Bitches Brew [Extra tracks] [Original recording remastered]

Amazon.com essential recording
The revolution was recorded: in 1969 Bitches Brew sent a shiver through a country already quaking. It was a recording whose very sound, production methods, album-cover art, and two-LP length all signaled that jazz could never be the same. Over three days anger, confusion, and exhilaration had reigned in the studio, and the sonic themes, scraps, grooves, and sheer will and emotion that resulted were percolated and edited into an astonishingly organic work. This Miles Davis wasn't merely presenting a simple hybrid like jazz-rock, but a new way of thinking about improvisation and the studio. And with this two-CD reissue (actually, this set is a reissue of the original set plus one track, perfect for the fan who's not so overwhelmed as to need the four-CD Complete Bitches Brew box), the murk of the original recording is lifted. The instruments newly defined and brightened, the dark energy of the original comes through as if it were all fresh. Joe Zawinul and Bennie Maupin's roles in the mix have been especially clarified. With a bonus track of "Feio"--a Wayne Shorter composition recorded five months later that serves both as a warm-down for Bitches Brew and a promise of Weather Report to come--this is crucial listening. --John F. Szwed

Bitches Brew,Miles Davis,Sony,Avant-Garde,Drums,Fusion,Jazz,Jazz Music,Jazz-Rock,Pop,Trumpet,United States of America

Average customer rating: helpfull Bitches Brew Censors Going Wild... Not sure I like it! jazz classic.

Bitches Brew Miles Davis Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Kind of Blue A Love Supreme Birth of the Cool In a Silent Way Giant Steps ASIN: B00000J7SS Release Date: 1999-06-08

Tracks:

1. Pharaoh's Dance
2. Bitches Brew

Tracks:

1. Spanish Key
2. John McLaughlin
3. Miles Runs The Voodoo Down
4. Sanctuary
5. Feio

Amazon.com essential recording

The revolution was recorded: in 1969 Bitches Brew sent a shiver through a country already quaking. It was a recording whose very sound, production methods, album-cover art, and two-LP length all signaled that jazz could never be the same. Over three days anger, confusion, and exhilaration had reigned in the studio, and the sonic themes, scraps, grooves, and sheer will and emotion that resulted were percolated and edited into an astonishingly organic work. This Miles Davis wasn't merely presenting a simple hybrid like jazz-rock, but a new way of thinking about improvisation and the studio. And with this two-CD reissue (actually, this set is a reissue of the original set plus one track, perfect for the fan who's not so overwhelmed as to need the four-CD Complete Bitches Brew box), the murk of the original recording is lifted. The instruments newly defined and brightened, the dark energy of the original comes through as if it were all fresh. Joe Zawinul and Bennie Maupin's roles in the mix have been especially clarified. With a bonus track of "Feio"--a Wayne Shorter composition recorded five months later that serves both as a warm-down for Bitches Brew and a promise of Weather Report to come--this is crucial listening. --John F. Szwed

Customer Reviews:

helpfull.......2007-06-08

When you hear this then you can understand form where the progresive rock at that time( yes, genesis, pink floyd, ELP, etc..)got the influences.

Bitches Brew.......2007-05-30

Miles Davis-Bitches Brew ****


Long held as one of if not the greatest jazz album of all time. This was released in a time of revolution, the civil rights movement was basicaly still in height and change was happening everywhere. Jimi Hendrix redifined guitar and a group of white boys from England named cream were making black music better then some of the blacks were making it at the time. Jazz was changing around the genius that is Miles Davis and had been for a while and he was ignoring it. That was until he sat down and realized how stubborn he was being and caught up. He had long since given up on Coltrane as many did only to later realize his later work was far superior to that of his early material, as did many others in the world.

Some will tell you that this album is outragious and nothing special and even tell you that it is Miles worst album, others will hail this as utter genius and concider this his all time best rivaling the amazing Kind Of Blue, or even Coltranes phenomonal A Love Supreme. Well nither the former or the latter are correct. While this is one of the most important and very best albums in all of jazz and all of music really this is far from Davis' best and far from rivaling the two for-mentiond albums.

What Miles did here was as previously stated give in to his own inhabitions and embrace what he had for so long wrote off as nothing moro then a mere joke. Miles went from classic form jazz right head first into electric and free from like it was nothing. And for someone of his stature it was nothing. In this genre of jazz this album fails in comparison to other albums of its kind, so then why is it so important and revolutionary then? Well it saved Miles career and showed his willingness and flexability to grow as a artist and musician.

