Customer Reviews

Reggae Interpretation of Kind of Blue (Miles Davis) [Vinyl]

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this record is great, never heard of it until an old roommate sent me this link and i had to grab it. the sound is flawless... the horns sound spot on, the tone of the record sounds just like the original, and everything has that dark, mysterious feel it to it. the people who made this (i've read it was recorded by the NYU jazz department in the early 80's) treated the project with full respect, and didnt try to change or upgrade anything. the result is a flawless recreation that sounds as fresh and original as it does authentic to the original.
Side A is shortened versions of all of the songs, they add a very natural and deep reverb to the horn and the bass and have some great dub echo on the snare drum. Side B is dub versions, some of them are a little tiring, but nothing on this is bad. they really knew what they were getting into when they made this record, a classic amongst classics. there are plenty of reggae reinterpretations of great albums, Dark Side, Sgt. Pepper's etc etc, most of them fail because the artists try to put their own style into the mix, and usually end up cheapening the music. not this. if youre a reggae fan or a jazz buff, this is one of the coolest records you can own (for under $50).
did i mention its on blue vinyl. buy this and love it, or dont, and kick yourself

"Reggae Interpretation of Kind of Blue" is Jeremy Taylor's reinvisioning of Miles Davis' most popular album. In this effort, the Jazz musician and New York University music professor hooked up with some Jamaican reggae musicians. Esthetically, Taylor chose to go for understatement. Much of the album sounds like a duo between the trumpet and traps. The coronet work is deeply satisfying. Miles Davis had a beautiful way of playing that captured the loneliness of the human condition. In the "Reggae Interpretation," the trumpet work also channels this existential angst. Even though the bass, guitar and keyboard players keep things on the down-low, they are barely audible in the mix. Keeping a surprisingly faithful interpretation, the tempo and overall feel is consistent with Mile Davis' 1959 recording. An affective benefit of the conservative production is that it will never sound dated; indeed, the stripped down rendering may always sound timeless. Taylor did not live long enough to finish the final mix and release the venture. Until now, only low-fi tapes of the enterprise have circulated. Enter the good folks at Secret Stash Records. They worked with Taylor's estate to do a final mix and release the album . . . twenty-eight years later. Unfortunately, the album is only twenty-two minutes, about half the length of Miles Davis' modal masterpiece. The record company intended to make this a full-length release by including a dub version of the album. For the uninitiated, reggae groups sometimes release dub or instrumental versions of their regular songs that are enhanced with samples or additional instrumentation. The odd thing here is that the dub versions are almost indistinguishable from the originals. The originals were already instrumental and the dub enhancements are barely noticeable. Indeed, anyone hoping for a pyrotechnic, Easy Star All-Stars style remake will be disappointed. On the other hand, if your heart and ears are open to a faithful rendering with a twist, "Reggae Interpretation of Kind of Blue" delivers.