English musicians and music geeks extraordinaire Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness have posted a new episode of their podcast The Album Years. They talk about 1972, discussing albums by Frank Zappa, Focus, Miles Davis, Supersister, and a whole lot more. This is part #6, the final episode about this year. The pair can be watched on YouTube as well.
Tape Op has launched another podcast series: DISCussion. They get on the phone with an artist or producer to discuss an album they love. In episode 14 Erik Eldenius talks about the Miles Davis album Nefertiti.
Bitches Brew outtakes have been released (and bootlegged) ad nauseam. Widely considered as a high point in the Miles Davis discography the original album still stands tall, fifty years after its release. Double Image: Rare Miles From the Complete Bitches Brew Sessions collects the cream of the outtakes on a opaque red vinyl 2LP for Record Store Day. 6000 copies. Release date: October 24th.
LP 1 / Side A “1. Yaphet” 2. “Corrado”
LP 1 / Side B “1. The Little Blue Frog (master)” 2. “The Big Green Serpent” 3. “Trevere” 4. “The Little Blue Frog (alternate take)”
LP 2 / Side A “1. Double Image (first version)” 2. “Feio”
LP 2 / Side B “1. Recollection” 2. “Take It Or Leave It”
Darryl Jones talked shop with Joel McIver for a lengthy interview with Bass Player. On playing with The Rolling Stones:
At one rehearsal, I figured out what Bill had played on Respectable, and I started playing it, and Mick was like 'Where are you going?’ I said, ‘Well, this is what Bill played on the song’ and he said ‘No no, don’t play that. Play what you hear.’
Some performances get talked about decades after they happened. It's all about "you had to be there" and if you would believe all the people who claimed to be present at such a show, the venue would have collapsed. Two of those shows are now released in full. Trumpet maestro Miles Davis performed at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam on April 9 and October 15, 1960. John Coltrane was on sax in April and his replacement Sonny Stitt played in October. With Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Miles Davis was on fire both nights, while Coltrane's performance was sub par. A delayed flight from Switzerland and show at the Kurhaus in Scheveningen had taken their toll.
The shows were recorded professionally for Dutch radio and the tapes have been gathering dust in the vaults of the Dutch Jazz Archief. This organisation has gotten into serious financial trouble recently, losing its government grant. So What - The Complete 1960 Amsterdam Concerts is the seventh release in their Jazz at the Concertgebouw series. The fabled acoustics of the concert hall and the good ears of the recording engineers ensure the high standard of the CD's, with extensive liner notes. Dutch jazz enthousiast and journalist Bert Vuisje attended both Miles Davis shows and his notes offer a first hand eyewitness report.
