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
- Sivad [a]
- Little Church [b]
- Medley: Gemini/Double Image [c]
- What I Say [d]
- Nem Um Talvez [e]
DISC 2
- Selim [a]
- Funky Tonk [b]
- 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.