The first disc of Bitches Brew containing 'Pharaohs Dance' and the title track 'Bitches Brew' are very simular in song structure, changes, mood, and even in tone. Being as this album was pieced together from several free form jazz jams it is possible that some of these are from the same jam. The first disc fails in direction and in excitment. The jams here are way to long for not having focus and can lose a new listener easily.

The second disc containing 'Spanish Key' 'John McLaughlin' 'Miles Runs The Voodoo Down' 'Sanctuary' and now 'Feio' s much stronger and much more focused. Aside from that disc two is much more interesting and is why this essential for all listeners. It is phenomonal with no other word possible for explaination. It must be heard to be fully appreciated. The playing by Miles and the rest on the album is stronger on this disc and is just all around better.

So is this an essential album for jazz and for Miles Davis, yes, but is this as revolutionary as has been made to seem, certainly not, but that is not to take away from the sheer greatness of this album. You may be wondering why if this album is "sheer greatness" it would only recieve four stars from me well because as great as it is the legend that is Miles Davis could have done much better and did do much better. Essentail!

Censors Going Wild..........2007-04-26

I had heard of this recording for a long time but I obtained it only recently. I rescued my copy from destruction. The local library (under pressure from the politicians) is purging their collection of music that contain what they call the "B" word.

I know that there is currently dispute about the use of "the B word" in song lyrics. But there are ABSOLUTELY NO LYRICS in or on this album so I hardly see how the prohibition has any relevance. I do not see how anyone who is not mentally ill could be offended in any way.

I pointed out that there were still albums on the shelf by white artists that contained the word. They said the problem with B******s Brew was the combination of the word with what they called a "partially nude black woman" on the cover, which was a violation of their new policy. I do see this on the cover, so I must not have the same type of imagination.

There are plenty of albums with partially clad women still on the shelves, so obviously the policy violation happens because of the color of the woman's skin. I offered to redo the cover art in photoshop to lighten the lady's skin, so they could continue to make this interesting music available to the public. They did not think that was even slightly funny.

Word is that the record company is in the process of re-issuing this with additional tracks under the title "Miles' Brew". I suggest they keep the title, and replace the cover with beautiful collie dog, puppies, and a beer.


Finally, what about the music? I think it is very interesting, but far from the best thing that Miles has done. It is an important album in the history of jazz, and I hope it can remain available in it's original form, with the beautiful cover art intact.

Not sure I like it!.......2007-03-08

I read the reviews before buying this and now see why some people were so harsh in thier reviews. Sounds better after a few glasses of wine. Too different for my taste. If you are a jazz purist this may not be to your liking. Davis tries something different and I am not sure it worked.

jazz classic........2007-02-11

okay, all you yayhoos out there; want some great late night listening? something to relax and edify? well, put away all your new age cds, shuck old yanni in the trash bin, and pick up miles davis's bitches brew. no law says laid-back music can't be powerful and soulful. so here it is: just such music. miles trumpet displays a calm, beautiful and mysterious tone throughout this masterpiece. unconventional jazz to be sure, but accessible to anyone's ears. the great john mclaughlin adds fantastic touches of guitar to the recording, and other master musicians on board are: wayne shorter, chick corea, dave holland, and jack dejohnette. after you get this album and find out how much you love it (which you certainly will if there is a modicum of sanity about you), be sure to pick up "in a silent way," too. another classic miles album with a very similar vibe to bitches brew. happy listening.

Average customer rating: So much untapped potential... Bitches Brew rocks Fascinating groove Simply Miles.... Very nice...

Complete Bitches Brew Sessions (August 1969-February 1970) Miles Davis Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: The Complete In a Silent Way Sessions The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions The Miles Davis Quintet, 1965-68: The Complete Columbia Studio The Complete Columbia Recordings: Miles Davis & John Coltrane In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, Complete ASIN: B0002199HC Release Date: 2004-05-11

Tracks:

1. Pharaoh's Dance
2. Bitches Brew
3. Spanish Key
4. John McLaughlin

Tracks:

1. Miles Run The Voodoo Down
2. Sanctuary
3. Great Expectations
4. Orange Lady
5. Yaphet
6. Corrado

Tracks:

1. Trevere
2. The Big Green Serpent
3. The Little Blue Frog (Alt)
4. The Little Blue Frog (Mst)
5. Lonely Fire
6. Guinnevere

Tracks:

1. Feio
2. Double Image
3. Recollections
4. Take It Or Leave It
5. Double Image

Amazon.com

These historic sessions, recorded between 1969 and 1970 and originally released as a 90-minute double LP, merged jazz and rock into the hybrid genre known as fusion. They remain Miles Davis's most controversial recordings. Davis, along with pianists Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Joe Zawinul; bassist Dave Holland; soprano saxophonist Wayne Shorter; bass clarinetist Benny Maupin; drummers Jack DeJohnette, Billy Cobham, and Lenny White; and percussionist Airto Moreira, went electric with rock rhythms, and the rest, as they say, is history, or as some feel, the end of jazz history.

