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Historical Jazz Album of the Year " Bitches Brew
The Party
Continues
By John Ephland
What were they responding to That’s what occurred to me when I
learned that Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew box set won for best Historical
Jazz Album of the Year in DownBeat’s 2011 Readers Poll.
What were readers getting from this new package
when they said “yes” to yet another reissue of a reissue
of a reissue And the most expensive one, to boot.
On one level, they were voting for the transcendent
music, of course. On another level, they were
voting for a choice between two versions from Sony:
the Legacy Edition versus the far more expansive
40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition. It’s the latter
of the two that won. The Collector’s Edition, incidentally,
came in second place in the 2011 DownBeat
Critics Poll this year, just 15 votes shy of beating out
the massive, 11-disc complete 1932–1940 box set of
Duke Ellington’s work.
The Legacy Edition of Bitches Brew includes the
original double album and six bonus tracks (two
CDs) as well as a DVD of an unissued live gig from
Copenhagen in 1969 that featured Brew players
Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Dave Holland and Jack
DeJohnette. But, in the end, it was the “super-deluxe”
package that won the hearts and minds of DownBeat
readers. In an LP-sized box, fans get a CD of another
previously unissued show from 1970 that adds Keith
Jarrett, Airto Moreira and Gary Bartz; an audiophile
180-gram vinyl replication of the original release;
Greg Tate’s extensive liner notes; an interview with
Brew player Lenny White; tons of photos; a fold-out
poster and more.
Bitches Brew certainly has shown it has legs. Just
consider the various Bitches Brew offshoots that have
emerged in recent years, including separate projects
from drummer Bobby Previte, trumpeter Wadada
Leo Smith, and a program that starred guitarist
Vernon Reid, trumpeter Graham Haynes, drummer
Cindy Blackman and percussionist Adam Rudolph.
Then there’s the Animation band featuring trumpeter
Tim Hagans and saxophonist Bob Belden (their
recent release Asiento recreates the full double-LP
release of Bitches Brew in the order in which the six
pieces were originally released).
As for the story behind the music and impact it
has had, well, the anecdotes seem endless, the party a
continual amazement. The initial roster of players for
the recording sessions included the budding talents
of Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Jack DeJohnette,
Dave Holland, Lenny White, Harvey Brooks and
Bennie Maupin.
DownBeat conducted a series of interviews to
check in with numerous musicians who played on
Bitches Brew, as well as some other artists whose
lives were forever changed because of Miles Davis
and this iconic album.
“Miles knew if he picked the right person and just
48 DOWNBEAT DECEMBER 2011