MILES DAVIS

BITCHES BREW LIVE - LP

IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT JAZZ STOPPED EVOLVING WHEN DAVIS WASN'T THERE TO PUSH IT FORWARD. EVEN IF THAT ISN'T TRUE, MILES DAVIS CERTAINLY WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST MUSIC INNOVATORS OF THE 20TH CENTURY, PIONEERING COOL JAZZ (WITH THE 1949 RECORDING OF BIRTH OF THE COOL), MODAL JAZZ (WITH 1959'S KIND OF BLUE) AND FUSION WITH 1970'S BITCHES BREW. BITCHES BREW LIVE CONTAINS RECORDINGS FROM TWO PERFORMANCES: THE FIRST THREE SONGS WERE RECORDED AT HIS NEWPORT JAZZ PERFORMANCE IN JULY 1969 - A COUPLE OF WEEKS BEFORE THE BITCHES BREW SESSIONS IN AUGUST OF THAT YEAR - AND HAVE REMAINED UNISSUED TILL THIS DAY. MILES PERFORMS WITH CHICK COREA ON ELECTRIC PIANO, DAVE HOLLAND ON ACOUSTIC BASS AND JACK DEJOHNETTE ON DRUMS; MUSICIANS WHO ALL WENT ON TO BECOME LEADERS OF THE FUSION MOVEMENT. (WAYNE SHORTER UNFORTUNATELY MISSED THIS DATE BECAUSE HE WAS STUCK IN TRAFFIC.) THE A1 TRACK 'MILES RUNS THE VOODOO DOWN' IS THE FIRST PROFESSIONALLY LIVE RECORDED VERSION OF THIS SONG. THE OTHER SIX SONGS WERE RECORDED AT THE ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL IN 1970,AND CONTAIN 'DIRECTIONS' AND 'IT'S ABOUT THAT TIME' FROM THE IN A SILENT WAY SESSIONS.