As Miles Davis would tell the story; one day he happened to go to a concert in the late 60s and took in a Sly and the Family Stone concert. He was startled by the number of enthusiastic kids, both black and white, who were in attendance. Quickly surmising that his style of jazz was attractive to an older audience, he decided to find a way to lure the younger crowd to his concerts and albums and so he took up the electric and funky sounds of Sylvester Stewart and company and turned out albums like ‘Bitches Brew’ that simultaneously made him a star of rock fans and a villain of jazz “purists.”
So, what you have here in this 4 cd set is the music that caught Davis’ ear. Four concerts over two nights in October, 1968 have the team of Stewarkey/g, Larry Graham/b, Rose Stone/p-voc, Freddie Stewart/g, Greg Errico/dr, Jerry Martini/ts and Cynthia Robinson/tp touring in conjunction with their album Life which had some mega-hits such as “M’Lady “ and the title track. Their previous release included the fun loving “Dance to the Music” and they were just about to go over the top with Stand!, but for th moment they were mixing incessant funky riffs, enjoyable vocals and a rhythm that was swinging like there was no tomorrow.
No only that, but the lyrics had an optimism to them that were infections. For example, “Are You Ready” included the refrain “Don’t hate the black/Don’t hate the white/If you get bit/just hate the bite/make sure your heart is beatin’ right.” That’s the kind of message we need today! You also get a message of peace on ”Don’t Burn, Baby,” which should have been played over the loudspeakers at Baltimore . They delve into traditional soul on “Turn Me Loose/I Can’t Turn You Loose” in which they do some wonderful vocal doo wopping on the Otis Redding classic. Then, just for extra joy, the horns get to stretch out on a wonderful read of “St. James Infirmary” on one of the shows that links swing to blues to jazz all in a one hour show. Music was never this optimistic, fun or original ever again. Check this out-you’ll play it more than Davis’ “On the Corner.”
Sony Legacy Records