Customer Reviews

Cellar Door Sessions 1970 (Spkg)

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If you own Live-Evil, you have something good. But if you like Live-Evil this is even better. And you should not hesitate if you're on the fence. Do not make the mistake of thinking you will just hear extended takes of Live-Evil material -- it's more than that. For all the hype these sessions have generated over the years, I did not expect this to be as good as it was. And yet it exceeded my expectations by Disc One and just got better from there.

To my ears, this is perhaps the last truly great quintet that Miles would lead. There would be other great Miles music after this, but this band deserves the kudos that have been given what has been referred to as the "lost" quintet that preceded it (Shorter/Corea/Holland/DeJohnette). And it's one of the best representations I can think of that successfully bridges jazz, rock and fusion. it's also the band I'd recommend to anyone who mistakenly believes Miles was "done" and/or "sold out" when he turned electric.

I don't know if it's in the mix or in the take, but Michael Henderson sounds better here than he does on Live-Evil. There are solos by Gary Bartz that will blow you away. Keith Jarrett proves that he could have been a demon of fusion, had he chosen that path. Jack DeJohnette never errs. And Miles turns up the heat and keeps it there throughout.

I will probably never play Live-Evil again, now that I have this and the little Hermeto gems that were included with the Jack Johnson box set. Although I agree with the reviewer who appreciated the difficult task it must have been to construct Live-Evil from these wonderful sessions. I have to wonder, in retrospect, if they chose the sessions with McLaughlin on guitar for Live Evil partly as a marketing strategy -- since McLaughlin was also a rising star at the time. And although the sessions with McLaughlin are excellent, they're not my favorites -- the band sounds tighter, more cohesive, with the quintet.

Listen to this band. You will not be bored. You will be amazed.

At the end of 1970, Miles Davis was on fire. While his band was in a constant state of turnover, it worked out because his music was in a constant state of fierce evolution. Having incorporated electric instruments and rock rhythms into his bands for the past couple years, Davis was losing the understanding of critics and to some extent his audience. With ears of a couple generations later and the recent explosion of evidence of undocumented bands, it's possible to really reevaluate this period in Davis' evolution.

One of the bands that was woefully underdocumented was the sextet on this album-- Gary Bartz (saxes), Keith Jarrett (keyboards), Michael Henderson (bass guitar), Jack DeJohnette (drums) and Airto Moreira (percussion). Recorded in December of 1970 during a week-long stretch at Washington D.C.'s Cellar Door club, only some highly edited music from the last night (when the band was joined by guitarist John McLaughlin) was previously released (as part of "Live-Evil"). With this set, we can finally hear what this band was all about.

Generally, each set was about an hour-long continuous performance, usually opening with "Directions" and running through a handful of themes during the course of the performance. The music is deeply rooted in groove and funk-- this is no doubt the influence of Michael Henderson, who had a Motown pedigree, but also of Davis' infatuation with the music of Jimi Hendrix. This placed the rhythm section in a fairly unusual position-- Henderson would lay down a vamp (albeit a bit looser than he would a couple years later) that would form the core of the piece while DeJohnette and Moreira would set up a percussive stew using rock and funk grooves but firmly rooted in jazz and Brazillian music (I don't really know how to describe it-- it feels like, but doesn't sound like, a rock groove when DeJohnette plays). But it's Keith Jarrett's performances that are the revelation. Notorious for his hatred of electric instruments (more on that below), Jarrett performs on two keyboards simultaneoulsy, eliciting an oddly associative performance. Henderson indicates in his liner notes that Davis instructed him to ignore what Jarrett is doing-- it's pretty clear this is the case, but somehow it all fits together. But perhaps most remarkable is that Jarrett's performances don't really change when a soloist is above him. As far as the soloing goes, Bartz is firmly rooted in a modal/proto-free jazz school, playing angular and excitable Coltrane-influenced solos, but Davis is stunning. Inspired no doubt by the energy and volume of the music, Davis explores his upper register and his technique, playing with a fire and fierceness that seems to shed his label as a delicate and romantic player.

On the last night, the presence of John McLaughlin makes all the difference-- the music gets a looser quality and Davis seems even further inspired-- indeed, it seems that much of Davis' best playing was done with McLaughlin at his side. This goes from being a tight, frantic electric rock band to something even more.

Sonically, it sounds fantastic-- its definitely a live recording, it's got that late '60s/early '70s recorded-in-a-club sound to it, but it's crisp, clear and well balanced, all the instruments are audible and presented in a good spot in the mix.

