Miles Davis (1926-1991) was one of the greatest jazz trumpeters and composers of all time. But his turbulent life was almost as interesting as his music.
Now that life is being shared, and in grand visual style, courtesy of Dave Chisholm’s new graphic novel biography Miles Davis And The Search For The Sound (hardcover). In the following email interview, Chisholm discusses what went into this book, including how his own skills on the trumpet made it that much better.
Since they kicked it off in 2011 with the excellent Live In Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series Volume 1, Columbia/Legacy’s Bootleg series has presented some amazing, previously unheard live music from the late, great jazz trumpeter Miles Davis.
And they haven’t just been for diehard jazz fans, either. Each collection has included tons of music for people who love jazz but don’t, for instance, need all four nights of Miles’ electric band playing The Fillmore in 1970, just one or two.
But Miles Davis Quintet Freedom Jazz Dance The Bootleg Series Volume 5 (CD, digital) bucks this trend by not only be all studio recordings, but also by presenting previously unheard music that, for the most part, only the most hardcore of diehard jazz fans would want to listen to more than once…unfortunately.
Ever since I got into music in the late-’70s, I’ve been a big fan of live albums. But I’m also very particular when it comes to them; I only like them if they’re organic, cruelty free, and soundboard-to-stereo. In other words, they have to be from a single show, be the whole show, not be “fixed” in the studio, and be professionally recorded by the band, from the soundboard, or broadcast on the radio or the Internet. If they’re two or three shows mixed together, missing songs, feature overdubbed guitar parts and vocals, or recorded by some guy who snuck a tape recorder in by stuffing it down his pants — a guy I’ve been — then I don’t care.
But while I may be super picky about what live albums I’ll put in my speakers, there are actually quite a few great ones that meet the criteria. They’re just not always the most readily available.
Here’s fifteen great sounding, mostly uncut, single show live albums you might’ve missed.
Since launching in 2011’s with Live In Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series Vol. 1, the Miles Davis Bootleg series has presented largely unheard (save for among hardcore collectors) and mostly complete live shows from some of the iconic jazz trumpeter’s best groups.
But now, with Miles Davis At Newport 1955-1975 The Bootleg Series Vol 4 (CD, digital), this series is switches gears, and instead of being dedicated to a single band, this has Miles playing eight shows with seven different groups over eight different years of the titular festival.
Miles Davis was riding high when, on June 17th, 1970, he and his rock-infused electric septet walked onto the stage of New York City’s Fillmore East for the first of a four night stand. Bitches Brew had come out a few months earlier, In A Silent Way a few months before that, with both following the four years he’d spent leading his second great quintet.
Now, recordings of all four Fillmore East shows have been released as Miles At The Fillmore: Miles Davis 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3 (CD, digital).