Playlist Week of 9-24-11

* Francisco Javier 1506-1553: La Ruta de Oriente (Hesperion XXI/Savall) (Alia Vox 2SACD)
* Mahler: Symphony No.4 (Chicago Symphony/Reiner) (RCA-Victor SACD)
* Miles Davis: Cookin’ With The Miles Davis Quintet (Prestige/DCC CD)
* Miles Davis: Relaxin’ With The Miles Davis Quintet (Prestige/DCC CD)
* Miles Davis Quintet: Tivoli Konsertsal, Copenhagen 3-24-60 (FM CDR)
* Miles Davis Quintet: unknown venue 1960 (FM CDR)
* Miles Davis Quintet: Kongresshalle, Frankfurt 3-30-60 (FM CDR)
* Miles Davis Quintet: Kongresshaus, Zurich 4-08-60 (FM CDR)
* Miles Davis Quintet: Kurhaus, Scheveningen 4-09-60 (FM CDR)
* Miles Davis Quintet: Newport Jazz Festival 1966-1967 (FM CDR)
* Miles Davis Quintet: Harmon Gymnasium, UC Berkeley 4-07-67 (FM CDR)
* Miles Davis: The Bootleg Series Vol.1: Live In Europe 1967 (Columbia/Legacy 3CD+DVD)
* Miles Davis Quintet: De Doelen, Rotterdam 10-30-67 (FM CDR)
* John Coltrane: The Ultimate Blue Train (Blue Note CD)
* Sun Ra: What’s New? (side 2) (LP>CDR)
* Sun Ra: “I’m Gonna Unmask The Batman” (unreleased single) (MP3>CDR)
* Sun Ra: The “New” Five Spot, New York, NY 6-11-75 (AUD(?) CDR)
* Sun Ra: Rehearsal, September 1976 (CDR)
* Anthony Braxton & Gerry Hemingway: Old Dogs (2007) (d.4) (Mode/Avant 4CD)
* Anthony Braxton/Milford Graves/William Parker: Beyond Quantum (Tzadik CD)
* Bill Dixon: 17 Musicians In Search Of A Sound: Darfur (AUM Fidelity CD)
* Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble: Drawn Inward (ECM CD)†
* Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble: The Eleventh Hour (ECM CD)†
* Steve Tibbetts: Big Map Idea (ECM CD)†
* Steve Tibbetts: The Fall Of Us All (ECM CD)†
* Pat Metheny Group: Imaginary Day (Geffen CD)†
* Pat Metheny Group: The Way Up (Nonesuch CD)†
* ProjeKct Three: Masque (DGM CD)†
* ProjeKcT Four: West Coast Live (DGM CD)†
* BPM&M: XtraKcts & ArtifaKcts (Papa Bear CD)
* David Torn/Mick Karn/Terry Bozzio: Polytown (CMP CD)†
* David Torn: Cloud About Mercury (ECM CD)†
* David Torn: Prezens (ECM CD)†
* Tony Levin/David Torn/Alan White: Levin Torn White (Lazy Bones CD) (†)
* The Beatles: Beatles For Sale (2009 mono) (Apple/EMI CD)
* The Beatles: Help! (2009 mono) (Apple/EMI CD)
* John Lennon: Plastic Ono Band (Apple/EMI Capitol CD)
* John Lennon: Imagine (Apple/EMI Capitol CD)
* John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band: Some Time In New York City (d.1)(Apple/EMI/Capitol 2CD)
* John Lennon: Mind Games (Apple/EMI Capitol CD)
* John Lennon: Walls And Bridges (Apple/EMI Captol CD)
* Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968 (d.1-3) (Rhino 4CD)†/‡
* Grateful Dead: Europe ’72 (Warner Bros./Rhino 2CD)
* Grateful Dead: Europe ’72 Vol.2 (GDP/Rhino 2CD)
* Santana: Lotus (CBS/Sony 3LP)
* Big Star: Keep An Eye On The Sky (d.3) (Ardent/Rhino 4CD)†/‡
* Cocteau Twins: Aikea-Guinea (Capitols CDEP)†
* Cocteau Twins: Sunburst And Snowblind (4AD/Capitol CDEP)
* Thurston Moore: Demolished Thoughts (Matador CD)†
* Boston Spaceships: Let It Beard (GBV, Inc. 2LP)
* A Perfect Circle: Mer De Noms (Virgin CD)†
* A Perfect Circle: Thirteenth Step (Virgin CD)†
* Radiohead: In Rainbows (TBD CD)†
* Radiohead: The King Of Limbs (TBD/XL CD)†

†=iPod
‡=car

Commentary:

It took more than a decade for Sony to finally complete their series of CD box sets documenting Miles Davis’s 1955-1975 Columbia recordings and in the ensuing years there has been nothing but senseless re-packagings and deletions—in fact, those beautiful, metal-spined box sets are by now long out of print, once again leaving grievous gaps in the catalog (not to mention the overall neglect of his post-1980 “comeback” material). But things have recently started to look up for Miles fanatics: last year’s “Legacy Edition” of the landmark Bitches Brew album is truly deluxe, with decent re-mastering, a couple of unreleased tracks and a splendid live DVD from Copenhagen on November 4, 1969. Then in February, Bitches Brew Live was released and, despite its unimaginative title and hideous cover art, it is a most welcome addition to the discography: the previously unavailable recordings from the 1969 Newport Jazz Festival and the Isle of Wight in August, 1970 are revelatory.

