this outrageous gesture. Nonetheless, a younger audience quickly arose to embrace what he was doing. But when On the Corner was issued in 1972, it seemed that everyone jumped ship: Miles's effort to bring together the latest developments in European experimental music (Stockhausen's "Mixtur," for example) and Black American funk (Sly Stone) fell on dead ears. What's more, the art work on the cover was peculiar, there was no list of musicians, and the signature Davis trumpet sound was largely buried in the mix. Now, almost 30 years later, time has caught up to Davis, and this record seems the clear ancestor of hip-hop, trance, jungle, and other musics whose methods involve slowly revealing their meaning through repetition, small variation, and funk without cease. Though ...  (less)

full - covering sixteen sessions from On the Cornerm, Big Fun, and Get Up With it. Joined by such jazz legends as Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, Jack DeJohnette, Billy Hart, and countless others, this 6-CD deluxe edition also contains a 120-page full-color booklet with liner notes and essays by Grammy-winning producer Bob Belden, journalist Tom Terrell, and acclaimed arranger and composer Paul Buckmaster. With such a comprehensive collection of Miles Davis' songs, plus dozens of rare photographs and new illustrations, this very special deluxe box set is a must have for any fan of Davis' genius or jazz music in general.  (less)

inside and outside jazz. In fact, in its use of ritualistic trance rhythms derived from Indian classical music and the black inner city, fat, vamping Fender bass lines, and a freely inflected cacophony of electric keyboards, guitars, and percussive colors, On the Corner not only reflects Davis's fascination with the music of such disparate influences as Sly Stone, James Brown, Ornette Coleman, Paul Buckmaster, and Karlheinz Stockhausen, but anticipates contemporary hip-hop and jungle sounds as well. With his electrified, wah-wah colored trumpet, Davis emulates the phrasing of blues guitarists like Hendrix, while arrangements such as the title track and "Black Satin" delve into collective improvisation, with an avant garde edge over ...  (less)

full - covering sixteen sessions from On the Cornerm, Big Fun, and Get Up With it. Joined by such jazz legends as Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, Jack DeJohnette, Billy Hart, and countless others, this 6-CD deluxe edition also contains a 120-page full-color booklet with liner notes and essays by Grammy-winning producer Bob Belden, journalist Tom Terrell, and acclaimed arranger and composer Paul Buckmaster. With such a comprehensive collection of Miles Davis' songs, plus dozens of rare photographs and new illustrations, this very special deluxe box set is a must have for any fan of Davis' genius or jazz music in general.  (less)

are too scattered to maintain a focus, but there is much to hear within. For example, this was the album that introduced "Ife," a piece recorded during the On the Corner sessions. Built on the simplest of bass vamps and the skimpiest of melodies, it nonetheless was enough to incite Miles's playing. It stayed in his performance book for years, and turned up on other recordings, such as Dark Magus , Agharta , Pangaea , and In Concert . "Go Ahead, John," from the Jack Johnson period in 1970, has a sublimely nasty (and sonically infuriating) guitar solo from John McLaughlin. This digitally remastered edition of Big Fun also contains the bonus tracks "Recollection," "Trevere," "The Little Blue Frog," and "Yaphet" (all of which were also included on the recentl...  (less)

some, Laswell's Panthalassa showed a sensitivity and understanding of the original music. This disc, a remixing of the Laswell remixes, is considerably more distant from Miles and his sound. Various DJs speed up, slow down, and add drum machine tracks to the material. In some cases--particularly two versions of "Rated X," one by Doc Scott, the other by Jamie Myerson--Miles is nowhere to be found. On "In a Silent Way," remixed by DJ Cam, at least his trumpet line appears, albeit over slowly thudding electronic drums. Laswell's "On the Corner (Subterranean Channel Mix)" does the least tampering and consequently has the most Milesian flavor of them all. Over all, a mixed bag (pun intended) and primarily of interest to those new to Miles....  (less)