Now, all of the sessions' 265 minutes are contained on this four-CD set, compiled from alternate takes, nine unreleased tracks, and selections from previously released LPs. The superb remastering reveals the spectral power of Davis's amplified, muted, and open trumpet painting on a swirling harmonic canvas created by Hancock, Corea, and Zawinul, especially on Zawinul's impressionistic "Pharoah's Dance," Shorter's elliptical "Sanctuary," and Davis's rocking "John McLaughlin."

The previously unreleased tracks, including "Yaphet," "Corrado," "Tevere," "The Big Green Serpent," and Zawinul's "Double Image," contain some interesting East Indian motifs and inventive arrangements but will probably not change anyone's mind about this well-debated period of Miles Davis's career. --Eugene Holley Jr.

Customer Reviews:

So much untapped potential..........2007-07-11

Okay, first off these are not songs from the "real" B*tches Brew sessions - those were finished when this album was released. Rather, this is a collection of mostly fantastic outtakes released in the wake of B-Brew, around the time a few tracks from Big Fun were being recorded, which explains the overlap between these two albums. Now Brew itself is not one of my favorite Miles albums - I think it has its moments (title track; Miles Runs the Voodoo Down; John McLaughlin; five minutes of Spanish Key), but is weighed down by filler songs. As far as Miles' fusion goes, I prefer In a Silent Way and Big Fun immensly. You don't get much filler on the full boxed set.
Okay, so sure, some of the best songs are issued on Big Fun, which nine times of ten will be less expensive than this: I speak, of course, of Great Expectations (what a song!), Yaphet, Trevere (what a bad song! But it's the only loser out of the outtakes, along with Feio!), The Little Blue Frog, Lonely Fire (top notch!), and Recollections (Beautiful!). So I'd guide you to Big Fun whether or not you inteded to buy this album.
If you didn't, here's one reason to: Guinevere. If you're familiar with the Crosby, Stills & Nash original, I can tell you right now you'll never hear it the same way again when you've heard the long (twenty minutes), trippy "fusion-odyssey" version this one presents. It renders the song near-unrecognizable. You may love it (I do!!), you may hate it, but you can't deny Miles really puts his own stamp on it. A very well-made, intricately arranged cover.
Another great song is the intense Corrado. Miles and the group really rock out on this one. Him backing up his claim that he could make the best damn rock band you ever heard (or something to that effect).
Plus Double Image is a pretty good song too! I mean, not as good as Guinevere, but still a nice song. So are the two standard-length tracks, The Big Green Serpent and Take It or Leave it.
I'm surprised Miles shelved so much of this. He could've easily gotten another very good album out of this material, even when we include the songs not released on Big Fun. Guinevere, Corrado, Double Image, Take it or Leave it and the Big Green Serpent... could've been great. And he'd have to call the album Corrado, because the word sounds cool.
Yes, like all of Miles' other boxed sets, this one just screams "for fans only". But if you're a fan, you can't go wrong, really.

Bitches Brew rocks.......2007-03-09

This box set is absolutely amazing. Totally innovating, and did it ever revolutionize music!

Fascinating groove.......2007-02-25

I have enjoyed listening to this music both intently and as background. At times it all seemed like so much musical doodling but when I considered the calibre of the musicians playing I became much more appreciative of its musical integrity. Excellent production.

Simply Miles...........2007-01-12

Miles finalmente apre le danze macabre del voodoo (Miles Runs the Voodoo Down); non ci sono più scuse, l'Africa è presente in tutto il suo terribile splendore. Il ritmo, le melodie, quel groviglio che solo un incosciente chiamerebbe armonia, esplodono senza ritegno. Adesso tutto diventa dannatamente chiaro: Miles stava solo mescolando e rimescolando in una fetida brodaglia l'Africa americana, quella dei neri spacciatori, dei giocatori di basket, quelli delle sit-com, con l'Africa dei nonni e dei bisnonni che, scesi dalle galee come schiavi in Virginia e nel Mississipi, esorcizzavano la paura del nuovo ignoto con la nostalgia del passato ancestrale in quelle danze demoniache.Miles, maledetto genio, alla fine sei riuscito a riportare i fratelli neri in seno a mamma Africa; sei riuscito a ripulirli dalla "bastardaggine metropolitana" che ne deformava l'anima da un centinaio d'anni.

