Customer Reviews

Miles from India (TWO CD SET)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

Davis may have died in 1991, but he lives on in reissues, tributes and memorial albums. You'd think there was nothing left to say, but this cross-cultural collaboration between original Davis sidemen, including Chick Corea and John McLaughlin, and Indian classical musicians is fresh, unexpected and indispensable.

"A Cross-Cultural Celebration of the Music of Miles Davis," it says, in which prominent Indian musos get down and dirty with prominent ex-Davis sidemen in... well, you've read the subtitle already. And guess what? It works, by and large. Miles always had a thing for Indian music and Davis-heads will recall his expansive use of tablas and sitar on various Sixties and Seventies records.

"Miles From India" is a remarkable collection of music featuring some of the best musicians of contemporary American Jazz, Indian Jazz, and Classical Indian music coming together to honour one of the most brilliant composers of our time.

Miles Davis not only created remarkable music on his own, but he provided the inspiration for some of modern Jazz's best and most creative minds.

Everybody from Wayne Shorter to Chick Corea and John McLaughlin played with and were influenced by Miles and his innovations. While some of them might have pushed the envelope of fusion much further then he did, he was the one who put their feet on that path.

It is only fitting, therefore, that a collection of music in his honour is such a bold attempt at fusing two such disparate types of music. The fact that it is so successful is surely a testimony to his genius as a composer.

"Miles From India" is not just an example of how to properly bring East and West together musically, it is as magnificent collection of Jazz music that you are liable to find anywhere these days.

Material is culled from both acoustic and electric eras: "So What", "In a Silent Way", "All Blues" "Jean Pierre" etc - and the approach is about as respectful of the original idioms as it could be. Highly enjoyable.

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.

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.

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 Stern, Ron Carter, Ndugu Chancler, Lenny White, Dave Liebman, John McLaughlin,and others too numerous to mention) and a number of musicians from India (too numerous to mention) to make music that blends the sensibilities of Miles's music with the sounds of India. Yes, the concept sounds a bit hokey and contrived, but the end result is big fun. With two CDs of tunes such as "Spanish Key," "All Blues," "It's About That Time," "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down," and more, there is plenty to enjoy. This is great music to play while driving, by the way--just be careful not to get a speeding ticket.

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.

Mark Isham made a bold move with Miles Remembered: The Silent Way Project, which admirably and lovingly recaptured some of the prime moments from the Bitches Brew era.

Bill Laswell scored with Panthalassa: The Music of Miles Davis 1969-1974.

But the concept of Miles alumni collaborating with "world" musicians, adding layers and nuances to the music? This is the kind of project that begins with true 50-50 odds for success.

To my surprise, this is a powerful, well-rounded set. At first, the wordless "vocalizing" during certain pieces was a bit jarring. These compositions are so well known among Davis followers that the introduction of any "unfamiliar element"...whether it's an instrument, a voice, or both...demands that you sit back and see where it will take you, rather than react negatively to it as an intrusion.

I've heard various people who knew Miles say that the posthumous box sets...things like The Complete In a Silent Way Sessions...would have truly angered the man, because the music was released the way he wanted it released in its original form.

Would Miles have loved "Miles From India" or hated it? The answer is one or the other. I don't feel that he would have greeted it with indifference.

It's no substitute for the actual work of Miles Davis, nor is it intended to be. But if you are a follower of his music, it's a refreshing alternate view of his craft from a substantial group of men who helped make it happen, along with some new friends.

Miles was all about shattering labels and boundaries, creating new horizons. In that spirit, I encourage you to give this album a spin.

I was excited about it when I heard about the project -- I loved the concept. I knew it had some key people, like Michael Henderson, Bartz, Pete, Chick Corea, Lenny White. And to my ears, the music came off "good" overall. But -- with a a couple of exceptions (Spanish Key, Ife), it is missing that thing, that DRAMA. I think those listeners who have followed Miles all these years know what I'm trying to say - it's the thing that makes his music NEVER get old, always fresh. But I can't fault anybody involved with this Miles From India record - my hats are off to you - this session truly must have been a labor of love. Yes, the drama is missing . . . but only because Miles couldn't be there.

I've listened to the album, and also attended the concert in NY, and although I'm not greatly disappointed, I find the results of both to be uneven.
The best pieces date from Miles' electric period: Spanish Key, Miles Runs the Voodoo Down, Ife, It's About That Time. Problem is, these pieces were already percussion-heavy, and had some Indian influence to begin with, so these versions aren't dramatically new.
The disappointments are the songs from Kind of Blue. The sitar lead on All Blues sounds like an outtake from a Beatles session, and the rest of the arrangement sounds like yet another cover version. A great song to cover, sure, but I can't say this adds anything new. Blue in Green was always a Bill Evans showcase, and without him, the song just seems aimless.
The CD's most exciting moments come from the Indian vocals and violin, and Pete Cosey's electric guitar. A real surprise is the closer, Miles From India. Not a Miles composition, this is oddly one of the most beautiful pieces in the set.
The biggest let-down is In A Silent Way. The strong melody disappears, and if I weren't looking at the title on the CD, I'd never recognize it.

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.

When I heard Indian rhythms and idioms fused with familiar Miles Davis compositions, what immediately struck me was: "Wow, those two forms fit together PERFECTLY, it's almost as though Miles was listening to Indian music when he wrote those songs." Wouldn't be a bit surprised if he was.

It's an experience of bringing two different parts of your brain together that had never made contact before.

This CD slowly grew on me and I found myself listening to it again and again - and still do.

The other thing I love about this CD is the recording. Absolutely first class. On a great sound system, this CD rocks.

I just had to throw my congratulations on the pile. Outstanding.

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....

JRM