In his autobiography Miles is dismissive of Charles Lloyd’s playing skills - he gives credit for the quartet’s success to DeJohnette and Jarrett. They were a fantastic rhythm section, to be sure, but you have to credit Lloyd for writing the songs that went on to be well received at The Fillmore and other rock venues. (I’ve always really liked Sombrero Sam on Lloyd’s Dreamweaver album.)
Great essay! As a teenager, I was buying Miles albums as they were released, along with all of the contemporary rock renaissance albums, and it was a life-defining thrill to hear all of these musics come together on my turntable. I always heard the Miles albums from ESP to Filles De Kilimanjaro as links in a chain, but nothing prepared us for Bitches Brew when it finally hit. As another early “fusion” avatar I add Joe Zawinul’s Rise And Fall Of The Third Stream to your very comprehensive list. And Miles loved to bait and aggravate Leonard Feather, so while his comments in that notorious Blindfold Test are acute and revelatory of what was to come, there’s an additional edge to them that was meant to aggravate poor Leonard.
I was already thinking of linking both the early 60s Second Great Quintet that started with Seven Steps and the subsequent Electric Period but I can't seem to justify the connection despite reading your essay. Like is there a foreshadow in his Second Great Quintet outside of Miles in the Sky and maybe a few tracks you mentioned from ESP?
Well done Robert. I finally got to read this piece on Miles and I think you've captured his restlessness perfectly. The funky grooves are deeply felt on these tracks, while the horn lines are counter intuitive, in a way, short phrases often repeated like a typical rock song. I would suggest that Miles, at this time, was the gateway to the fusion movement of the Seventies.
In his autobiography Miles is dismissive of Charles Lloyd’s playing skills - he gives credit for the quartet’s success to DeJohnette and Jarrett. They were a fantastic rhythm section, to be sure, but you have to credit Lloyd for writing the songs that went on to be well received at The Fillmore and other rock venues. (I’ve always really liked Sombrero Sam on Lloyd’s Dreamweaver album.)
Great essay! As a teenager, I was buying Miles albums as they were released, along with all of the contemporary rock renaissance albums, and it was a life-defining thrill to hear all of these musics come together on my turntable. I always heard the Miles albums from ESP to Filles De Kilimanjaro as links in a chain, but nothing prepared us for Bitches Brew when it finally hit. As another early “fusion” avatar I add Joe Zawinul’s Rise And Fall Of The Third Stream to your very comprehensive list. And Miles loved to bait and aggravate Leonard Feather, so while his comments in that notorious Blindfold Test are acute and revelatory of what was to come, there’s an additional edge to them that was meant to aggravate poor Leonard.
Just stumbled upon this essay. It's a great read.
I was already thinking of linking both the early 60s Second Great Quintet that started with Seven Steps and the subsequent Electric Period but I can't seem to justify the connection despite reading your essay. Like is there a foreshadow in his Second Great Quintet outside of Miles in the Sky and maybe a few tracks you mentioned from ESP?
Glad I found you here! Wonderful, accessible writing. Country Boy is so engaging - a musical conversation where each voice is clear.
Well done Robert. I finally got to read this piece on Miles and I think you've captured his restlessness perfectly. The funky grooves are deeply felt on these tracks, while the horn lines are counter intuitive, in a way, short phrases often repeated like a typical rock song. I would suggest that Miles, at this time, was the gateway to the fusion movement of the Seventies.
He certainly did 🙌🏾
Going to have to give this a spin right now, cheers!
Man, I love this record so much. Terrific stuff 👍
As usual very well written. Kudos! I believe that in his autobiography, Miles mentioned that he was listening to Kassav' late in life.
Well done! A condensed and critically informed look at the creative tributaries that led to Miles In The Sky - and beyond.