Search - Miles Davis :: Miles in the Sky

"THE BIRTH & EPICENTER OF JAZZ-ROCK FUSION"

John W. Shearer | Richmond, Ky. USA | 05/06/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is as all of Miles recordings a true work of musical art. This is in fact the very formation of and the epicenter of jazz-rock fusion. Miles would remain in this groove for the rest of his career. Experimentation with sounds and colors, layers of chromatic tones, cycles and funky grooves. Never predictable and always on the fringes of the cuff, Miles never stops short of an amazing audio adventure (in space if you will). With the stellar lineup of Mr. Davis, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock and George Benson (contributing on 1 track) it is a huge piece of jazz-rock history and a must for any fan of Miles or this genre of music. Do yourself a favor and check it out today. Along with this recording you may also want to check out obviously "Bitch's Brew", "E.S.P.", "Nefertiti" and "Filles De Kilimanjaro". All masterpieces and should be in any jazz collection."

Miles Goes Up From The Skies

Andre S. Grindle | Brewer Maine | 07/07/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Miles found himself in 1968 in a very new world of music. Psychedelic sounds were everywhere and different sorts of music were bleeding together into all kinds of combinations and ending up becoming a whole new form.Sly & The Family Stone and Hendrix were popularizing it and on one of his later album with his classic quintet Miles very obviously had his ears all the way open. On the majority of this album Miles,a musician who had been edging towards a kind of avante garde sound on his previous few albums such as Miles Smiles and now a new kind of rhythm was coming into the equation. From "Paraphernalia" to "Black Comedy" onto "Country Son",even with the presence of George Benson,Miles was putting everything happening musically here into the context of rhythm. Believe it or not this was part of the beginning of the jazz-funk movement of the 70's. Recently a discussion I had with my good friend from Oakland (who I realize I name drop a lot in these reviews) bought up the point that much of jazz even at this point was not as on the stop as it seemed;that there was a deeper understanding among jazz musicians who were able to translate their musical traditions from a basic theme into something very original. The themes here do seem to be burried somewhat if your not listening close enough.But the truth is it's because their all based in some form of communal rhythm:Waynes sax,Ron's bass and Tony?Well let's just say that his drumming on everything here is far heavier-not necessarily loud but full of a weighty bottom that stands as more then steady support for Miles' playing,itself usually associated with "tugging at you a little softer" by his own description. The tune that pulls everything together here is the opener "Stuff". It opens it all up-EVERYTHING Miles would do on his breakthrough electric albums such as Bitches Brew and even to some extent On the Corner begins here;Herbie's newly found electric piano soloing,the bass leading the whole way from the bottom up and.......a rhythm that comes in and around the psychedelic stew to what is possibly Miles' first released tune in the funk genre,then a fairly new genre to most people. Even though not psychedelic music in the traditional sense of the word,everything from the trippy album cover all the way down to the rhythms and instrumentation all bleeding together find the influence firmly in place. This is the kind of jazz and funk I can imagine having a lot of appeal to people who usually listened to things like Country Joe & The Fish or even the Grateful Dead. And even for them Miles and the kind of rooted,complex funky music his quintet were making on albums like this will hopefully bring them into a good place to begin grooving to rhythms that were at once communcal,improvisations AND jamming!"

The real turn towards fusion

Christopher Culver | 01/18/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The exact moment when Miles Davis turned towards fusion has always been debated among fans, with some even pointing to early 1960s efforts. For me personally, the 1968 release MILES IN THE SKY marks the true change in direction. Until now, the efforts of Davis' Second Great Quintet had been in finely crafted post-bop, where everything seems to happen with jewel-like precision. But on the first two tracks here Miles opens his music up to a remarkable degree.



"Stuff" is based on a repetitive groove set by Davis and Shorter playing unison. Between these periodic calls, the band improvises as if the possibilities were now infinite. Oh sure, there was a similar structure on "Nefertiti" from the last album, but now Davis is offering a single cut 20 minutes long. "Paraphrenalia" continues in the same expanded vein, though it's somewhat more brief. The presence of George Benson on electric guitar has been hyped here, but when you hear the track you'll be surprised just how meagre his contribution is. Far more interesting is Shorter's solo. I do have to say, though, that I've always found Hancock's way of ending this track to be obnoxious.



The latter two tracks are somewhat more in the tradition of earlier Second Great Quintet efforts and are entirely acoustic. "Black Comedy" is memorable for one of Shorter's weirdest solos. "Country Son" veers constantly between a ballad and an uptempo number and gives Tony Williams quite a workout. Lots of fun.



While not one of the major Miles Davis releases, MILES IN THE SKY is a nonetheless generally entertaining album, and when you listen to it a necessary brick falls into the wall of his musical development."