Search - Miles Davis :: Complete In a Silent Way Sessions

Complete In a Silent Way Sessions
Miles Davis
Complete In a Silent Way Sessions
Genres: Jazz, Pop
 
  •  Track Listings (6) - Disc #1
  •  Track Listings (7) - Disc #2
  •  Track Listings (4) - Disc #3

Recorded and released in 1969, In a Silent Way was one of Miles Davis's most mysterious and elusive efforts. That was not only because the album, boasting one long track on each side, was so austerely understated, but also...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Miles Davis
Title: Complete In a Silent Way Sessions
Members Wishing: 5
Total Copies: 0
Label: Sony
Original Release Date: 1/1/2001
Re-Release Date: 10/23/2001
Album Type: Box set, Original recording remastered
Genres: Jazz, Pop
Styles: Avant Garde & Free Jazz, Jazz Fusion
Number of Discs: 3
SwapaCD Credits: 3
UPC: 074646536223

Synopsis

Amazon.com
Recorded and released in 1969, In a Silent Way was one of Miles Davis's most mysterious and elusive efforts. That was not only because the album, boasting one long track on each side, was so austerely understated, but also because it stood apart from the music that preceded it, the music the trumpeter was performing in concert, and the revolution that followed--a.k.a. Bitches Brew. Making use of multiple keyboardists--Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea on electric piano and Joe Zawinul on organ--the trumpeter multiplies tones and melody lines and complicates textures. His mold-breaking band, also including Wayne Shorter on soprano saxophone, Tony Williams on drums, and John McLaughlin on guitar, dips into rock and R&B, gospel and classical, electronics and creative editing. The three-disc, misleadingly titled Complete In a Silent Way Sessions gathers a brace of material recorded during the months leading up to the making of the title classic, when Davis was making the transition from his great acoustic quintet (including Hancock, Shorter, and Williams) to more populous electric units, as well as formalizing his involvement in rock. It includes two songs from Filles de Kilimanjaro that were rudely left off the Miles Davis Quintet 1965-68 box set because they were performed not by the classic quintet but with new members Corea and Dave Holland. Strong subsequent efforts by the revised quintet not released until years later on odds and ends collections. You may drift off while listening to bonus "footage," including rehearsals for Silent Way, but two previously unreleased tunes command attention: the easy and sprawling 27-minute construct, "The Ghetto Walk," which reflects Miles's interest in Jimi Hendrix and James Brown, and "Early Minor," a Zawinul composition warmed by a Spanish sunrise. The extensive notes are informative, and the packaging, as always with the ongoing Davis reissue series, is classy. --Lloyd Sachs

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CD Reviews

You'll Want to Hear the Whole Thing
directions | Space Time Foam | 12/08/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)

"This boxset actually works unlike the Jack Johnson set which has multiple takes of the same song and gets somewhat tedious. Not every piece on the box set is essential but still hearing the rough drafts for "In a Silent Way" and seeing how they were spliced together to complete the final product is fascinating. Teo Macero assembled a final product that was better than the sum of its parts (unlike the Live at Fillmore, clip job disaster). And while you're at it, this music has a mellow proto-ambient vibe without suffering from the aimless meandering that much fusion would suffer from. Its hard to believe that this is the same musician who would go on to make "On the Corner" (another favorite of mine) which is as harsh and edgy as this is peaceful but then again this is so far removed from "Kind of Blue" its unbelievable. The really excellent thing about this boxset is to see how Miles' music evolved. Its not like suddenly one day he decided to go electric. The different sessions show a gradual progression. However, this is no history lesson. The music sounds as fresh as the day it was made. This is the rosetta stone of Miles music because this is where his close minded jazz purists step off and his jazz-rock fans start when it reality it is classic jazz that was cutting edge at the time and still sounds pretty damn good."