Very nice..........2006-12-04

I remember buying this in high school. Miles wasn't particularly popular at the time, and my brother gave me a look and said "why did you buy this crap?". My brother, ironically, would get into jazz when he got into college, yet, never apologised for this insult. As for this music, it's truly outstanding. It's incredibly complicated stuff, sometimes with 3 keyboardists, 2 drummers, 2 bassists all playing at once, with Miles on top of it all. The initial 6 tracks are some of the greatest stuff I've ever heard, with Spanish Key being my favorite. I remember being put off by it a bit at the time. The only Davis albums I had at the time were the mediocre The Man with the Horn, and the better We Want Miles, so I wasn't up on the great Miles. I have around 28 Miles CD's now, and this is definitely top five. I like Big Fun better, but the music there was from these sessions, so it's a bit confusing. The remastering is light years superior to the vinyl, and is definitely worth the upgrade. It also has superlative liner notes, detailing the sessions and some good historical background. As for the bonus tracks, most of this material was released on other albums. The songs Great Expectations, Orange Lady, and Lonely Fire ended up on the original release of Big Fun. Recollections, Trevere, The Little Blue Frog (master take), and Yaphet were also released on the remastered version of Big Fun. Guiniverre ended up on Circle in the Round (in a slightly shorter version), and Double Image (the short version) ended up on Live Evil. So there are only 6 actual new tracks (Corrado, The Big Green Serpent, an alternate take of The Little Blue Frog, Feio, a slightly longer version of Double Image, and Take It or Leave It). These 6 are good, but unless you really adore Miles, you may be able to do without them, even though I think this is a good set to have.

Average customer rating: EH-lectric Miles Davis turns electric. Jazz fusion is born An incredible and essential cd Don't buy this CD. Eccentric Miles...

Bitches Brew Miles Davis Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Birth of the Cool On the Corner 'Round About Midnight Sketches of Spain In a Silent Way ASIN: B000002696 Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

1. Pharaoh's Dance
2. Bitches Brew

Tracks:

1. Spanish Key
2. John McLaughlin
3. Miles Runs The Voodoo Down
4. Sanctuary

Amazon.com

Bitches Brew was a shot across the bow of jazz insularity, and, much like the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper before it, it drew upon elements both inside and outside the mainstream to fashion an avant-garde, yet extremely influential, take on popular music's relation to modernism, and vice versa. As such, Miles Davis became a lightning rod for jazz's transformation (or corruption as some diehards insist), and by mixing the fundamental elements of collective improvisation with fulminating dance rhythms, psychedelic electric textures, polytonal harmonies and a freely inflected brand of blues phrasing (as reflected in his own Kind of Blue-brand of modalism and the parallel directions of Hendrix, Cream, Sly Stone, James Brown, and Marvin Gaye), Davis signaled a sea-change in jazz. However, producer Teo Macero's spooky, compressed mix tends to suck all the air out of the room, emphasizing the often static nature of Harvey Brooks's bedrock Fender bass heartbeats, while obscuring the complex polytonal/polyrhythmic web of volatile harmonies, colliding cross-rhythms and contrasting melodic lines. Bitches Brew is a modern jazz masterpiece screaming for a critical reassessment (and a re-mix), but nothing can obscure the crafty tension and release of Davis's turn over a "Sex Machine"-styled ostinato on "Spanish Key," nor the spatial collective "&mysterioso" and epic breadth of the title tune. --Chip Stern

Customer Reviews:

EH-lectric.......2006-04-18

For Jazz alone, Thelonious Monk is simply better. For Jazz Fusion, Krautrock masters like Annexus Quam or (especially) Wolfgang Dauner are better. I think this is another case of the origionator being outpaced by his followers. This is a good album for rebellious librarians, not a good fusion album.

Miles Davis turns electric. Jazz fusion is born.......2004-11-16

I recall one review that described Bitches Brew as 'the shot heard around the world'. The album itself is a frenzied jazz soup, winding electric guitars playing off of each other, trilling keyboards, slinky basslines, and powerful driving percussion rhythms. But if there's one constant, it's the reverberating echoes of Miles Davis' horn. Yes the sound may be cluttered compared to earlier cool jazz, but the genius of 'Bitches Brew' is the spirit of improvisation, allowing the band to communicate with each other, through back-and-forth type musical banter creating a language that is dense and complicated, at the sametime lush and beautiful. Only Miles Davis is brazen and crazy enough to create something this daring and unconventional. 'Bitches Brew' is the powerful force, innovative and revolutionary, by which all electric jazz recordings were spawned from.

