Miles Davis - In Person Friday & Saturday Blackhawk

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Music reviews of In Person Friday & Saturday Blackhawk

Music Review: Jazz doesn't get better than Miles..
Rating: 4 Stars

Amid all the fireworks, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the slower tunes. Both shows have their share of quiet moments of beauty: Kelly's repeated solo "Love I've Found You," the Latin-tinged "Neo," Saturday's closing set consisting of three gorgeous ballads. Some tracks are repeated both times, but are changed enough that they're in no danger of ever sounding tired. I imagine that this band could have easily played the same 15 songs every single night and made it sound like a new concert each time.

Friday's three sets are a series of no-holds-barred barn burners, each one more sizzling hot than the last; Saturday's show doesn't quite match Friday's level of outright mayhem, but it doesn't lack for energy in the least. (Likewise, the second set's "Round Midnight" is probably the fastest you'll ever hear it from Davis or anyone else, yet it's positively balmy after what precedes it.) This one throws a couple more curveballs with the setlist. "Midnight" is followed by a different (and completely unexpected) Thelonious Monk cover, "Well You Needn't," which takes Monk's quirky harmonic sense and makes it the band's own. "So What" is resurrected and jump-started at more than double speed for a breathless twelve minutes. The normally ballad-tempo "Autumn Leaves" glides at a brisk trot; "If I Were a Bell" becomes a foot-stomping swing party as no one had played it before. If you don't like all-too-well-trodden renditions of old standards, don't worry. The older tunes like "All of You" and "On Green Dolphin Street" are a far cry from the usual Jazz Lite you'd hear from the likes of Dave Brubeck; in fact, just about all the widely-known standards are practically unrecognizable. They're either hopped up to hyper speed or mutated into a loose framework for the band to launch themselves into new territory (or more often both at once).

The remastered sound is nice and clear, even if the mix is unpleasant - I'll never understand Columbia's bizarre insistence on making the saxes & horns EAR-SPLITTINGLY LOUD in relation to everything else. (A drastic adjustment of the stereo's bass/treble settings makes it listenable.) Apart from that nuisance, and from the rare missed cue or false start, this is a set that any serious jazz fan shouldn't regret buying. It's impossible to pick one night's performance over the other; the two are also available separately, but it's a safe bet to say that if you want one you'll want both. They're like two separately-cut jewels that are different in makeup, but both mesmerizingly beautiful in their own way.

I'm not sure I'd rank the Blackhawk set as one of Miles's absolute essentials. But if you've got the key releases from his career already and want to hear more, and especially if you like the off-the-wall inventiveness of his 60s quintet, this one definitely won't disappoint. Take a chance, maybe you'll thank me.

Description of In Person Friday & Saturday Blackhawk

Jazz CDs

• Music > Styles
• Pop