickly draw you in and keep you on the hook from start to finish. As a bonus, this is a very fine pressing with excellent dynamics. I purchased the album originally in vinyl when it first came out not long after I had seen them live at Red Rocks. But since disposing of my vinyl collection years ago, I had forgotten about the album. Thrilled beyond words to have it back. It sounds as tight and fresh and ethereal as I remember it. A must buy for the serious music collection.

Some live albums are distractions and/or are sloppy in comparison to the original, but that is not the case in this wonderful collection. It is so powerful in its delivery, so honest in its presentation, that I sometimes just stop doing everything to listen to its detail, and then, conversely, to its completeness. Every player comes through so keenly - and yet it merges so well.
My personal favorite: The Fields, The Sky. The simple play between Metheny and Mays, the unpretentious presentation, the bass and drums pushing to a climax...it always makes me laugh with glee!
My favorite album to put on when the house is empty and I can rev it up.

Now well into its gliding Brazilian-tinged mode, the Pat Metheny Group hits the road, as this two-CD set catches the band live in Dallas, Philadelphia, Hartford, Sacramento, and Nacogdoches, TX. Percussionist Naná Vasconcelos is still listed as a "special guest," but ever since Wichita Falls, he had not only been a part of the group, he was the transforming element in the Metheny "sound," adding his various shakers, effects and ethereal vocals. Sidekick Lyle Mays gets deeper into floating, glistening synthesizer textures, but he is still able to take formidable and touching solos on acoustic grand piano. Still experimenting with new hardware, Metheny's work on a detuned guitar synthesizer gives the live "As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls" an exotic Balinese-like sound. Other highlights are the hard Brazilian grooves on "Straight On Red" and "Song for Bilbao," as well as the trademark Metheny glide of "Are You Going With Me?" -- and the brief title track has a winning, guileless simplicity much like that of Keith Jarrett in a prayerful mood. If you liked the popular Offramp, you'll fall for Travels, too, but get the former album first.

If you’ve ever desired a Pat Metheny Group greatest hits album, then Travels is for you. Compiled from the group’s touring activities in 1982, this double set is a must-have. From the glittering lotus of melody that is “San Lorenzo” to the even more effusive “Phase Dance,” the requisite classics are all here. We also get a curtailed, though no less epic, version of “As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls,” which here draws out like a long cinematic fade and throws the windows open wide to the band’s boggling sonic purview. And one can hardly help but swoon from the dizzying heights reached by this live version of “Are You Going With Me?” Here the studio version seems but a memory on the path to glory, and finds exuberant life in what is perhaps Metheny’s best solo on record. An absolute affirmation.

Yet the album’s true value comes in the handful of songs exclusive to it. Through these we encounter softer sides of the PMG, each burnished like a different shade of leather. “The Fields, The Sky” is an outstanding place to start. Vasconcelos’s unmistakable berimbau threads a supremely melodious backdrop, while Metheny is at once distant and nearby, winding a slow and organic retrograde around the fiery center within. Vasconcelos is also the voice of “Goodbye,” a forlorn piece of sonic stationery across which Metheny inscribes a most heartbreaking letter toward a ripple of an ending. This pairs nicely with the title track, a laid-back photograph of Americana that is like a rocking chair on the back porch: lulling, and affording an unobstructed vista. Similar strains await us in “Farmer’s Trust,” a slow plunge into an ocean of undriven roads gilded by the whispering of baby birds and the rustling of the leaves that hide them, and in the smoothly paved blacktops of the synth-driven “Extradition” and “Song for Bilbao.” Each of these creeps along like wispy clouds over badlands, spun by keyboardist Lyle Mays into sunset. But it isn’t all drawl, as drummer Dan Gottlieb proves in the invigorating “Straight On Red,” throughout which he provides the perfect springboard for the masterful dialogues of Metheny and Mays.

Track listing:

All tracks are written by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays except where noted.