This set is packaged similar to the rest of the recent Miles Davis Columbia boxed set-- a booklet-style folio contained in a slipcase, with each disc housed in its own envelope. The accompanying 96-page booklet contains essays by all of the performers and the reissue producers, Bob Belden and Adam Holzman. The producer essays are informative-- Belden provides an introduction, Holzman an analysis of the music, but the musicians' essays are of mixed quality. Some of them write rather nice, heartfelt things, but some of them seem overly concerned with agendas beyond discussing the music (although admittedly Henderson's defense of himself and the music comes off a bit poor). Of particular note is Keith Jarrett's rant about both electric keyboards and a rather bitter attack on Marcus Miller. find this sort of thing distracting. A final note-- this set was delayed a substantial amount of time by Miles Davis' nephew, Vince Wilburn, who has partial control over his estate. Evidentally, he took issue with Holzman and Belden being credited as reissue producers and demanded they be changed to reissue compilers. My set has a sticker over the production credits to this effect, I actually can't believe the set was delayed for several months for something this trivial.

In the end, this is a fantastic set-- it's not quite the "Holy Grail of Lost Recordings" or the "Music That Will Change the Course of Everything" it's being lauded as by overenthusiastic fans, but it's awful good music and well worth the investment for any fan of Davis' work. Highly recommended.

This boxed set was a surprise Christmas present. I am a certified Miles Davis fan. If you enjoy Miles' early Jazz Rock ventures, such as In A Silent Way, Bitches Brew, Jack Johnson, Live-evil, or On The Corner, or, if you are a fan of any of the incredible artists who played on these live performances some 35 years ago in Washington D.C., then stop reading this review, wasting valueable time while you could be listening to the music and reading the cool 100-page-or-so-long liner notes, with personal takes on the proceedings detailed by each of the performers. Very interesting. The music is more vital today than ever, with the advent of Jam bands, and new Jazz players who come from non-jazz backgrounds, such as Medeski, Martin, and Wood, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, and others.

If you aren't a big Miles fan but are into Jack DeJohnette, hear on these recordings Jack paying his dues and playing with fire and intensity, as a conduit between the great bass ostinatos of Michael Henderson(who played with Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Aretha Franklin) and Keith Jarrett's sizzling Fender Rhodes Electric piano work. Or, maybe you're curious how Keith could pull off his free-associative and ever-creative jazz style in such an eclectic mix. He does so with flying colors. Miles steps in from time to time and plays using a Wah pedal on the trumpet, and he's still playing with muscle as opposed to 10 or more years later. The final 2 discs features John McLaughlin and he is playing fast and great, but not over the top. All the members are considerate of each other, and because Miles set out to construct a band that was both virtuosic in their technique and improvisational skills, and yet grooving, jamming the whole time for the younger target Rock audience, the band WORKS. The Live-evil recording that was a result of part of these shows didn't get some good reviews by jazz critics at the time, but they were sitting back in the 60s waiting for the swing to come back. It didn't, Miles didn't look back, but now we can look back to a time when Jazz-Rock Fusion was in its infancy, and all the players would go on to become stars in their own right. We can look back on this great recording. It may be a gimmick to get Miles freaks to spend some money, but this gimmick works! It helps that the package is a nice faux-leather with a large booklet. You'll enjoy this. It is a boxed set that has musical and historical value. If you simply want a time when you are listening to some good Miles group music and you feel a sense of musical exhilaration and joy, maybe it would be worth the money...

You can't help but notice the anger floating around this very pricey box set. This long anticipated package was apparently held up for a couple more months so that each booklet could be ammended with a glued in note as to who really produced and engineered the recording. Keith Jarrett notes the ignorance of a critic from 35 years ago regarding funk and competence, as well as taking a swipe at the old Fender Rhodes. Michael Henderson also takes the oppportunity to redress the slings and arrows of jazz critics who blamed him for Mile's so-called artistic demise. John McLaughlin seems to be walking on pins and needles not to offend any of the band he sat in with one night.

Of course, the Cellar Door material turns out to be just as wonderful as devoted fans had hoped. As is well documented by everyone, the club and band are small enough to catch all the nuances and interplay between the musicians as they explore the structure of Mile's early electric material. It's no knock on Teo and the magic he did with Live-Evil to say that listening to the original source material over several full sets seems ultimately more satisfying.

Never say never, but it's hard to imagine the discovery of any other unreleased Miles material that will ever top this (though Carlos Santana may have a tape or two in his private collection that might argue differently). I'm a big fan of early electric Miles, and am very happy to be finally listening to this stuff. This kind of gesture is the best way for Sony to re-vamp its image after the recent spyware debacle.