An incredible and essential cd.......2003-04-15

Everybody knows of Miles Davis playing the cool jazz, including So What, All Blues, and the rest. But what not everybody knows is his musical attitude towards jazz. Miles said that he didn't want to play his cool jazz anymore, that it was already recorded in history. Miles wanted to move on. This CD is an amazing example of his onward movement. With recurring ostanotos (sp?), a pinch of electric instrumentation, and beautiful improvisation, Miles creates groundbreaking and lasting music. This album will really open your eyes, your ears, and your mind. With art and music, the sky's the limit, and Miles is high above the clouds, composing among the stars.

Don't buy this CD........2003-03-13

No matter what anyone says - this CD is random noise.

Eccentric Miles..........2002-06-08

Eccentric beats and tunes. For a twist of the different and eclectic, I highly recommend.

Average customer rating: Add a dash of...something Slick, Stylish, Ambitious Just good. If this is dub, I love dub

Sacred System, Chapter 2 Bill Laswell Manufacturer: Roir ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music Dub | Reggae | International | Styles | Music Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music General | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music General | International | Indie Music | Stores | Music General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Sacred System, Chapter One: Book of Entrance A Navel City/No One Is There Divination: Sacrifice Book of Exit: Dub Chamber 4 ROIR Dub Sessions ASIN: B000001Q43 Release Date: 1997-09-16

Tracks:

1. Thunupa
2. Anubis
3. Purana
4. Akapana

Album Description

Immediately after remixing Bob Marley for Island / Tuff Gong / Axiom for a "new" dub electronic release (Sept. 26, 1997) and performing a similar task on Miles Davis for Sony / Columbia for a dub-oriented instrumental release (Winter '98), Laswell went into his new Orange, NJ studio to produce "Sacred System: Chapter Two," his 2nd release for ROIR. With the sounds of Marley and Miles still ringing in his ears, he brought jazz cornetist Graham Haynes, master guitarist Nicky Skopelitis, ace world percussionist Bill Buchen and Jamaican drumming legend Style Scott into the studio to create a new Laswell World Sound - a mixture of Arabic, Indian and Bitches Brew jazz - but Laswell NEW.

Album Details

More innovative Laswell dub with an all-star line-up. This release features Graham Haynes on cornet, Nicky Skopelitis on sitar & guitars, Bill Buchen on tablas & percussion Jamaican Style Scott, & of course Bill Laswell.

Customer Reviews:

Add a dash of...something.......2005-12-09

Very good by conventional music standards -- deep, rich, rhythmic, well-engineered and superb as background music for parties, studying, or turning inward. If you are bored with mainstream (or even the top layer of underground) music, check this out.

But, as alluded to in other reviews, a bit homogenous for Laswell. He has a killer formula, but it's still a formula.

Slick, Stylish, Ambitious.......2005-04-01

Laswell is definitely aiming here to channel the spirit of Miles Davis (with a dash of Jon Hassell). Sonically this sounds quite a bit like "Panthalassa" where Laswell remixed some classic Miles moments into something slick, digestible, and in my opinion inferior to the original. This isn't "dub" so much as it is Laswell's take on Miles and Jon Hassell's musics, with his own rhythmic style thrown in. ("Anubis" sounds explicitly like Laswell's remix of Miles' "Black Satin", it's exactly the same rhythmic concept.)

Given that this is new music, I am able to judge it on its own merits and not in relation to the greatest recordings of recent history (whereas I judge "Panthalassa" to be a waste of money). There's a lot to like here. The beats and bass are sublime. As a collection of rhythm tracks, this is up there with "Ekstasis" as a master work. Structurally though, the pieces drift too much (they're too static, they go nowhere over too long a time). Less than much modern electronic music, but too much for this to be called great.

It's pretty smooth and pretty interesting, though.

Just good........2001-06-14

Mr. Laswell has now released many, many CD's... and is not slowing down anytime soon. Needless to say, it is getting harder and harder to find the choice discs. Sacred System, Chapter 2 is not one of them. I found it a tad more challenging than I cared for, and liked Imaginary Cuba even less. However, I remain a huge fan and after picking up the excellent 'Dub Chamber 3', I will continue to buy his stuff. Dub on.

If this is dub, I love dub.......2000-06-05

Laswell does it yet again. Reggie lovers, dub lovers, music lovers: my advise is that you at least listen to this album and chapter one. Buy one first, if you love it, buy this too. 5 stars is just the begining of a discription.