Disc one:
1.    "Are You Going with Me?"         9:19
2.    "The Fields, the Sky"    Metheny    7:46
3.    "Goodbye"    Metheny    8:16
4.    "Phase Dance"         8:03
5.    "Straight on Red"         7:26
6.    "Farmer's Trust"    Metheny    6:25

Disc two:
1.    "Extradition"    Metheny    5:45
2.    "Goin' Ahead/As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls"         16:22
3.    "Travels"         5:03
4.    "Song for Bilbao"    Metheny    8:28
5.    "San Lorenzo"         13:35

Personnel

    Pat Metheny – acoustic and electric guitars, guitar synthesizer
    Lyle Mays – piano, synthesizers, electric organ, autoharp, Synclavier
    Steve Rodby – acoustic and electric bass, bass synthesizer
    Danny Gottlieb – drums
    Nana Vasconcelos – percussion, voice, berimbau

Jack Dejohnette - 1991 [2013] "Earth Walk"

Earthwalk is an album by Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition, featuring Greg Osby, Gary Thomas, Michael Cain, and Lonnie Plaxico, recorded in 1991 and released on the Blue Note label.

The final version of drummer/composer Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition bands sports a unique sound, on the verge of M-Base, and artfully driven due to saxophonists Greg Osby and Gary Thomas. Their tart sweet sounds are as much a part of the identity of this group as anything, and DeJohnette adds his own personal brand of funk and swing to the proceeding, making for an exciting and vital original music. Bassist Lonnie Plaxico, straight off the bandstand with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, keeps things briskly moving along, while Michael Cain plays a lot of acoustic piano, and some modified electric keyboards, to further separate this Special Edition from the others. DeJohnette's epic tribute to Wayne Shorter, "Where or Wayne," is reworked in a hip, measured melody missing beats on purpose, simmered in Cain's synthesized mystery. The spiked notes of "Monk's Plumb" provide space for drum fills, merging to an easy swing discipline, and a typically ribald Osby solo. A deliberate Herbie Hancock-styled funk identifies "It's Time to Wake Up & Dream" with the sour horns and Cain's intent acoustic piano driving this most M-Base track. If "Priestesses of the Mist" is reflective of its title through Cain's foggy electronic washes, the distaff, magical side is also represented by the flute of Thomas and Osby's soprano during a most evocative selection. Similarly, the title track feels like a trek through thick jungle flora and fauna, as a heavy-footstepped electric bass guitar from Plaxico leads the many and long, heavy strides of the band members. Closest to jazz is the electro-acoustic hot bopper "One on One" and "Blue" with its patient, straight-ahead, no-amenities framework. This band has changed radically since the days when David Murray and Arthur Blythe were frontmen, but the music is all good, holds interest, and makes for another giant step in the varied, diverse, and intriguing career of DeJohnette.

Earthwalk is a very good album. Jack DeJohnette made a number of superb albums starting in the 1970s, unfortunately they did not receive the attention they deserved. The interesting thing about this album is that DeJohnette wrote all the music, produced the album and picked the musicians. This album probably reflects Jack's actual taste in music more so than many of the sessions he has played on. The record was recorded in 1991 on Blue Note.

DeJohnette is still one of the most respected drummers in jazz and he has played with virtually every major U.S. and international jazz artist since the 1960s including Miles Davis and John Coltrane. For a while he was virtually ECM's house drummer and played on ECM sessions led by Keith Jarrett, Terje Rypdal, Kenny Wheeler and many others.

The band is excellent, featuring: Michael Cain - keyboards; Gary Thomas -tenor saxophone, flute; Greg Osby - alto saxophone, soprano saxophone; and Lonnie Plaxico - bass. Cain, Thomas, Plaxico and Osby were all at one time M-Base players and this influence is reflected in the music, which is loud, brash, melodic and full of energy. It could be described as a post-bop sound with a touch of funk. Osby and Thomas drive the music on saxophone. DeJohnette provides a powerful backbeat on most of the tracks. Anyone looking for introspective ECM-style chamber jazz won't find it here.

Cain has played with Dave Holland, John Scofield, Steps Ahead, Gary Thomas Marty Ehrlich, Ray Anderson and Bobby Previte. Cain also recorded a CD of his own for ECM in 1986. During the mid-'80s, Osby played alongside Steve Coleman, Geri Allen, Gary Thomas, and Cassandra Wilson as a member of the M-Base Collective. Bassist Lonnie Plaxico played with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and the M-Base Collective. Thomas has played with Miles Davis, Steve Coleman and John McLaughlin.

Great example of modern jazz. Fresh sounding and superbly played. What I like about this kind of "free-form" jazz is that it doesn't convey to the usual "theme-solo-solo-theme" formalism of traditional jazz. It is free in the sense of being organic and unpredictable, while still being melodic and very musical. Highly recommended even as it is a bit pricey.

