Bitches Brew is one of those albums you either love or hate, there’s no middle ground for it. Universally regarded as the first jazz fusion album, Miles Davis took a bunch of musicians into a studio and created a masterful piece of avant-garde jazz. It’s not for everybody, but I’ve been hooked on it for decades.
This particular piece, Pharaoh’s Dance, to me, defines the album. The first track on the first side of the first disc, it clicks along beautifully. Not as atonal as some of the other tracks, it’s still edgy and dense. Check out the list of artists who play on this track:
- Miles Davis – trumpet
- Wayne Shorter – soprano saxophone
- Bennie Maupin – bass clarinet
- Joe Zawinul – electric piano – Left
- Larry Young – electric piano – Center
- Chick Corea – electric piano – Right
- John McLaughlin – electric guitar
- Dave Holland – bass
- Harvey Brooks – electric bass
- Lenny White – drum set – Left
- Jack DeJohnette – drum set – Right
- Don Alias – Congas
- Juma Santos (credited as “Jim Riley”) – Shaker
It’s a who’s who of early jazz fusion.
Dude…Thursday was…like…so yesterday!
Aw come on Ed. There’s never a wrong day for posting some Miles Davis!
whoa whoa whoa…Phil isn’t toeing the party line here…we’ve like, man, got a whole Thursday Music thing and everything, like if he’s just going to do his own thing skattin’ and be boppin’ all over the blog, what’s to become of us? Where’s my beret, I gotta go for a walk so I can coooool down!
I live to trample on convention. It’s a skill… 🙂
Nevermind that authoritarian named Ed. Phil Scarr, do your thing!
True poetry. And yeah! No restrictions to play Miles’ music