More Miles Davis in the early '70s

Because there is no such thing as too much.....

Confession: I super-enjoyed returning to Bill Laswell’s Panthalassa “Mix Translations” of Miles Davis’ work from the early ‘70s earlier this week. Revered (or dismissed!) for its pioneering, often epic inquiries along the groove-music/ambient-music axis, the 1969-1974 live performances are equally notable for the way Davis and his alert sidemen were testing out —and then dismantling — the conventional thinking about free improvisation.

There are countless live documents out there drawn from Davis’ performances during this era; I went with this Stockholm concert primarily because of the blistering lead guitar excursions by the late Pete Cosey. Below that, a nicely shot 1971 performance from Berlin, featuring Keith Jarrett just galvanizing the band from his perch behind the electric piano. Killer Dave Leibman solos, too.

Live at Konserthuset, Stockholm, 10-27-1973. Personnel: Miles Davis (tpt, org) Dave Liebman (ss, ts, fl) Pete Cosey (g, perc) Reggie Lucas (g) Michael Henderson (el-b) Al Foster (d) James Mtume Forman (cga, perc).

Miles Davis Septet - Berlin,11-06-1971. Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany Broadcast: WDR TV. Personnel: Miles Davis (tpt) Gary Bartz (ss, as) Keith Jarrett (kb) Michael Henderson (b) Ndugu Leon Chancler (d) Charles Don Alias (perc) James Mtume Foreman (perc).

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