Average customer rating: A fascinating document Cemented in History Nothing Much to Add... Bitches Brew never sounded better, but many of the extras are non-essential the apocalyptic moment for jazz revisited

The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions Miles Davis Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Box Sets | Stores | Music Similar Items: Complete In a Silent Way Sessions The Complete Columbia Studio Sessions, 1965-68 The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings The Complete Columbia Recordings: Miles Davis & John Coltrane ASIN: B00000FC7S Release Date: 1998-11-24

Tracks:

1. Pharaoh's Dance
2. Bitches Brew
3. Spanish Key
4. John McLaughlin

Tracks:

1. Miles Runs The Voodoo Down
2. Sanctuary
3. Great Expectations
4. Orange Lady
5. Yaphet
6. Corrado

Tracks:

1. Trevere
2. The Big Green Serpent
3. The Little Blue Frog (Alt.)
4. The Little Blue Frog (Mst.)
5. Lonely Fire
6. Guinnevere

Tracks:

1. Feio
2. Double Image
3. Recollections
4. Take It Or Leave It
5. Double Image

Amazon.com

These historic sessions, recorded between 1969 and 1970 and originally released as a 90-minute double LP, merged jazz and rock into the hybrid genre known as fusion. They remain Miles Davis's most controversial recordings. Davis, along with pianists Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Joe Zawinul; bassist Dave Holland; soprano saxophonist Wayne Shorter; bass clarinetist Benny Maupin; drummers Jack DeJohnette, Billy Cobham, and Lenny White; and percussionist Airto Moreira, went electric with rock rhythms, and the rest, as they say, is history, or as some feel, the end of jazz history.

Now, all of the sessions' 265 minutes are contained on this four-CD set, compiled from alternate takes, nine unreleased tracks, and selections from previously released LPs. The superb remastering reveals the spectral power of Davis's amplified, muted, and open trumpet painting on a swirling harmonic canvas created by Hancock, Corea, and Zawinul, especially on Zawinul's impressionistic "Pharoah's Dance," Shorter's elliptical "Sanctuary," and Davis's rocking "John McLaughlin."

The previously unreleased tracks, including "Yaphet," "Corrado," "Tevere," "The Big Green Serpent," and Zawinul's "Double Image," contain some interesting East Indian motifs and inventive arrangements but will probably not change anyone's mind about this well-debated period of Miles Davis's career. --Eugene Holley Jr.

Customer Reviews:

A fascinating document.......2006-09-11

It is agreed: the title of this CD Box-set is misleading. There are complaints that it does not deliver more of the actual Bitches Brew sessions of August 1969.(the liner notes do indicate, however, that a rehearsal track of Pharaoh's Dance has been rejected) Others, like Cook & Morton in their Penguin guide, take the title for granted and conclude that all the material included here gives a lesser picture of the original album.
Let's forget the title and think of it as the Miles Davis story from August 1969 to February 1970. As such, it is a great document which sheds much light on a period that is fascinating, but hitherto a little confusing.
I remember well listening to Great Expectations/Mulher Laranja for the very first time, having bought the Big Fun CD some years ago. I was instantly amazed and wondered when this music would have been recorded. The notes said "between 1969 and 1972". Oh well...
The Bitches Brew box-set tells you exactly what you need to know in every detail, and as it turns out, Great Expectations/Mulher Laranja was recorded only 3 months after Biches Brew. What a dramatic stylistic turn ! This new material, along with the early 1970 recordings of "Guinevere" and "Recollections", is as chilled and floating as Bitches Brew was hot and fiery. It is also much less abstract, relies on drones and incantations, using indian- as well as Brazilian- instruments.
In the 4 tracks of Great Expectations/Orange Lady, Guinnevere, Recollections and Lonely Fire; Davis and Macero already possessed all 4 sides of a potential suberb double vinyl, which would have been a chilled and meditative sibling of Bitches Brew. It leaves me wondering why they didn't publish it. Was it too fashionnable, too hippie? too repetitive? not jazzy enough, too easy? did it go against the real path of Miles Davis who was looking towards a more guitar-dominated, harder sound? It wasn't until 1974 that the two strongest tracks, Great Expectations/Mulher Laranja and Lonely Fire got eventually released, and Guinnevere didn't see the vinyl until 1979.
A harder guitar sound on Double-Image is heard again in early 1970, for a later inclusion in "live-evil" .And the First Jack Johnson session is only 2 months away !!
This box-set reminds us just how much happened in 6 months. Of the 4 and a half hours recorded here, a good 3 is very commendable music.
Which leads us to the question of the previously unreleased material: there is some good in theses tracks, but you can forgive Davis and Macero for "forgetting" them. Much of it sounds like recreational, a tad vacuous music intended to entertain the musicians, but perhaps not a large public. Even so, it remains interesting and some of it is entertaining. The wonderful miniature "Take it or Leave it" , just over 2 minutes in lenght, is my star unreleased track. The playing on the alternate take of "little Blue Frog" links back to In A Silent Way, as does the theme of "Recollections". A piece like "Trevere", however, points at the cliches of psychedelic/progressive rock of the time and you can guess why it took it 3 decades to get out of the can.
You learn so much from this box-set, and the presentation is irresistible. Bitches Brew sounds better, Lonely Fire sounds better, and much exciting , precise information - for example the editing process of Pharaoh's Dance - is made available.

