Miles Davis: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3

[CJ Shearn]

Well, that was a common opinion. The fusion seems much tamer now and perspectives change.

Right, then there started to be serious critical reappraisal of the 1969-75 music once the boxes were released. And then, the Montreux box plus many other live releases show that live, there was way more to the 80's stuff. It's only been the past decade I've been into electric Miles, I still gotta check out the Cellar Door set through Pangaea/Agharta, but I love "Black Beauty", "It's About that Time", the Isle of Wight stuff and the Bootleg vol. 2 material very much.

[Guy Berger]

Well, that was a common opinion. The fusion seems much tamer now and perspectives change.

Fair enough, but even in 1990 (around when the liner notes where written) it already was a bit reminiscent of "get off my lawn!!"

[Rooster_Ties]

Is it just me, or does all this material from Vol 3 seem less "out there" now that we have the actual tunes and themes as they were presented live in their full context? Meaning as opposed to the cutdown/edited versions that Teo assembled?

That isn't meant as a dis to Teo, or anyone for that matter. I'm just saying that these particular dates from June '70 almost seem more "approachable" than the "Black Beauty" edited proceedings from April '70 -- or even the dates with Wayne from March 1970 (which may be partially the result of being recorded so 'hot', or whatever the SQ challenges were with that show).

In any case, I have to say I'm becoming more and more impressed with Vol 3, with every additional spin. Frankly, I was thinking I might hold off on buying Vol 3 (at least for a while), and it was only the UK deal that really pushed me over the edge. But I am really glad I jumped on this when I did!!

[jazzbo]

I think the editing to create "Miles Davis at Fillmore" was brilliant. I think it was meant to be a sort of "freak out," the wildest moments were showcased, it was meant to draw attention from those who were into the wilder aspects of the new sounds, and. . . well it worked for me. Between this and Filles and Bitches I became hooked and explored Miles with a real passion, which led me to so many other jazz artists and their work.

I don't feel they sound "tamer" in their complete form, but they do make more "sense" and are less jarring and in that sense less thought-provoking, reaction-inducing. I've listened to all this material I can in official and unofficial form over the years so it's hard for me to be really hearing it with new ears, so I may be not experiencing it in the same way. I'm so happy this is finally released.

[JSngry]

Teo was a genius in his own right, in his own way, and Miles gave him the right-of-way to apply it. Those assemblages of his stand consideration apart from the music itself, especially On The Corner, which is like, the more you hear the loops and splices, the more HOLY SHIT it becomes.

[jazzbo]

Yes, no kidding, that's an amazing assemblage. I remember how it amazed me and no one I knew in Ohio seemed to "get it" or "give a shit." Then I moved to Texas, in a year I had a job and my new partner turned out to be from Ohio, and one day I mentioned Miles and he said "On the Corner, that's the shit" and I had someone to talk to about this music that was sort of my own little unshared passion.

"On the Corner" really is "something else."

[JSngry]

I guess it's inevitable and even proper that it's taking time for the difference to be considered, but "Miles' Music" & "Miles' Records" are, like, two circles of a Venn Diagram that maybe don't intersect nearly as "comfortably" as all the assumptions that have been poured into the "jazz paradigm" would allow for (in THAT perfect world, we would only enjoy records that were not records, they'd just be magical vessels of sound waves that showed up in our ears somehow), but hell, there it is anyway. I'm like, both are brilliant, and if this Bootleg Series will show anything as it continues to unfold, it will be that, yes, different, but/and yes, also brilliant.

It's not like Teo was taking shit and turning it into steak, right? No, he was taking valuable metals and shaping them into jewelries. And really, progress was probably better served that way, because there was a lot of shit going on in those bands pretty damn rapidly and if everybody had waited for a "definitive" resolution of it all before recording it, no records would have gotten made, because the conclusions were often, usually, even, made after the fact, not during it. If that Fillmore band would have waited for all the internal decisions to be reached before making an "official" unedited "jazz record", it would have never have made one, period, because it wasn't until AFTER that band had ceased to exist that those in it reached their conclusions. And then you'd have another version of The Lost Quintet, which was a band that easily COULD have had that type of record if there wasn't so much other stuff going on in the studio, newer stuff still.

So hey, Teo kept finding ways to tell Our Story So Far. Much love to him for that, much love.

[jazzbo]

Nice points. I have a lot of love for Teo and his work as well. Hell, I even like his reed work.

An independent like Lion and Blue Note can waste his time and money making records and leaving things in the can in order to put out "what's happening," etc. Glad he could do that. The music he was cultivating was moving a little slower than these Miles growths and he and his artists could crystalize a record with less cutting and pasting than Teo. Columbia had all these raw tapes from Miles too, in the can. One of the great joys of the 'nineties was EMI and Sony putting out some of these recordings when finally there was a market.

Edited April 6, 2014 by jazzbo

[medjuck]

Teo was a genius in his own right, in his own way, and Miles gave him the right-of-way to apply it. Those assemblages of his stand consideration apart from the music itself, especially On The Corner, which is like, the more you hear the loops and splices, the more HOLY SHIT it becomes.

