Miles Davis :The Complete Miles Davis at Montreux (2)

THE SECRET HISTORY OF MILES DAVIS IN THE 1980s
(Continued)

Another interesting facet to these performances is the relatively static nature of the set lists Davis performs from year to year. The afternoon and evening performances are always virtually identical as far as the material played, but the feel of the sets can be dramatically different. For example, the version of "Hopscotch; Star On Cicely" in the 1984 evening performance (Disc 6) is distinctly less fierce and explosive than the afternoon version, as well as featuring a break with Davis soloing over Al Foster's drumming that is particularly stunning. Davis wasn't developing new material at the rate he had in the past, partly because he didn't have a lot of writers in the band as was the case with, say, the second great quintet, where he had Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, two of modern jazz music's most innovative composers. Davis always went through periods when he himself was composing and periods where he barely did any writing at all. In the '80s, he clearly wasn't devoting a lot of time to composing individual pieces. But he was interested in the flow of a set of music. He'd started the practice of playing uninterrupted sets with the '60s quintet where one song flowed to the next or suites of songs where a mood was created to be replaced by a contrasting mood. This technique became all-important for these late career sets, where ebb and flow was created that allowed the listener an emotional connection to the music that didn't come from one tune alone. This is another reason that the '80s albums didn't stand up that well—they were extremely fragmented combinations of finished tracks, live performances, and half-realized ideas that never allowed one to settle in and ride a groove. Incidentally, these discs are straightforward recordings done from the mixing board, so there is none of the studio manipulation heard on some of Miles' live '70s albums.

Another aspect of Davis' 1980s work that probably biases a lot of listeners is the keyboard sounds and programming done on the albums. It all immediately identifies the music as 1980s vintage as surely as does the sound of a Flock of Seagulls song. Often polyphonic synths were used to approximate a horn section sound—not meant to fool anyone, just to create a block of sound. In fact, that was pretty much the entire basis of the "Minneapolis sound" created by Prince, The Time, et al during the same decade. It's a sound many people, myself included, find grating and annoying, and it is there in abundance on Miles' later albums. But on the live albums the keyboard work is never really a focus, with the sound being much more bass and percussion driven. For example, the performance of "MD1/Something's On Your Mind/MD2" found on Disc 7 (July 14, 1985's afternoon performance) is far superior to the one on You're Under Arrest.

In 1986 Miles released his first album for Warner Brothers, Tutu, on which the only other musician besides Davis was Marcus Miller. Miller did much better with the synthesizer programming, even though the music still suffers a bit from the lack of actual musicians interacting. On stage, John Scofield had been replaced by bluesier guitarist Robben Ford, and predictably Ford sounds better on the more blues-influenced numbers than on the furious, angular numbers that Scofield excelled at. The performance of "Tutu" heard on CD 11 (July 17, 1986) is really well done and lends some credence to the argument that a live band could perform these numbers better than a programmed backup. George Duke guests on synthesizer, providing some nice solo work on "Tutu" and "Splatch." Later in the same set (Disc 12), David Sanborn sits in for performances of "Burn", "Portia", and "Jean-Pierre." Davis is in really good form here, offering confident and bright blasts of color to the mix.

In 1988 saxophonist Kenny Garrett came on board, and he is the standout on Discs 13 & 14. Miles teases the audience with a minute-long rendition of the theme to Josef Zawinul's "In A Silent Way" before launching into the drum 'n' bass-like attack of "Intruder." Joe "Foley" McCreary is on board as "lead bass"—his bass guitar was specially tuned and essentially became a low guitar voice. The group is totally alive and interactive (though some of those annoying keyboard blocks are back), and when Garrett kicks into his first solo, you know this set is going to burn. Davis recorded probably his best album of the '80s the following year using the best musicians from this group, including Garrett. Amandla had the same great musical concept as Tutu, but was played with a real band, which lent human characteristics to it not apparent on the earlier album. Following the blues workout "New Blues" the band lights into "Perfect Way", a song with a trite theme, but which comes to life in the hands of this rocking band. "The Senate/Me & U" features heavy, heavy bass work with Garrett and Miles playing some slick phrases in unison, and by this time it's hard to imagine anyone who isn't impressed by the sound of this band. Miles brings things down a notch with a lengthy rendition of "Human Nature", and during his solo the rhythm section quiets down so much that you feel like Miles is talking to you, his muted trumpet whispering directly in your ear. "Wrinkle" is a zig-zag workout over a James Brown rhythm that shows again (how many times did he have to demonstrate?) that the 1988 model Miles Davis was still in prime fighting form. The version of "Tutu" offered up here is a bit more laid back than the previous year's rendition, and it shows that Miles and his bands were not just going through the motions, they were actively reconstructing the music just as he had always done. The first half of the set ends with a very slow rendition of "Time After Time" on which Miles starts with an open trumpet before launching into the melody with his customary muted sound. And listen to the mournful minor key tones that Miles brings to bear on the second chorus of the song that begins at 3'10" (Disc 13, Track 9). Could anyone really say that Miles couldn't play anymore? He was older, weakened by several serious illnesses and surgeries, and, because he couldn't work out daily as he had in the early '70s, he lacked the breath control he exhibited during that former period. But is his trumpet still a special instrument, capable of winding its way around your heart and divining your most secret thoughts, emotions, and desires? Absolutely. And, judging from the thunderous ovation he receives at the end of this performance, I would guess most of the audience in attendance felt the same way.

The 1989 set starts a tad less auspiciously, with the first half (Disc 15) opening with somewhat perfunctory versions of "Intruder" and "Perfect Way", though "New Blues" is done nicely and at a bit faster tempo than the previous year's. "Human Nature" suffers from an unimpressive guest spot by vocalist Chaka Khan. The second half of the set (Disc 16) is a different matter, though. It opens with "Jilli" from Amandla, full of heavy keyboard chords and vocal chorus effects. The Marcus Miller arrangements are opened up and the band really has an opportunity to play and make the pieces shine. The versions of "Jilli", "JoJo" and "Amandla" here are transcendent, as is the ten-plus minute "Time After Time." The set ends with a powerful version of "Wrinkle" and the lovely "Portia" from Tutu, a piece that had really come into its own in live performance.

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