Miles Davis: Tutu
Author: Stuart Nicholson
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Amandla
Musicians: |
Miles Davis |
Label: |
Warner Bros |
Magazine Review Date: |
August/2014 |
Catalogue Number: |
8122 79598-1 |
RecordDate: |
1989 |
Musicians: |
Miles Davis |
Label: |
Warner Bros |
Magazine Review Date: |
August/2014 |
Catalogue Number: |
8122 79597-9 |
RecordDate: |
1986 |
Doo-Bop
Musicians: |
Miles Davis |
Label: |
Warner Bros |
Magazine Review Date: |
August/2014 |
Catalogue Number: |
8122 79597-7 |
RecordDate: |
1991 |
These reissues, including yet another reappearance of Tutu – even after the super-duper ultimate Tutu double CD reissue that included a previously unissued concert in France ’ are on the Japanese imprint of Warner Bros. They are a part of their Jazz Best Collection 1000 of 24 bit remasters, and yes, the sound is an improvement on previous CD imprints, as like-for-like auditions reveal. Tutu is a latter-day Davis classic, dedicated to the South African bishop and was Davis' debut with Warner Bros after almost a lifetime with Columbia records, who reportedly had been pissing him off with all the attention they were lavishing on their new signing Wynton Marsalis. In truth there are only three tracks which stand up to close scrutiny today, the title track, ‘Splatch’ and ‘Perfect Way’, but at least they still sound ahead of their time today. Amandla, with Davis' own cover art, does not come off so well. It is an album that has its moments – ‘Catambé’, ‘Hannibal’ and the title track, but is worth having as a solid representation of Davis studio work in the late 1980s. Live at Montreux is more a celebration of Davis' past, and like all retrospective ventures ends up like the movie of the novel. Despite the massed bands of the Gil Evans Orchestra (sans Gil Evans) and the George Gruntz Concert Orchestra conducted by Quincy Jones, the album struggles to get airborne. The less said about Doo-Bop the better. Davis' attempt to find a rapprochement with rap ended up like so many ventures from within jazz in that having to confront rap as a medium that has dispensed with melody and relies on rhythm, places the improviser in an equivocal position.
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