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Editorial Reviews
In a startlingly original recreation of music associated
with jazz legend Miles Davis, producer-archivist Bob
Belden, renowned for his Grammy Award-winning
reissue work on a series of Miles Davis boxed sets for
Sony/Columbia, along with co-arranger Louiz Banks
(celebrated keyboardist from India), has recast familiar
themes from such landmark recordings as Bitches
Brew, In A Silent Way, and Kind of Blue with an East
Meets West sensibility on Miles...From India. An
incredibly ambitious project involving two dozen
musicians from two separate continents recording in
studios around the world, Miles...From India is a cross-cultural summit meeting that puts a provocative pan-global spin on such Miles
classics as All Blues, Spanish Key, So What, It s About That Time and Jean Pierre.
Sitar and tablas, ghatam and khanjira, mridangam and Carnatic violin blend seamlessly with muted trumpet and saxophones, screaming
electric guitar and grooving electric bass lines, piano, upright bass and drums on this profound fusion of Indian classical and American
jazz. Recorded in Mumbai and Madras, India and New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, the music on Miles...From India was performed by
classical and jazz musicians from India with the addition of musicians who have recorded or performed with Miles Davis over the span of
five decades.
The Miles alumni included on the sessions are saxophonists Dave Liebman (1972-74) and Gary Bartz (1970-71), guitarists Mike Stern
(1981-84), Pete Cosey (1973-76) and John McLaughlin (1969-72), bassists Ron Carter (1963-69), Michael Henderson (1970-76), Marcus
Miller (1981-1984), Benny Rietveld (1987-91), keyboardists Chick Corea (1968-72), Adam Holzman (1985-87) and Robert Irving III (1980-
88), drummers Jimmy Cobb (1958-63), Leon 'Ndugu' Chancler (1971), Lenny White (1969) and Vince Wilburn (1981, 1984-1987) and
tabla player Badal Roy (1972-3). The Indian contingent is represented by keyboardist Louiz Banks, drummer Gino Banks, American-born
alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, sitarist Ravi Chari, Vikku Vinayakram (a charter member of Shakti) on ghatam, V. Selvaganesh (a
member of Shakti and Remember Shakti) on khanjira, U. Shrinivas (from Remember Shakti) on electric mandolin, Brij Narain on sarod,
Dilshad Khan on sarangi, Sridhar Parthasarathy on mridangam, Taufiq Qureshi and A. Sivamani on percussion, Kala Ramnath on Carnatic
violin, Rakesh Chaurasia on flute and Shankar Mahadevan & Sikkil Gurucharan on Indian classical vocals.
with jazz legend Miles Davis, producer-archivist Bob
Belden, renowned for his Grammy Award-winning
reissue work on a series of Miles Davis boxed sets for
Sony/Columbia, along with co-arranger Louiz Banks
(celebrated keyboardist from India), has recast familiar
themes from such landmark recordings as Bitches
Brew, In A Silent Way, and Kind of Blue with an East
Meets West sensibility on Miles...From India. An
incredibly ambitious project involving two dozen
musicians from two separate continents recording in
studios around the world, Miles...From India is a cross-cultural summit meeting that puts a provocative pan-global spin on such Miles
classics as All Blues, Spanish Key, So What, It s About That Time and Jean Pierre.
Sitar and tablas, ghatam and khanjira, mridangam and Carnatic violin blend seamlessly with muted trumpet and saxophones, screaming
electric guitar and grooving electric bass lines, piano, upright bass and drums on this profound fusion of Indian classical and American
jazz. Recorded in Mumbai and Madras, India and New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, the music on Miles...From India was performed by
classical and jazz musicians from India with the addition of musicians who have recorded or performed with Miles Davis over the span of
five decades.
