Miles Davis - The Complete Miles Davis At Montreux (...
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Description
Despite its inclusive title and physical girth, the 20-CD Complete Miles Davis At Montreux couldn't be called stylistically comprehensive. This may be all of Miles Davis at the Montreux Jazz Festival but after his appearances in 1973, he didn't visit the festival again until 1984, then appearing almost every year until 1990 with music which held a steady stylistic course. This is mostly electric fusion, with little of Miles the bebopper. The only exception is disc 19, which captures the 1990 concerts in which, near the end of his life, Miles broke his rule about never looking back and revisited the late 1950s Gil Evans repertoire of Miles Ahead, Porgy & Bess and Sketches Of Spain.
In the main this set surveys Miles 1980s style in exhaustive detail and crucially, being live, gives far more room to improvisation, the real point of Davis's music and bands, than his 1980s studio dates did. The 1973 concerts do the same thing, though in a different way, reflecting the far more experimental mood of the times. Then, he seemed to be looking for an accommodation between funk and free jazz. Despite the instrumental shortcomings of some of the players, there's a constant searching, in these long, agitated jams, for new ways to shape the groove, the guitarists often grabbing tangential rhythmic figures from the air in hope of turning the groove around. Sometimes it works, but more often the music renews the search which seems its reason for being.
The 1980s bands, with their greater compositional focus and all-round superior musicianship are sometimes thought to be relatively bland, but by surrounding himself with some of the hippest young musicians of the time--notably Marcus Miller, John Scofield, Mike Stern, Bob Berg, Kenny Garrett and Adam Holzman--Davis led bands which became again (like his 1969-70 groups) the focal point for a new sound in jazz fusion. Those who found too little of their favourite soloists on such studio albums as You're Under Arrest and Tutu will be pleased to hear the same tunes opened up and recast as extended improvisational vehicles. The tunes are already familiar, after all; it's the discovery of unheard solos which is the prime attraction of epic collections such as this.
Like the collection, the packaging is on a grand scale. The 20 discs (including a bonus disc from Nice in 1991, just two months before Davis's death) come in easily accessed sleeves within a hinged, glossy black box and are accompanied by a comprehensive, yet clearly designed, booklet with essay and full discography. For those who never got enough of his concerts in the 1980s, this is one to covet.
For over two decades, the Montreux Jazz Festival was the world stage from which Miles Davis reigned and dazzled. Starting with his first appearances with the post-Bitches Brew band in 1973 and running until July 1990, Miles Davis forged a connection and identity with Montreux that stands apart from his history with other venues. Presented in lavish packaging, this sumptuous box set, illustrated with rare photos and paintings by Miles, with in-depth sleeve notes, includes 19-CDs of live performances at the Montreux Jazz Festival as well as a bonus CD of a live performance in Nice from 1991. Recorded between 1973 and 1990, and featuring singularly talented musicians such as John Scofield, Bob Berg, Kenny Garrett and Robben Ford, these brilliant selections, most of which never available before, are a must for any Miles Davis fan.
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