and for anyone else who just simply didn't get what Miles was on about. This collection from the Cellar Door sessions in 1970 is not only a definitive statement on what Miles was seeking (and keep in mind he was not after what could be sought, in much the same way that Heidegger was after Thinking rather than what was thought), it is one of the greatest sessions ever captured on tape from any musician. There was more going on here than perhaps at any other time. In addition to the drive supplied by Jack DeJohnette, there were the internal group dialectics pitting Keith Jarrett on an instrument he despised against John McLaughlin, whose relevance Jarrett clearly questioned. In such an atmosphere, there was nothing but passion on the line. Miles was in superb physical condition at this time and his thinking was as adventuresome and as creative as it ever would be. Miles explores and examines, excoriates and inspires his colleagues through the material that would surface on all sorts of releases. Collected here there is an undeniable sense of cohesion and direction. These were, after all, Directions in Music.
What further enhances this set is the marvellous re-mastering. Having been present for one of these sessions I can attest that the sound here is as intimate as if you were there, no more than 30 feet away from a wild amalgamation of the best and the brightest in jazz. The funk, the drive, the noetic hair-pin turns in construction and then de-construction of what is on offer here is exhilarating and it is preserved in a sonic package that will leave you tingling.
If you are convinced that jazz should never have gone down M Street, that it should have hewn a closer path to its New Orleans roots, well, welcome to the equivalent of Hurricane Katrina. Jazz and Miles were never the same after these sessions. The impact this had on experimental music in every discipline is hard to play down. Classical and progressive rock artists alike fell under the penumbra of these adventures. Jazz, dance, funk, spoken word performance, all these and more were liberated by the tsunamic force of these rhythms. The crowd knows what it came to see. That I can attest to as well. This was ground zero for how every conceivable aspect of music would be forever impacted.
No matter how many pepsi-cola lounges you build, it will never be about the furniture. Here in what had been a haven for Neil Young, Roberta Flack, Donald Byrd, Roger McGuinn, Joni Mitchell and others, MUSIC itself leaned over and took this remarkable ensemble of musicians and the punters who came to listen into its confidence. And it is all beautifully captured here. This is why men and women pick up an instrument.

Having listened through this again a few days after having written this review, I must say that what else has hit me is how incredibly creative and inspired Teo and Miles were to cull bits and pieces and edit them into tracks for CDs that astounded me way back when and still gobsmack me now with their power. It's quite one thing to recognize that you have a work of brilliance in front of you, it's altogether something else to hear several other works of brilliance there in. Just thought I'd mention that...

Well let's see. So far I've read both good and bad regarding this boxed set. Too few songs with too much repitition; the dreaded "start of the decline of Miles" happening during these recordings; Miles finding his "fountain of youth" by merely trying to imitate Hendrix with this band. Alrighty.

Ok fine, now for my review. The lack of variety makes no difference as this truly IS jazz music of the highest rank which by definition makes no one tune sound exactly alike, music that grows organically is kinda like that. There is improvisation galore, especially when Keith Jarrett goes off on one of his musical explorations. Jarrett leads, Jarrett follows, Jarret shapes, and Jarrett swings. Jack DeJohnette plays his ass off throughout, in fact playing at times as if his life depended on it. Michael Henderson actually sounds melodic on electric bass, Airto is just being Airto at all times with unique sounds and funky percussion, and Gary Bartz blows mostly intense blues based solos. On the last two cd's when John McLaughlin shows up, the music shifts and takes on a completely different vibe.....bonus days. What's even better is the melodies are there in full sonic spendor and not on Teo's chopping room floor as was the case with Live-Evil. Another bonus is that Bartz seems to get energized when McLaughlin shows up, and his solos get much more fierce. It's almost like listening to one of those old jazz "cutting" sessions. Bartz is saying musically "there you go, top that one John". Extraordinary.

Which leaves Miles........playing on open horn he sounds raw and intense, playing his horn through the wah-wah pedal he sound like a god. The ultimate of hip, funk and swing.

Melodies abound, musicianship and improvisation are all first rate, so what's not to like? I'd give this more stars if I could. Killer band, killer music.......just buy it and enjoy a special time in musical history.

My friend and I were at the Cellar Door on Thursday, December 17, 1970. We are both professional musicians and were not aware that the sets were recorded. What a treat, after 35 years. We both agreed that was one of the best sets we've ever heard. Miles had put together the best jazz/funk/R&B/soul band that we've ever heard. This was totally new music to us at that time. Both of us have seen and listen to everybody from James Brown to Sun Ra. We left the Cellar Door changed forever in terms of what constituted jazz, funk, R&B, soul and rock and roll. Miles had opened up a myriad of possibilities for us to pursue. This music was the bridge between Bitches Brew and On the Corner. This box set contains some of the most astonishing music ever recorded.

Miles Davis' Live-Evil was one of my favorite albums in the second semester of my sophomore year in college, the winter and spring of 1972. But be forewarned, it was one of those albums that could clear the room whenever I put it on. Just the album cover alone was enough to freak out many of my dorm mates, and that was probably part of the appeal.