Track listing:
All compositions by Jack DeJohnette

01 "It's Time to Wake Up and Dream" – 5:30
02 "Blue" – 6:18
03 "Where or Wayne" – 9:44
04 "Priestesses of the Mist" – 7:44
05 "Earth Walk" – 13:05
06 "On Golden Beams" – 5:16
07 "One on One" – 11:18
08 "Lydia" – 2:24
09 "Monk's Plumb" – 12:08
10 "It's Time to Wake Up and Dream" [Alternate Version] – 0:50

Recorded at Dreamland Recording Studios, West Hurley, NY in June 1991

Personnel:

Jack DeJohnette – drums
Michael Cain – midi piano, korg keyboards
Gary Thomas – tenor saxophone, flute
Greg Osby – alto saxophone, soprano saxophone
Lonnie Plaxico – electric bass, acoustic bass
Joan Henry – animal sound on "Earth Walk"

Jack Dejohnette - 1985 "Works"

Jack DeJohnette (born August 9, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer.
An important figure of the fusion era of jazz, DeJohnette is one of the most influential jazz drummers of the 20th century, given his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, John Abercrombie, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, and John Scofield. He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2007.

Works is a series of ten albums whis is being released on the occasion of ECM's 15th anniversary. The series presents recordings of ten musicians who have been working with ECM from the beginning. The Works albums are available in a limited edition only. 

Exceptional compilation from master drummer and composer Jack DeJohnette. Six tracks - no filler. I've been playing this tape in my car all week, and loved every minute of it. From fusion, post bop and even the rather mournful "Blue" this has again sparked my interest in his work.

JDJ is the best jazz drummer ever, in my opinion, and in the opinion of many others, and since jazz drumming is the most badass & difficult kind, JDJ is probably the best drummer of any kind to ever pick up sticks.  (Andy Sells of FCS North, who is massively indebted to JDJ, is my other favorite.  The incredible Jaki Liebezeit of CAN was another JDJ disciple.)  Jack should be a household name, but for some reason he is not, and that's just criminal.  He's one of the top ten musicians of the 20th century, in my mind.  His main innovation was playing in what could be described as a heat-dazed, stuttery, somewhat "late" (straggling behind the beat) fashion, which disorients the listener in an almost hallucinogenic way, as though time is sort of melting and bending around one's ears.  As contrasted to the way that most "rock" drummers try to just pound away in a very in-your-face, authoritative, metronomic way, and how most early jazz drummers hyper actively clink-clink-clinked on their snares and cymbals without letting the music breathe.  Think about how much more unnerving it is to have someone in a car following you several blocks or miles behind you than it is to have someone tailgating you right on your bumper, if that makes any sense...  Sometimes Jack sounds like a swarm of bees, sometimes like a prowling panther, sometimes like earthquake aftershocks, sometimes like an aurora borealis creeping across the mountains, but he always brings the awesomeness.   Despite his explosive abilities, he rarely tries to Kanye the spotlight away from his bandmates, hence it's no coincidence that his photo is not on this album's cover.  Just a cool shot of a bright light at the end of some kind of alleyway.  Listen to the jaw-dropping 9-minute "To Be Continued."  The only huge drawback is that this LP omits all his groundbreaking playing with Miles Davis (e.g. Bitches Brew & On The Corner), but you should already have that stuff anyway.  In other words, this comp draws on Jack's more under-the-radar collaborations on the ECM label, not the "big-name" albums that he boggled minds on* by dudes like Miles, Herbie, Freddie, Abercrombie, etc., on big major labels like Columbia.  So I doubt there will ever be a truly comprehensive best-of collection for JDJ, since the licensing would cost so much that it'd be unfeasible to put together.  And the 29-minute "Go Ahead, John" from Miles' Big Fun, arguably JDJ's pinnacle of playing, would take up way too much space. 

Track listing:

1  Bayou Fever 8:41
2  The Gri Gri Man 4:45
3  To Be Continued 9:12
4  One for Eric 9:51
5  Unshielded Desire 4:48
6  Blue 8:14

Total length: 45:31

Personnel:

Jack DeJohnette - Drums, Congas, Organ, Timpani, Piano
John Abercrombie - Guitar, Mandolin
Dave Holland - Bass
Eddie Gomez - Bass
Lester Bowie - Trumpet
Terje Rypdal - Guitar 
Miroslav - Vitous - Bass
Dave Murry - Bass Clarinet
Arthur Blythe - Alto Sax
Peter Warren - Bass