Cemented in History.......2006-08-15

It's the classic story. A highly reputable artist with a following suddenly decides it's time for a change. To his loyal followers and admirers, he has ruined everything! WTF was Miles thinking? The same can be said for Bob Dylan.
In retrospect, Bitches Brew was a very bold move artistically (duh). Even in alienating himself from old fans, he brought in a whole slew of younger, hipper people.
Go electric, amplify the horn, add weird effects to it, jam out with a dozen guys for half an hour, and call the track "Bitches Brew".
Actually, upon hearing that title track the first time, I found it kind of scary. Dark, forboding organ chords pounding in free time. Suddenly, a burst of drums, organ and bass. This happens a couple of times. Then Miles' trumpet, laced with delay, creeps in, and adds to this gigantic sound.
After about 3 minutes, everything stops. A steady bass line ensues, accompanied by bassoon and finger snaps(?!) Eventually everybody else comes back, and jams the rest of this monstrous, half hour track.
It's quite a hard listen, to say the least. I fell asleep the first time. It was pretty disheartening.
Approach it with an open mind, give it a listen.

Other than that, my favorite track is "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down". Don Alias and Jack Dejohnette lay down a very sexy groove, to which John McLaughlin tastefully complements. It, too, grows to be an enormous jam session.

Another aside. Once, by accident, two CD players were going in my house. I don't know when we started the second one, but here's the deal. "Pharaoh's Dance" was playing at the same time as "Cowboys" by Portishead. Same Tempo, same hectic feel. I believe once, when the vocals cut out in "Cowboys", Miles seemed to come out of nowhere in "Pharao's". You might check that out. It was pretty trippy.

Overall, one of the strangest musical experiences I can recall. But, in retrospect, most people can agree on the lasting power that is Bitches Brew.

Nothing Much to Add..........2006-04-29

This boxed set has been unusually well-served by its prior reviewers, so I'll limit myself to running down the essential details in brief. THE COMPLETE BITCHES BREW sessions is not what it claims, alas, but rather a coupling of the original BITCHES BREW album as released (though with infinitely better sound) and Miles' various studio exercises of the subsequent six months. Many of these jams were clearly never intended for release (although some would be issued during the trumpeter's period of hibernation in the mid- and late seventies), and they really bear no musical relation to BITCHES BREW despite their largely overlapping personnel and chronological proximity. There are a few highlights - Joe Zawinul's brief, lovely "Take It or Leave It" and the relatively energetic workouts on "Lonely Fire" and "Corrado" are worth hearing - but much of the material is, like any rehearsal, monotonous and half-formed. Were it all from the actual August 1969 BREW sessions (which would, apparently, take up far more than the four discs included here), there'd be no problem. As it stands, however, this is clearly Columbia's way of assembling unrelated material in the most convenient form possible, and only fanatics should consider it a necessary purchase. For the rest of you, the magnificently remastered BITCHES BREW double CD will certainly suffice.

Bitches Brew never sounded better, but many of the extras are non-essential.......2006-04-07

This release features a great new re-mastering of Bitches Brew. Compared with the old Columbia CD I had from about 10 years ago, it definitely sounds better...clearer, better spatial separation, really very nice. Still, I give it a 4 star rating due to false advertising, as others here have noted. The "extras" were simply not recorded by the same band that laid down Bitches Brew. The liner notes elaborate on who played for which track, but it seems most of the other pieces were recorded about a year later. On top of that, some of the extras are totally unnecessary unless you are a Miles completist. The best cuts come from the original Bitches Brew release. Still, you will find a couple of nice nuggets here: "Corrado", "Orange Lady" (which Weather Report fans will recognize), "Recollections", which recalls In A Silent Way, and "Guinnevere", my favorite extra, which is essentially a 25-minute cover of Crosby, Stills & Nash's same-titled song. Other than the main theme, this track obviously doesn't resemble CSN's version, and is extremely laid-back in its approach, with a nice use of the sitar and some additional percussion to give the track an organic ambient feel.
For me, these tracks make it worth it; but then again, I own tons of Miles Davis recordings, everything from his work with Gil Evans, to the Birth of Cool, to his work with the original quintet as well as the "new" quintet, and all the way through his fusion period. For those that don't need *that* much Miles, I would suggest you go with the standard Bitches Brew release, which has also been remastered and sounds just as good as this set. If you're a nut like me, and can't get enough of his early electric work, then you will want to get this, as well as the complete Jack Johnson sessions, and you may even want to check out the Cellar Door sessions (the sessions from which 'Live-Evil' was extracted.)
All in all for an expanded set it's not the greatest, but it's still pretty good based on the strength of the original album's material and a few very nice extras. Miles nuts (like me) will enjoy it.