Isn't Teo really responsible for "It's About That Times" as Miles played it in concerts? Listening to the original studio version on the In A Silent Way box set it appears that what Miles might have originally thought of as the theme sounds a bit like Chuck Mangione. Teo completely jettisoned that part and pulled out what we now think of as the theme from one of Miles's solos.

BTW George Avakian also created a lot of classic cuts using scissors, though nothing quite as creative as Teo.

[JSngry]

Yeah, that IASW box was a revelation for exactly that reason. There was all this other stuff making up that tune that you would have never even dreamed about. I nearly shit my pants the first time I heard it, some serious WTF????-isnmess going on with that for me.

I wasn't there at the time (alive, yes, but not yet knowing), but I guess there was some "controversy" about Side 1 of IASW repeating itself for the second half, like it was heretical (or on a more pedestrian level, a ripoff) to do that. But hey, the difference between a "record" and a "performance" coming to the fore, not sjut a splice, but a freakin' manufactured recapitulation - on purpose!

Teo, though/remember, had this whole other life as a "classical" composer/musician, and he knew about this stuff, this using the studio and tape as instrument from that scene, the early electronic/etc. scene. He was not flying blind, let's put it that way. A pretty interesting cat in his own right.

[B. Clugston]

Teo was a genius in his own right, in his own way, and Miles gave him the right-of-way to apply it. Those assemblages of his stand consideration apart from the music itself, especially On The Corner, which is like, the more you hear the loops and splices, the more HOLY SHIT it becomes.

Isn't Teo really responsible for "It's About That Times" as Miles played it in concerts? Listening to the original studio version on the In A Silent Way box set it appears that what Miles might have originally thought of as the theme sounds a bit like Chuck Mangione. Teo completely jettisoned that part and pulled out what we now think of as the theme from one of Miles's

"Shhh/Peaceful" was the track where Teo jettisoned the theme.

[David Ayers]

This set is a treat for me since I had heard all of the officially released early 70s Miles except Fillmore, so it's all new. As interested as I am in Miles though I remain a non-fan, of his whole career. What's great about this set is that it is a vivid document, not least because of the sound, and shows clearly how the band worked and what it was trying to do.

Hippies have a lot to answer for. Get a haircut!

[CJ Shearn]

Just received my set. Looking forward to hearing the whole enchilada, Lon. Thanks so much for putting a new perspective on the original 2 LP which is something I wouldn't have thought, intended to highlight the wildest moments. Still, I don't prefer the original album, but that viewpoint was great, thank you.

Edited April 7, 2014 by CJ Shearn

[jazzbo]

I'm not sure I prefer the original albums either, but they're part of my brain chemistry now! There is a real punch to the lp mixes that is presented differently in the new one, I think it would be very interesting if the new one was as close to the lp mix as possible. .. but it may be better this way for me actually, now that I think of it.

Just an amazing reissue. Jazz reissue of the year for me I think.

[tranemonk]

Is there anyone other than me that ordered from the Amazon site and still hasn't received their set????

[Homefromtheforest]

Yup I'm in the same boat. Preordered it months ago on amazon UK and still have not received it...I'm in Canada and usually airmail from the UK takes a week at the most...this sucks!

Waiting on another box from the UK that was sent over 3 weeks ago and still has not arrived...apparently the postal service can raise rates and lower service at the same time

[sidewinder]

Isn't Royal Mail's CEO a Canadian?

[JohnT]

I've not received mine yet from the UK either but did jump on late in the game. Hoping I go home tonight and it will be in the mail. Can't wait as this era is some of my favorite Miles!

[medjuck]

Yup I'm in the same boat. Preordered it months ago on amazon UK and still have not received it...I'm in Canada and usually airmail from the UK takes a week at the most...this sucks!

Waiting on another box from the UK that was sent over 3 weeks ago and still has not arrived...apparently the postal service can raise rates and lower service at the same time

I always blame poor service to Canada on the Canadian Post Office. And I hear the Conservatives are dealing with it by doing away with home delivery. That we're letting them get away with it just shows that we are a docile bunch.

[Homefromtheforest]

Yup home delivery is on the chopping block here...Canada post is in a sad state for sure.

[CJ Shearn]

Spinning disc 1. Absolutely wonderful to hear Keith and Chick's interplay in it's unedited context. I always would find those splices so frustrating.

[GA Russell]

I now see this Miles at Fillmore box advertised by Amazon at the bottom of this page!

[JSngry]

I now see this Miles at Fillmore box advertised by Amazon at the bottom of this page!

I see something about needing to update my security...anybody know a good service that's available on short notice and will take checks?

[sidewinder]

Yup home delivery is on the chopping block here...Canada post is in a sad state for sure.

Always remember having to pick up my mail at a Canada Post locker station at one place I used to live at. Complete pain in the ass.

Hope your Bootleg Vol 3 sets arrive soon to all the Canucks awaiting them !

Edited April 8, 2014 by sidewinder

[skeith]

I got my copy yesterday and listened to Disc 1. Liked the performances and sound on the main tracks, but like others here have said I do not get the bonus tracks ---- whatever magic there is in bonus track performances is very much obscured by the poor sound quality.