Customer Reviews

Bitches Brew

5 star:		(132)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

If you are considering purchasing this album and are not familiar with this period of Davis' career, be prepared for a unique listening experience. Note from the other reviews that b-BREW isn't universally loved...but its supporters now considerably outnumber the detractors. Nonetheless, newcomers are taking a chance, just as Davis and his sidemen did when they went into the studio to record b-BREW in 1969. If you do purchase this, allow 3-5 listens for it to sink in...few people really get it on their first exposure. Whatever you think it will sound like beforehand...it likely wont sound anything like that!

There are a number of misconceptions about this album. For one, Miles was not selling out his musical talent (he was expanding his audience via performing at pop venues and modifying his albums cover art; he did everything to make more money EXCEPT sacrificing the integrity of his music). Second, he wasn't tripping on substances (this era was actually the most drug-free, mentally strong, and physically healthy Davis was in his lifetime). Thirdly, Miles didn't retreat from spotlighting his sidemen and himself (there are plenty of distinctive solo improvisations that float above and within the loose ensemble playing). Fourth, this is not a rock or pop or a jazz/rock album (despite the electronic instrumentation, the music maintains a controlled abstraction that is more in line with that era's modern jazz than with most pop groups. Davis' means to this open end included many influences...rock & funk among them). Fifth, b-BREW was not widely rejected by music buyers (I believe it is Davis 2nd all-time best-selling album behind KIND OF BLUE).

Davis was actually in one of the most inspired and productive phases of his entire career, going into the studio often to work on musical concepts that in this case was not that abrupt a shift from his recording projects of the last several years. The bottom line, if Davis wanted to contrive a hit, he'd have been better off going into the studio with Blood Sweat & Tears or Chicago...and had Quincy Jones produce. Contrary to what some have asserted, this album didn't lead jazz down a blind alley, it just built a new turnpike in and around existing paths. Its okay not to like it...but if its okay to love it and consider it one of the centurys foremost aesthetic milestones, count me in! I can't imagine wanting any intrinsically-rewarding result from a music project that isn't delivered on this album.

This review is for the DVD only. The music on the CDs has been written about extensively for 40 years but the few out-takes are great discoveries from the vaults.

The DVD is a satisfying 70 minutes long and encompasses an entire performance by the Miles Davis Quintet of November 1969, in Copenhagen. The public wouldn't hear the recorded Bitches Brew material for several more months. At this time Miles's band consisted of Wayne Shorter on tenor and soprano sax, Chick Corea on Fender Rhodes, Dave Holland on acoustic bass, Jack DeJohnette on drums and Miles himself on trumpet. This is an artist in the midst of a great transformation. Gone are the suits of respectable jazzmen of the mid-1960s and in are the clothes of the hippy generation but not to the degree that would come in the following years when Miles would adopt his Sly Stone-type look. The music is almost entirely original, with only a short performance "I Fall In Love Too Easily" making it into the set. The only electric instrument present is the Fender Rhodes, which Chick Corea is becoming comfortable with at this point. This performance is a taste of what's to come in the next few months. This seems relatively tame compared to the Live at the Fillmore East from March 7th, 1970. That's why this is such a great document: A well-recorded video performance of a band that was changing every few months. The Isle of Wight concert from the next summer is even more unbridled, albeit with a few changes in the band.

The video quality is very good. The sound is good, except that the bass is mostly absent. It sticks out in some places but it's hard to hear (sorry Dave Holland fans). Overall it's a great presentation. The performance is top notch. A transitional step into Miles' electric age. This would be worth it for the DVD alone.

I did some casual comparisons of the Complete Bitches Brew Sessions CDs versus this. The differences were not vast. They both sound very good. The Bonus DVD and the (2) out-takes in this set make it worthwhile and a good buy. The "super deluxe collector's edition" coming out later this month looks enticing but not for the cash. This seems to be the best bargain. I'm hoping that the 3rd CD in the collector's edition set is released on its own in the future.

