Guy Berger

You know, THIS THREAD is the nastiest thing I've read out of the politics forum. I'm glad I've been avoiding it! Guy

Jim, I think it's a bad idea... the advantage of a politics forum is that it keeps discussions like those in one place. (At least, that's what happens on other lists and forums.) Take it away and the political discussions will pop up elsewhere with messier results. FWIW I haven't noticed the politics forum being any nastier recently. certainly it's less nasty than it was during the election. Guy

100% with you on the Jarrett and 80/81. Other great stuff with Dewey -- Ornette's Science Fiction ("Happy House"! not so hot on BNs with Garrison and Jones, though), Old & New Dreams (classic version of "Lonely Woman"). And he appeared on a few tunes on Tom Harrell's great Art of Rhythm ( ) -- there's one track that sounds a little like something from Bitches Brew and has a short but tasty Dewey solo. Anybody ever heard the Squirrel Nut Zippers CD with Dewey's guest appearance? Guy

I'm a big fan of Dewey's playing, at this point indifferent to Joshua's. Guy

I'm not sure I understood what you mean by saying "a lot freer and loser than those earlier ballads". Circle has a tight structure (especially compared to what goes on tracks like "Orbits") and the group follows it rigorously. You can say that the structure itself is highly original. I guess I was thinking of the group's approach to time on this. It feels like they are constantly speeding up and slowing down. Guy

At least you didn't call him Herp!!

Alright, I'll get the ball rolling since it's almost the 6th. This was the first straight-ahead jazz album I fell in love with, though I don't think I fully understood it at the time and I still learn a little every time I listen to it. By the time this album was recorded, the rhythm section had been playing together for over three years and Wayne had been in the band for over 2 years. The group's first studio album, E.S.P., is interesting and innovative, but Miles Smiles is leaps and bounds past it in every regard. (Which isn't really surprising -- the time gap between Jan '65 and Oct '66 is just as long as the gap between May '63 and Jan '65.) Miles's playing has advanced a lot, he has better understanding of this group's music, his chops are in much better shape, and the stuff he's playing is downright brilliant. Wayne's grown a lot as a player: he plays with even greater melodicism, and he's already paring down the excess notes from his playing. (If that makes sense.) Herbie does his distinctive "right hand only" thing on three of the tunes. And Tony Williams, holy crap, what the heck got into his koolaid those two days? And not to forget Ron Carter -- since that Herbie's laying out so much, and Tony is going berserk behind the drums, somebody's got to hold everything together. And the amazing thing is that he's so flexible about it -- listen to how he expands and contracts the music on "Footprints". Things that everybody comments on when they listen to this album-- * As I said before, Tony Williams is infuckingcredible. There are parts in "Footprints" which boggle my mind every time (listen to what he's doing behind Miles's solo for a start, say at around 3:05). Also, his eruption behind Wayne's solo on "Dolores". And the stuff he's doing behind Herbie's solo on "Gingerbread Boy", or on the outro from the same tune. * Herbie's lushly symphonic solo on "Circle", which sounds completely written out but obviously wasn't. And it's in direct contrast to his very spare playing on "Orbits", "Dolores" and "Gingerbread Boy". Or his brilliant comping on "Footprints", which is coming from a different place all together. Amazing he could switch gears so effectively. * The album is totally underrehearsed. Tony and Ron don't want to stop on "Footprints". The band never manages to close "Dolores" out properly. But I think the off-the-cuff nature of the performances is exactly what makes the album so brilliant. * "Circle" is an abstraction of the classic Miles ballad performance. (I think Chambers points this out.) In fact, parts of it are based on "Drad Dog" (from '61). But it's a lot freer and loser than those earlier ballads. Wayne's solo on this one, which gets overshadowed by what Herbie does next, is superb. * Footprints is such a landmark performance, and also a great example of "Miles Davis effect". When you listen to Wayne's version on Adam's Apple, you hear a haunting melancholy tune with some beautiful playing. And I can understand why some people prefer that. But this performance takes the tune to an entirely new level. It adds about 5 new dimensions to the February version. * The deconstruction of "Freedom Jazz Dance" and "Gingerbread Boy". This is the only one of the group's studio albums where they bring in tunes from the outside. But I think it's different than the live recordings of standards from the mid 60s. THOSE tunes were legacies of Miles's 50s and early 60s music, and were gradually adapted to the group's evolving style. THESE 2 tunes were explicitly brought into the studio knowing they'd be fucked with. I've been listening to Miroslav Vitous's version of "Freedom Jazz Dance" recently (almost picked Infinite Search as the AOTW) and it was obviously influenced by this one. "Gingerbread Boy" sounds to me like Miles filtering some of Ornette's late 50s recordings. Brilliant. And one other thought: * Miles solo on "Gingerbread Boy" is one of his best from this period. Trying to pick a favorite tune from this album is tough. When I first got this album, I liked side 1 better, but asides from "Footprints" I actually prefer the second side best. "Gingerbread Boy" or "Footprints. Anyway, looking forward to everybody's comments on this one... it should be interesting.

In case someone didn't realize it, I was also kidding about the Kenny G recreations of Ascension and Interstellar Space. Though I have to admit I'd like to hear those for laughs. Guy

His next project is a duet with Coltrane, over both versions of Ascension. Guy Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh! I also hear he's rerecorded Interstellar Space, with a drum machine replacing Rashied Ali. Guy

Please tell me that's a joke. I'm not sure... he said something equally stupid about Bird a while back, something about how he got his name because his reed squeaked. Now, Kenny G might actually be joking, but in this case I think the lameness of the music reflects the lameness of the man. Guy

His next project is a duet with Coltrane, over both versions of Ascension. Guy

Happy birthday John... hopefully the baby didn't eat all the cake! Guy

link Also:

They didn't go for much noise-reduction on the set, which makes the sound very vivid but also, at least on the first disc, causes some buzzing in the high frequencies. ("Jack the Bear" is the most egregious example.) I like the set just fine but someone who has a low threshold for surface noise would probably disagree. The music is essential, of course. Guy

I am curious as to how we have nanaged to post so many posts? And still have said so little? I wonder about that myself. But never out loud, only in print... It's a good thing our young revolutionary friend has shown up to ask such provocative questions! Guy

I am curious as to how we have nanaged to post so many posts? And still have said so little?

I know for a fact that the Queen listens to the Tarzan soundtrack every night. Guy

I wouldn't bother with the deluxe version of Ballads -- I've heard most of the material and it really doesn't add much to the original album. Lots of repetition of the original tunes without much variety in tempo. I'd say that before getting the Studio Recordings box, you should see whether getting the stuff separately might be cheaper. Either way, you will have to pick up Live at Birdland since only three tracks on that are on the box and it's very essential. I second the suggestion of Crescent, though that's duplicated on the box. The 1965 quartet recordings are excellent; my favorite of those is Sun Ship. Guy

The Warriors are bad enough to be a high school team, but I don't think they're going to the playoffs this year... Guy

We had an interesting discussion about Wayne's playing last year. Guy

Let me guess -- Thom Jurek is the reviewer. Guy

Nobody's mentioned Peter Gabriel, who's done some of this stuff... "Biko", "Wallflower", a few others. I guess "Big Time" protests against modern materialism in a witty way. Guy

Well post your thoughts soon, or skeith will implode. Guy

including only officially released stuff: Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel (Miles Davis) It's About That Time: Live at the Fillmore East (Miles Davis) Live in Tokyo (Weather Report) 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings (John Coltrane) live A Love Supreme (John Coltrane) An Evening at the Village Vanguard (Sonny Rollins)