Miles Davis - Sign Of The Times

To mark the anniversary, and its upcoming reissue, Miles biographer George Cole recalls the significance of the album and talks to Miles’ main collaborator on the album, Marcus Miller, while Roy Carr recalls in an unpublished interview a memorable encounter with Miles from this period the road, as what happens in your music. Who knows what will happen in 20 years time? I have no idea, but it’s really beautiful to see that Tutu has developed.”

Twenty-five years ago, Miles Davis released an album that sent shockwaves through the jazz world. When the Tutu album appeared in 1986, it divided both fans and critics: some loved it; others hated it. For some, Tutu heralded an exciting new direction for Miles’ music; but for others, it was a sell-out to commercialism and new technology. When you listen to Tutu it’s easy to see why it provoked such strong reaction: instead of recording the album with live instruments and a band, Miles recorded his trumpet parts over a lush electronic soundscape, produced from a battery of samplers, synthesisers, sequencers and drum machines. Although synthesisers had long been used in jazz, no jazz artist had ever made an album like Tutu.

Some of the criticism of Tutu was harsh – it wasn’t jazz, and Miles was just a sideman on his own record. Did any of this get under Miller’s skin? “Honestly, it didn’t bother me at all. In terms of ‘it’s not Miles’ albums, it’s Marcus’,’’ well you know man, I was there. I was the one that was inspired to come up with those things. I was the one noticing the difference between writing for him and writing for other people. Once Miles puts his presence on it, it’s his. In terms of ‘it’s not jazz’; I bought a Downbeat magazine when I was 15 years old and they were arguing about that. The last time I looked at Downbeat, they were still arguing the same stuff.”

This is an extract from Jazzwise Issue #151 – to read the full article click here to subscribe and receive a FREE CD...