the apocalyptic moment for jazz revisited.......2006-03-14

The release of Bitches Brew in late Spring of 1970 marked the end of an era - not only for Miles - but for jazz as a genre. Jazz would never again revel in the melancholy splendor of bluesy isolation, or the somewhat self-absorbed innocence of groove or `avant-garde'. At the time, I was a devout fan, and I can remember the first time I heard "Miles runs the Voodoo Down" which was the first track I heard - before many, many others would. Jazz would never quite return to the large ensemble swing mix, although Qunicy Jones and Grover Washington did carry on for some years, with albeit muted electricity - but the McLauglin/Miles collaboration - in the final analysis, perhaps more historically significant and impacting for jazz than Miles/Trane, was and remains an extraordinary listening experience. What is more pervasive is Miles' tortured revelation of the apocalyptic sound that is first achieved here and continues notably through Live/Evil and Dark Magus and other less stellar recordings in the early and mid 1970's. These are the new classics of jazz in which its leading exponent deals with this universally acknowledged feeling of world dissolution - our lives spinning out of presumptions to and pursuit of control - the return to chaos - inexorable and inevitable. The recordings of the initial flowering of Mile's post-modern period collected here en totem for the first time give us an insight into the tension between Miles' supremely rigorous and complex sense of order and the recognition of the endless flux of electricity and being, all too overwhelming in the totality of its energy to be channeled or directed for long. The previously unreleased material here, such as 'Yaphet' and 'Corrado' which followed the original sessions is most welcome in that it presages the future, in which the electric and fusion elements would gain dominion over spent, traditional forms. Simply put, these sessions stake profound claim to being among the greatest of all time, and the extras which are included, regardless of their being more of a coda or an afterthought to the recording dates for Bitches Brew, make the package that much better.

Average customer rating: Defies Definition! Modern Art!

Bitches Brew Miles Davis Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Mysterious Traveller Black Market Sketches of Spain Schizophrenia I Sing the Body Electric ASIN: B000HBK1YW Release Date: 2006-10-30

Tracks:

1. Pharaoh's Dance
2. Bitches Brew

Tracks:

1. Spanish Key
2. John McLaughlin
3. Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
4. Sanctuary
5. Feio [*]

Album Description

Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. Sony. 2006.

Album Details

Japanese Limited Edition Issue of the Dsd Mastered Album Classic in a Deluxe, Miniaturized LP Sleeve Replica of the Original Vinyl Album Artwork.

Customer Reviews:

Defies Definition! Modern Art!.......2006-11-26

This 2-disc set has been remastered very well and has never sounded better and certainly calling it jazz/rock does not quite do it justice. It's been hailed as a leading representative of the Jazz Fusion genre and I guess that'll have to do for want of a better description.

The music here is meant to shock and to force a rethink on what music and improvisation specifically is all about. In that sense, it closely resembles avant garde and modern art. Just like modern art, this album is designed to force a response either positive or negative from its audience and in that sense, it succeeds very well.

The material in Disc 2 is a little more assessable and more closely resembling jazz as one thinks of it in the main while disc 1 for some reason reminds me of the soundtrack of the first "Dirty Harry" movie whenever the villain gets centrestage.

An album that grows on you and seems to get better each time you listen to it, it has inspired and influenced countless other jazz fusion artists and so is very important in the overall history of music let alone the jazz genre in itself.

This version of the album is also a real treat for fans as the mini-lp gatefold replical sleeve is a work of art. Essential listening and a worthy addition to any music-lover's collection. Recommended but expect to be shocked, surprised and to move out of your musical comfort zone for about 90 minutes.

Average customer rating:

Bitches Brew Miles Davis Manufacturer: Msi Music ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: 'Round About Midnight ASIN: B000065VOQ Release Date: 2002-06-05

Average customer rating:

April Fool Manufacturer: Zen Bastards ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music ASIN: B000CAGGYM Release Date: 2003-12-09

Average customer rating:

Intotheout Manufacturer: Red Door ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Jazz | Styles | Music ASIN: B000CAG09S Release Date: 2003-01-07

Average customer rating:

Bitches Brew - CD1 Inspiral Carpets Manufacturer: Mute ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | British Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Britpop | British Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Pop | Styles | Music General | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music ASIN: B00004WSC2

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