Jazz is a remarkable musical style because of its innovation and adaptability. The man who personifies this the most is Miles Davis, for the groundbreaking Bitches Brew is, in every sense, fantastic!! I listened to the album for the first time last night and got blown away! Davis's masterful trumpet playing and Wayne Shorter's soprano sax, coupled with occasional clarinet from Bernie Maupin, give the album a wonderful horn section, Chick Corea and Joe Zawinul lend their keyboard talents, John McLaughlin plays an unparalelled guitar, and the rest of the band is superb! I think Disc 1 is slightly stronger then Disc 2, but the album is great when put togther. Pharoah's Dance and Bitches Brew are incredible experiments from an incredible band, Spanish Key and Miles Runs the Voodoo Down are joyous improvisations, John McLaughlin is a unique duet, and Sanctuary gives it a peaceful finish. But the most amazing part off this album is the attitude. These men must have known that the only way to make this LP good was to pour their heart into the music. The result was a milestone in both jazz and rock, a record that brings emotion to all who listen to it, and it all came from one man's head. Thank you, Miles.

If you're wondering were to begin with the 'electric' period of Miles Davis, his jazz - rock fusion period, don't look any further. You just found it! Fans of fifties Miles and 'Kind of Blue' fans, a sign of warning - you'll be in for a surprise! And what a surprise it is! Listen to it with head - phones, that way you'll get the full satisfaction. Mind - blowing and timeless, for the jazz and none - jazz listener alike. I don't listen to jazz (well not a lot) so when I first heard it I was astonished. I had never heard anything like that before. Although the tracks are very long (up to 27 minutes for 'Bitches Brew'), all 94 minutes on the album will pass really quickly.

Don't expect to hear something mellow, this is dark, sometimes scary music for those late nights. The first time you listen to it you may not even like it, so it requires an open mind. There are hard rock rhythms with the fiery trumpet by Miles, the sax by Shorter, the 'screaming' guitar work by John McLaughlin, the driving beats of the drums by Jack DeJohnette, the piano by Zawinul...Wow! Song highlights include 'Bitches Brew', 'John McLaughlin' and 'Miles Runs The Voodoo Down'. This is the album that started a revolution, that started the fusion sound of the seventies that many other groups will follow , and for that it will always be considered as one the most important jazz albums ever.

This album is a long and intricate journey well worth the attention it demands of you. I had always liked In A. Silent Way, but never considered it an important album. My interest in Miles stops with the last albums he did with his second great group (Shorter/Hancock/Williams/Carter)I had never understood what all the fuss about this album was. It was only recently, after really getting into some of the great modernist/20th century composers I understood this albums appeal. In many ways it is directly artistically descended from things being done by Morton Feldman, Lou Harrison and Karlheinz Stockhausen (who miles actually cited as influence on pieces for subsequent albums)
It is made up of long, almost suite like tracks. There are keyboards and electric guitar, but what gives the album a timeless feel is the front horn line of alto sax, trumpet and bass clarinet.
The pieces do not have the standard tension/release brought on by solos or solos branching out from a stated melodic theme. In laymen's terms, the tension of the pieces are created by long rhythmic themes with soloist or groups of instruments coming and going without standard methods of cut off or reunion.
It is not easy album to "get" or even like right away, but it is worth exploring.

Toss your preconceived and narrow opinions about what is Jazz, what is fusion, etc. This album is what it is-PERIOD. I had the incredible good fortune (at age 17) of seeing Mr. Davis and crew perform this music in a small club in San Francisco less than a year after it was released. Miles scowling at the audience, walking off stage, scowling at the musicians... then blowing into his horn - it was an unearthly night. This is unearthly music from some jungle where intellect and muscle both prevail. It is not rock and roll. The virtuoso performances of all these players on one recording make it an absolutely monumental achievement. Buy it. Play it loud. Let your kids hear it. It changed me for the better, and it will do the same for them. (Then check out Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter - some of the incredible alumni of this album - in WEATHER REPORT.)

I am honestly astounded by the reviews of the nay-sayers. Some of them claim that most of the people who like this album are just pretending to do so to be "cool." Nothing could be farther from the truth for me. Out of all the jazz albums I own, this and Coltrane's Meditations are the two that I listen to when I want something with feeling and passion. I honestly feel moved whenever I listen to it, like someone has taken all the strange, conflicting thoughts in my head and set them to music.

As with most two-disc sets produced by Miles in this period (the only one I listen to substantially), both discs are great. There is not a bad or even mediocore song on here; even the "bonus" track has something to it, which is more than I can say for lots of Miles rereleases (please, save the alternative takes for the box set!). As a matter of fact, I would rate it as the best studio album he ever recorded. It's certainly the one I listen to the most. In tearms of best Miles album, period, I'd say it's a tie between this and Agharta. While Agharta focuses more on live improvisation and melodic grooves, this is more about studio experimentation; the soundscapes and interplay represented here were deliberately engineered to sound the way they do and are not so much the product of chance.