The Miles alumni included on the sessions are saxophonists Dave Liebman (1972-74) and Gary Bartz (1970-71), guitarists Mike Stern
(1981-84), Pete Cosey (1973-76) and John McLaughlin (1969-72), bassists Ron Carter (1963-69), Michael Henderson (1970-76), Marcus
Miller (1981-1984), Benny Rietveld (1987-91), keyboardists Chick Corea (1968-72), Adam Holzman (1985-87) and Robert Irving III (1980-
88), drummers Jimmy Cobb (1958-63), Leon 'Ndugu' Chancler (1971), Lenny White (1969) and Vince Wilburn (1981, 1984-1987) and
tabla player Badal Roy (1972-3). The Indian contingent is represented by keyboardist Louiz Banks, drummer Gino Banks, American-born
alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, sitarist Ravi Chari, Vikku Vinayakram (a charter member of Shakti) on ghatam, V. Selvaganesh (a
member of Shakti and Remember Shakti) on khanjira, U. Shrinivas (from Remember Shakti) on electric mandolin, Brij Narain on sarod,
Dilshad Khan on sarangi, Sridhar Parthasarathy on mridangam, Taufiq Qureshi and A. Sivamani on percussion, Kala Ramnath on Carnatic
violin, Rakesh Chaurasia on flute and Shankar Mahadevan & Sikkil Gurucharan on Indian classical vocals.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
48 of 49 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Miles from India features an all star cast of jazz legends, contemporary jazz stars combined with a stellar group of Indian musicians in an unbelievable tribute to Miles Davis. The first time I listened to this double CD set I was absolutely floored. This CD is more than just a brilliant concept. The execution is flawless and the arrangements are beyond perfect. This CD set will make you think Miles Davis' songs were meant to be played by Indian musicians. Everything about this album is a class act. To start with an incredible group of Miles Davis alumni were assembled. You've got Ron Carter, Jimmy Cobb, Gary Bartz, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Lenny White and that's just scratching the surface of the legends whom play on this album. Producer Bob Beldon did not stop there though. He also got one of the top trumpet players, and perhaps the trumpet player whose tone most sounds like Miles, Wallace Rooney and Indian saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, one of the hottest rising stars on saxophone to contribute on the album as well.
The songs selection and arrangements could not be better. The chanting voices on Spanish Key fit in beautifully with the cacophony of sounds. The sitar playing on All Blues will make you think that Miles wrote the song for a sitar player. The frenetic tablas and percussion meld perfectly with the class bass line in So What. This is the clear front runner for jazz album of the year in 2008. When all is said and done, this might be one of the best jazz fusion albums ever.
The songs selection and arrangements could not be better. The chanting voices on Spanish Key fit in beautifully with the cacophony of sounds. The sitar playing on All Blues will make you think that Miles wrote the song for a sitar player. The frenetic tablas and percussion meld perfectly with the class bass line in So What. This is the clear front runner for jazz album of the year in 2008. When all is said and done, this might be one of the best jazz fusion albums ever.
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Miles Davis passed away in 1991, but his majesty has lived on through any number of reissues, boxed sets of classic sessions and the reinterpretation of his music in a variety of settings.
This set - placing Miles in a World Music context - is sweeping in scoop and breathtaking in sound. The project was overseen by producer Bob Belden and co-arranged by Louiz Banks, who also performed on keyboards.
Utilizing classical and jazz artists from India and musicians who mostly performed with Miles during his "electric" years, the 12 numbers - which include In a Spanish Key, Silent Way, Jean Pierre and Miles Runs the Voodoo Down - are powerfully presented on an illuminated landscape that subtly changes with each listening.
But it's the title track - composed, produced and performed by guitarist John McLaughlin with U. Shrinivas on electric mandolin, Louiz Banks on piano and Sikkil Gurucharan on vocals - that merges the sketches of excellence of the past with the brilliance of the present.
The project is not just a tribute to the genius of Miles, but an absolute gem in the art of making modern music.
This set - placing Miles in a World Music context - is sweeping in scoop and breathtaking in sound. The project was overseen by producer Bob Belden and co-arranged by Louiz Banks, who also performed on keyboards.
Utilizing classical and jazz artists from India and musicians who mostly performed with Miles during his "electric" years, the 12 numbers - which include In a Spanish Key, Silent Way, Jean Pierre and Miles Runs the Voodoo Down - are powerfully presented on an illuminated landscape that subtly changes with each listening.
But it's the title track - composed, produced and performed by guitarist John McLaughlin with U. Shrinivas on electric mandolin, Louiz Banks on piano and Sikkil Gurucharan on vocals - that merges the sketches of excellence of the past with the brilliance of the present.
The project is not just a tribute to the genius of Miles, but an absolute gem in the art of making modern music.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Piers Moktan
Format:Audio CD
Some people have been disappointed that this project did not realise its full hybrid potential, and perhaps not unduly so. However, we must remember that the music of Miles' electric period was already inflected with Indian musical structures and musicians, irrespective of the extent of explicitly Indian instrumentation (surely part of its appeal to me). On Miles From India I will concede that some tracks are more successful than others in their achievement of indo-jazz synergy. But for example, Spanish Key is absolutely incredible- a really distinctive interpretation with a pronounced Indian inflection, and reason alone to purchase this. As an obsessive about this era of Miles' music, this rendition really caught my attention, filling me with delight.