About half of that double album came from live performances recorded at the Cellar Door in Washington, DC's Georgetown the week before Christmas, 1970. Thirty five years later, Christmas week brought this new six-disc set capturing much of that four-night stand, a series of performances that both encapsulated all that Miles had accomplished since he began inventing his version of the jazz-rock hybrid two years earlier, and expanded the form to its penultimate point of no return.

Because Live-Evil was a patchwork constructed by producer Teo Macero, who diced and spliced various sources to create the entries in Miles' catalog of the time, this set is instructive and illuminating in an important way---it captures Miles and band live, unedited, warts and all. Since each disc represents a different and complete one-hour set, there is a great deal of repetition in the setlists' titles. But, because this is improvisational music in its highest incarnation, and because Davis encouraged constant experimentation among his collaborators, each take is unique and compelling. We can hear the sound of the sorcerer in his lab, stirring the ingredients and watching them blend in zesty new combinations each time out.

Miles is heard both on unaltered trumpet and electrified through a wah-wah pedal. Keith Jarrett, who swore he'd never play electric keyboards again once he left this band, sounds positively inspired by the chance to work out on Fender Rhodes and organ. Saxophonist Gary Bartz channels sounds from somewhere out in the stratosphere in his solos, wild and wooly yet building from a foundation of thoughtfully constructed lines. Bassist Michael Henderson lays down the funk with warmth and precision, working in tandem with drummer Jack DeJohnette and percussion wizard Airto Moreira. When electric guitarist extraordinaire John McLaughlin joins the band on Saturday night (discs 5 and 6) with no rehearsal, he jacks the proceedings up to a whole new level. Wow!

Like all of Miles' music of this era, this is not easy listening. Those looking for typical jazz forms will be flummoxed by the open arrangements the band employs. But for a glimpse of that magic moment in music when jazz, rock, funk, blues and soul came together under the master maestro's baton, The Cellar Door Sessions provide an intense and satisfying peek.

originally published in Port Folio Weekly - 3/14/06
copyright 2006 Port Folio Weekly. Used by Permission.

After searching for years for 70's Miles while it was mostly out of print, we have finally seen most of it rereleased here by 2006. Bravo! The Cellar Door recordings are the most coherent, focused, and powerful sessions of his electric period, bottom line. The excerpts on Live Evil were always my favorite. Here is the rest....

This set, so long delayed but here at last, lives up to the staggering hype of its much-deserved legend. The largely one-chord jam format in these tunes contrasts with the internecine complexity achieved by the players in their collective improvisations, kind of an eternal paradox: the simplicity of the complicated and vice versa.

Certain moments in this music predicted the future in a million different ways: there's even a point where Miles' wah-wah trumpet enters and it sounds for all the world like the squeak of a turntable scratching. The ferocity achieved with 6 (and with John McLaughlin sitting in, 7) galaxy-class players all essentially soloing simultaneously should have added up to total chaos, but due to the immaculate exploratory skill and ears of the participants it ends up with a cohesiveness rare in any ensemble. The concept of the accompanied soloist, where one guy blows and the other guys comp, is pretty much tossed out the window here in favor of a more collective approach to sound... there are of course discernable solos, but the details each player is contributing during the solos marks the performances with a quality more sophisticated and mulitdimensional than the commonplace foreground/background construct.

To single out any one player is pointless... there are incendiary, omigodhedidnotjustplaythat moments from all. Jarrett's outpouring throughout belies any reservations he had about electric instruments (one can only dare to imagine what he'd have sounded like if he'd have actually dug the Rhodes and the organ!): he is just over the moon, especially in his unaccompanied solo spots. Gary Bartz just explodes here, stomping through blisteringly funky runs with an accent on deep, deep heavy blues. Mike Henderson anchors it all, without his rock solid groove it would all just fly apart into a million Catherine wheels... his ability to hold down the spine of the music so effectively enables Jack to play in, around, above and below the beat, flailing like the bastard child of Buddy Miles and Billy Cobham; he's an eight-armed Shiva with treetrunks for drumsticks. Airto caresses, scrapes and generally punishes his cuica and sundry percussion gear with admirable sensitivity, never allowing himself to be subsumed by the maelstrom but neither becoming overly dominant, a difficult balance for someone embroidering purely acoustic sounds over such an electronic canvas. Johnny Mac, well, he shows up, plugs in in full fuzz fury, and almost makes Hendrix sound like Barney Kessel at times, you know much of his contribution from Live-Evil. And of course Miles is Miles, merely shifting the global musical paradigm for something like the 27th time in his career on these recordings.

You simply must own this set, it documents possibly the greatest, most mindshattering live music ever recorded in a nightclub, immeasurably influential on everything that came after it from King Crimson to Public Enemy and beyond. Thank god the Columbia clowns finally had the sense to kick it down after postponing it over and over since 2001.

In the immortal words of Conrad Roberts, "What IS this Music?!?"

Get it and find out! You will never be the same.