Despite the praise I have for this album, I must agree with many other reviewers in this: it's not for everyone. If you are a big fan of Birth of the Cool and Kind of Blue, please reconsider your actions before buying this. It is NOT traditional jazz at all and is not anything like either of those albums. For me, that's a good thing, but some people may not like that. Also, if you are looking for a "fun" record, go someplace else. This is not happy, this is not fun, and this is not bright at all. It is depressing, dissonant music that takes itself "too seriously," and if you don't like that sort of thing, then please stay away. As mentioned before, Frank Zappa might be a better choice for those looking for experimental 60's music with a lighter tone to it.

I bought this record already in the early 80s, as a vinyl record, and finally I bought it as a CD, because without this record a jazz collection is not complete. This music is so different from anything else, inside and outside jazz. I still remember clearly how surprised I was by this unfamiliar fabric of sounds, like not being the result of jazz influences at all.

At the time this was issued, Miles seemed definitely afraid of being left behind. Not that he would ever admit it. He'd been listening to Hendrix and Sly and the Family Stone, among other things, and had obviously realized that the time he had spent putting down and/or ignoring late period John Coltrane and Albert Ayler was dangerously wasted. Jazz had moved past him at an alarming rate and he was trying to catch up. He did all his catching up in one fell swoop, on this album. Miles dealt with electricity and free jazz all at the same time.

That's what scared, and still scares, a lot of people away from this album. Miles jumped headlong into the future, or what he thought was the future. His listeners, who still long for "Kind of Blue" or at the very outside, "In A Silent Way," were dismayed and outraged. Miles, famously, did not care.

In retrospect, "Bitches Brew" may not sound as revolutionary as it once did. The music is obviously a series of jams edited together with varying degrees of success. There is honestly not much difference between "Pharoah's Dance" and "Bitches Brew" harmonically, and both of them go on too long with no clear direction. There are moments of inspiration, but honestly very few of them have to do with Miles' playing; the interaction between the various members of the band provides the enlightenment, as it would in almost all Miles Davis recordings beyond this point. Together the two songs are an interesting exercise in piling diminished and minor chords on top of one another, and trying to solo over same, but overall it's an experiment at best.

The second CD is much better than the first, with more coherence and direction both harmonically and improvisationally. Miles plays better on this disc, and so does everyone else. Again, it's hard to really tell the compositions apart, but at least this time it's not because of harmonic sameness. The songs begin and end fairly arbitrarily, which would be appropriate for a project that basically consists of jams edited together.

"Bitches Brew" is not as innovative as many people believe it to be. What happened here was that Miles Davis, a major jazzman, dived headlong into electric jazz and free jazz after ignoring both for far too long. His fans and listeners at the time were as far behind the times as he was, and therefore were either shocked to death or hailed this as an act of "genius." The truth is that it's neither shocking, nor genius; it was a canny move by Davis, and brought him back into a music scene that was beginning to forget who he was. It also provided him with the opportunity to explore electronic and free sounds. And you can never rule out that at least some of Miles' motive was to make people mad; he enjoyed infuriating people and going against their expectations, and at this point, Miles was saddled with more expectations than most jazz artists. This was a great way to alienate the bop dinosaurs and stuffy nosed critics once and for all, which would take the weight of tradition off his back and allow him to move forward.

The only trouble was, Miles himself was not sure of where he should go after this, and after a lot of rehashes and misdirections, ended his career hiring Sting to play on his albums and covering Cyndi Lauper tunes.

All that out of the way, Bitches Brew is pretty essential for exploratory jazzers, especially the second CD. I personally think that Miles' live CD, "Dark Magus," is much more representative of the sound he was trying to make here. It's equally formless but more focused and more fierce. As it stands, "Bitches Brew" is an important recording, and maybe an essential one, but don't make more out of it than it is.

I also have to mention that there are surprising musical similarities between the music on this album and the music of a German band, Can. Can were playing live at the same time Davis was, and I wonder sometimes listening to this if Miles encountered Can on one of his many tours of Europe. Perhaps; perhaps not. But listening to this and listening to Can's "Tago Mago" back to back might cause you to sit back and think a bit.

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.