Others have complained that the project suffers from the segregation of its recording, with separate sessions in India and the US (reducing the carbon footprint of its production), with the music only combined in production, thereby depriving the musicians from the dynamic intersubjectivity of shared being. This too I will partially concede. Again however, I will defend this project by noting just how successful the dynamic integration of component parts has generally been. And after all, so much of this era of Miles' music was a cut and paste job by Teo Macero anyway.
In recent years we have been treated to Bill Laswell's Panthalassa project and its dance remixes, to Henry Kaiser and Leo Wadada Smith's Yo Miles! project (producing three wonderful CDs), and to the potent live performances on the Children on The Corner album. Miles From India represents another worthy addition to a body of work that so warrants celebration through reinterpretation. Whether these projects try to innovate or replicate, I'm still happy to hear alternative versions of so many tracks that I love so much. Great stuff.
Others have complained that the project suffers from the segregation of its recording, with separate sessions in India and the US (reducing the carbon footprint of its production), with the music only combined in production, thereby depriving the musicians from the dynamic intersubjectivity of shared being. This too I will partially concede. Again however, I will defend this project by noting just how successful the dynamic integration of component parts has generally been. And after all, so much of this era of Miles' music was a cut and paste job by Teo Macero anyway.
In recent years we have been treated to Bill Laswell's Panthalassa project and its dance remixes, to Henry Kaiser and Leo Wadada Smith's Yo Miles! project (producing three wonderful CDs), and to the potent live performances on the Children on The Corner album. Miles From India represents another worthy addition to a body of work that so warrants celebration through reinterpretation. Whether these projects try to innovate or replicate, I'm still happy to hear alternative versions of so many tracks that I love so much. Great stuff.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
How many Miles from India?
Those who can "hear" jazz are fortunate, indeed blessed - so many unfortunate souls cannot - and do not know they cannot. Read more
Published 5 months ago by SimonGWin
5.0 out of 5 stars
an album you just gotta hear !
Miles From India, Times Square Records (2007)
Recorded in Chennai, India between November 2006 and July 2007 this work we owe thanks to Bob Belden for making this... Read more
Recorded in Chennai, India between November 2006 and July 2007 this work we owe thanks to Bob Belden for making this... Read more
Published 5 months ago by James W. Unger
5.0 out of 5 stars
Miles farther ahead
Been a Miles Davis fan for over 50 years. This is one of the only covers of Davis that I have heard which actually adds something fresh and does not make things worse. Bravo.
Published 6 months ago by John Sibert
3.0 out of 5 stars
maybe not as good as it could have been
The concept of Miles Davis' music played by jazz musician and Indian musicians immediately appealed to me. Read more
Published 20 months ago by daroph
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bob Belden did a great job !
The music is superb, the production is flawless, and the warm sound of the vinyl can't be beat, I originally purchased the CD's then later I had to have the Vinyl. Read more
Published on May 11, 2011 by JR Ewing
4.0 out of 5 stars
far out man
really far out, like if you took acid with Miles and flew to India in a spaceship. Most of the songs start off well but given enough time and opportunity most of the *hip*... Read more
Published on April 22, 2010 by Ameesh Paleja
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely irresistable
Somehow my wife stumbled upon this and gave it to me as a gift. It soon became one of my favorite jazz albums of all time. Read more
Published on September 13, 2009 by Perry Marshall
4.0 out of 5 stars
Plenty to Enjoy
Long-time jazz producer Bob Belden has put together quite a remarkable recording, featuring a number of musicians who played with Miles (Gary Bartz, Jimmy Cobb, Chick Corea, Mike... Read more
Published on July 7, 2009 by Karl W. Nehring
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is what music is supposed to be about...especially the music of...
I avoided this one for a while. I'm not an obsessive Miles "purist," by any means, but I approach any project featuring his music with an extreme sense of caution. Read more
Published on February 8, 2009 by Mike
5.0 out of 5 stars
Miles Still Does It
Outstanding work, even though it was pieced together with contributions from musicians around the world. I loved the marriage of eastern sounds with western jazz.... Read more
Published on January 6, 2009 by JRM Book Reviewer