This week brings The Bootleg Series Vol.1: Live In Europe 1967, a reasonably-priced three-CD plus DVD set collecting five radio and television broadcasts of the so-called “Second Great Quintet” at the height of their powers. Accompanied by the stellar lineup of Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass and Tony Williams on drums, Miles plays with a fiery, full-throated intensity—gone, for the most part, is muted balladry heard on The Complete Plugged Nickel 1965—and the band restlessly deconstructs the old repertoire with gleeful abandon while adding new, almost rock-ish compositions like “Agitation” and “Riot” into the mix. This group exploded the boundaries of small-group acoustic jazz, incorporating the innovations of avant-gardists like Ornette Coleman while never totally abandoning “the tradition” (that would come later, with the addition of electric instruments). And you can hear them taking the traditional format as far as possible, “heads” being secondary to extended flights of free improvisation, a continuous stream of music with obliquely rendered tunes dotting the landscape like a medley or suite. So, while the setlists appear repetitive, each performance is uniquely compelling. After nearly three years of working together, the quintet plays with an astonishing level of empathy and limitless creativity—seriously, “trad jazz” just doesn’t get any better than this.

In his (ineloquent but earthy) autobiography, Miles had this to say about the “Second Great Quintet”:

Every night Herbie, Tony, and Ron would sit around back in their hotel rooms, talking about what they had played until the morning came. Every night they would come back and play something different. And every night I would have to react. The music we did together changed every fucking night; if you heard it yesterday, it was different tonight. Man, it was something how the shit changed from night to night after awhile. Even we didn’t know where it was all going to. But we did know it was going somewhere else and that it was probably going to be hip, and that was enough to keep everyone excited while it lasted (quoted in Todd Coolman, The Miles Davis Quintet, 1965-’68 liner notes, p.46).

In fact, the “Second Quintet” would not last much longer: by the end of 1967, the band would be experimenting with proto-jazz/rock fusion in the recording studio while pushing acoustic jazz as far as it could go on the bandstand. Watching the DVD included in The Bootleg Series Vol.1, you can see quite clearly that no matter how “out there” his band went, Miles was always in complete control—and he was visibly moving in a new direction. The times were indeed a-changin’ during these tumultuous years and Miles would respond with groundbreaking records, In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew in 1968 and 1969. Things would never be the same—in neither the insular world of jazz nor the volatile culture at large—and Miles would remain at music’s cutting edge until his “retirement” in 1975. These live recordings from 1967 vividly document the end of an era—and the delicate transition to a new one.

Collectors have traded off-the-air recordings from this European tour for years but The Bootleg Series Vol.1 presents fresh transfers from the original station reels, resulting in spectacularly good (albeit monophonic) sound. Moreover, the Copenhagen set from November 2, 1967 has never before circulated and the November 6 Paris concert is presented here complete and unedited. And, of course, the DVD is a real treat, containing performances from Stockholm on October 31 and Karslruhe on November 7 in excellent quality. It’s fascinating to watch the band’s telepathic, non-verbal communications: pointed glances, nearly invisible gestures and tossed-off musical cues. Sure, The Bootleg Series Vol.1 could have easily been expanded to include known recordings from Helsinki, Rotterdam and Berlin, but who’s complaining? Sony has done a top-notch job with this release and I’m looking forward to further volumes in the series—as you can see above, there are plenty more “bootlegs” out there worthy of this kind of treatment. Most highly recommended!

+++

Sharp-eyed readers have probably noticed what has NOT yet appeared on my playlists this month. Yep, that’s right: I’m STILL waiting for my Complete Europe ’72 box from dead.net. This has been an absolute clusterf@ck ever since its announcement back in January, when the frenzy of pre-orders crashed their servers, resulting in a chaotic, confusing mess which left most customers (including me) wondering whether or not they had successfully purchased the limited-edition set. Well, they finally started shipping them out at the end of August and, after patiently waiting for a couple of weeks, I placed a call to 1-800-CAL-DEAD to enquire about the status of my order. Of course, the clueless customer service rep was unable to provide me with any concrete information but helpfully suggested I provide him with a street address since orders were being shipped via UPS. Reluctantly, I agreed. The next morning, I received an email telling me my order was being delayed since I had provided a Post Office Box address and to please reply with a street address as soon as possible or my order would be canceled. WTF? I duly replied and waited another week; still nothing. I called again and was told the warehouse was “awaiting product” and my order would be shipped soon. Fine. On September 20, I received an email informing me my box was being shipped—to my P.O. Box! Huh? Even though I was provided with a tracking number, the U.S. Postal Service still says they have “no record of this item” a full four days later. At this point, I’m wondering if I will ever receive it! In the meantime, I picked up Europe ’72 Vol.2, a two-disc compilation which was released to retail outlets last week. I figure something is better than nothing—and the hour-long “Dark Star>The Other One” is easily worth the cost of admission—but I’m still left with a bad taste in my mouth about this whole ordeal. And to add insult to injury, they just announced that all twenty-two shows will be released individually at the end of the year—so much for “limited edition.” I’m glad to see the posthumous Dead have an unexpected hit on their hands, but for $450 + shipping, I expected better service than what I’ve received so far. We’ll see what happens next.

+++

In a happier tale of good customer service, Monster Cable honored their unconditional lifetime warranty on my Turbine Pro Copper earbuds after the left channel suddenly stopped working. They happily exchanged them for a brand new pair with no questions asked! While it took about a month door-to-door, I was impressed how smoothly the process worked. Now, after a couple of weeks of heavy use at the office, the replacements are starting to break in nicely and sound great. I’m also trying to handle them with even greater care—I don’t want to have to do this again. Regardless, it’s nice to know Monster will stand behind their product and their warranty is not just a clever “legal fiction.” Kudos, Monster Cable!