A legendary Miles Davis meet-up
THE CD: “Miles Davis: The Cellar Door Sessions 1970″ (Sony)
THE PERFORMER: Miles Davis and friends
This six-CD set from Columbia/Legacy contains six of 10 sets recorded during legendary jazz trumpeter Miles Davis’ four-night run — Wednesday, Dec. 16, through Saturday, Dec. 19 — at the Washington, D.C., club in 1970.
This was quite a band. With Davis (on different nights) were Gary Bartz on soprano and alto sax; John McLaughlin on guitar; Keith Jarrett on keyboards; Michael Henderson on bass; Jack DeJohnette on drums; and Airto Moreira on percussion. This is the first time any of this music has been heard, except for the Saturday night set (which was included on the 1970 album, “Bitches Brew”).
Josef Zawinul’s “Directions” got a workout that week, and appears on five of the six CDs, as this collection is aimed at Davis afficionados. On the other hand, the tune is based on a repeating bass line in E, so by set five, it is a different tune. Maybe it is just the rock leanings, but I find this period more accessible than “Birth of the Cool,” and Davis’ icy trumpet tone. This may owe more to the composer than any brilliant insight on my part, but shows the debt bands such as Weather Report owed to Davis.
On “Directions” on CD 5, McLaughlin appears, playing biting staccato passages (as he says in his recollections of the time, to “fight it out on stage with Miles” was a blessing). These give way to Jarrett’s double keyboard solos then Davis’ wah-wahed trumpet. Imagine the frustrations of these great players, making scale wages while rock stars played blues scales for millions.
You can absorb this music for five years and not get it all. The 100-page booklet is excellent and most informative.
– Paul Gartner
