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.