Paul Motian - Monk In Motian

One of Miles Davis’s criticisms of the jazz world (at least, of those that came after him, especially Winton Marsalis, whom he loathed) was that they were merely repeating what had been done in the past, without pushing things forward. You might well be able to play Giant Steps, but so what? John Coltrane has already done that.

Davis, of course, genius though he undoubtedly was, ignored the fact that he himself had built on others’ work – Monk’s Round Midnight for example, whilst negging whoever would come next.

However, there is a truth in this – and it encapsulates much of my issue with modern jazz (rather than Modern Jazz). Things aren’t being driven forward in any meaningful way. It feels like the golden days are over. I listen to ABC Jazz sometimes and it’s all so easy listening.

Here, we have an album which is far from easy listening. It’s an album of ten Thelonious Monk tunes, played sparsely by drums, guitar and saxophone, with occasional piano and more saxophone. It’s sounds very of its (late-eighties) time and it’s a challenging listen.

Although the players are all top-notch, including Bill Frisell and Dewey Redmond, no less, I’m not convinced they’ve brought anything particularly new or meaningful to the Monk table, which is often challenging enough in itself.

This album was given to me when it was released by a mate who was a record company rep, who was promoting the JMT catalogue.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#PaulMotian
#MonkInMotion
#TheloniousMonk
#Jazz
#MilesDavis
#Music

The Miles Davis Quintet - 'Round About Midnight

When I was growing up, working class people would often have a sing-song. In pubs, social clubs, on coach trips...anywhere where people came together to socialise. You don’t see that any more. I guess it was already a remnant of a bygone age when I was a kid. Nowadays, pubs just seem to have some cunt in the corner with an amplified acoustic guitar singing Wonderwall, whilst people look at their phones. If I was on a long coach trip and I tried to get everyone to sing The Lambeth Walk (“Oi!”) with me, they’d put me off at the next stop and call mental health services.

I say this, because Bye Bye Blackbird, was one of the songs that would get sung on such occasions, because everyone knew at least some of the words, and hearing Davis’s ‘first great quintet’, including of course John Coltrane, play this has brought back some memories and made me realise that this kind of social interaction is now all but lost – apart, I suppose, from football matches and churches (Do they still sing in churches or do they have some cunt in the corner with a guitar singing Wondergod?)

The part of the activity which was important, I think, is that everyone did it. It didn't matter if you were young or old, a decent singer or not - the sum was greater than the parts. In fact, if you'd started displaying Mariah Carey-style melisma, you'd have faced the scorn of your peers after a while. It was good-old communist fun.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#MilesDavis
#RoundAboutMidnight
#JohnColtrane
#Jazz
#Music

Miles Davis - Live-Evil

It was Fathers' Day yesterday in Australia. I try my best to be a conscientious objector (I mean, the kids didn't ask for me to impregnate their mother, thus forcing them into existence, and so really have no need to thank me for doing my basic duty to them in the intervening years), but my bastard children won't have it. In an attempt to limit the proceedings, I suggested that - if they must - they just fill a Live-Evil shaped gap in my record collection and be done with it. It was a partial success, in that I do now own a Record Store Day reissue of the album on teal-splatter (What a time to be alive, eh?) vinyl.

I haven't heard Live-Evil before and it's quite a substantial work, so these are just my initial thoughts:

- Like I say, there's a lot of it. It's going to take time to digest.
- This is firmly in the On The Corner ballpark, although generally dialled up a notch or two. Davis is wah-wahing away like a man possessed.
- John McLaughlin's guitar sound, let alone his playing, took my breath away.

Anyway, I might add further comments in future as I get into this more.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#MilesDavis
#LiveEvil
#JazzFusion
#JohnMcLaughlin
#Music

Miles Davis - On The Corner

I listened again to Questlove’s 2017 podcast interview with Mtume this week. They obviously spend a bit of time discussing his time with Miles Davis.

And one another lesson I learned from Miles: when you cross the bridge, 
burn it so you can't even go back.

In 1972, Davis had got the funk. He had been influenced by James Brown and Sly Stone and decided that what Young Black America wanted was a blend of this with Stockhausen, Paul Buckmaster and free jazz, with trumpet played through a wah-wah pedal like Jimi Hendrix’s guitar. He crossed that bridge and lit that match.

Turns out Young Black America didn’t want it, the critics declared it a steaming turd, and it caused Davis to go off on a six year hiatus/sulk/cocaine binge.

What a fucking incredible album though.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#MilesDavis
#OnTheCorner
#Jazz
#Fusion
#Music

Miles Davis - Tutu

This arrived yesterday.

It’s the 2024 fancy-bollocks re-issue on 180-Gram vinyl, cut from the original masters by Kevin Gray at Cohearant Audio, an Optimal pressing, limited edition, numbered...good for what ails ya.

It would be tempting to suggest that none of that stuff actually makes that much difference, but it does. It really does. It sounds magnificent.

Also, the artwork on this album is stunning: monochrome portraits of Davis, by veteran Vogue photographer, Irving Penn. The actual cover material is really high quality as well, which makes the artwork really stand out.

This is a polarising album. You’ll either love or hate its Marcus Miller production, which at times sounds like an explosion in a vintage synth warehouse. I fucking love it. And he puts that muted trumpet right up front.

Davis covers Scritti Politti’s Perfect Way, which I’d swear I’d never heard before I played it on YouTube at work the other day.

And the title track reminds me of Gil Scott-Heron’s Angel Dust.

#NowPlaying
#Viinyl
#MilesDavis
#Tutu
#MarcusMiller

Miles Davis - The Man With The Horn

This arrived in the post this morning. A beautiful quality Japanese pressing to boot, albeit sans obi strip.

I really cannot fathom what is going on with the sleeve art work.

I’ve tried listen to this with my 1981 ears on, as well as my 2025 ears.

Alright, worst first:

To be honest it’s no surprise that the album's two low-points were the ones where Randy Hall was involved.

In the context of 1981, the dancey instrumental Shout sounds in-keeping with the crossover output of other horn players around that time, Tom Browne, Donald Byrd, or Herb Alpert, for instance. Of course we kind of expect more of Davis.

The cringe-inducing ballad, which is the title track is a contender for the worst ever Miles Davis tune. Hall's lyrics are just awful:

Smooth, suave, debonair,
Describes a man so rare.

The good bits:

Mike Stern’s guitar solo on Fat Time is ridiculously good.

Marcus Miller’s bass playing is wonderfully understated.

The distorted guitar sound on Back Seat Betty is delightfully odd.

The stand out track by a country mile is Aïda, not least because of Al Foster’s spectacular drumming.

Just waiting for a copy of Tutu to arrive now.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#music
#Jazz
#MilesDavis
#TheManWithTheHorn

John Spithead

2025-06-30 02:03:10

Getting Randy

Randy Hall - I Belong To You

Randy Hall once played with Miles Davis. How do I know this? It’s mentioned first and foremost in everything that has been written about ol’ Randy ever since. Mind you, fair enough – if I’d once collaborated with Miles, I’d have it tattooed on my forehead. And carry a big sign around with me.

I was inspired to drag this one out of the racks of wax by this post, which features Randy’s old band (before he collaborated with Miles Davis). This album comes about 4 years after he collaborated with Miles Davis. It’s produced by Ray Parker Jr, who was schmokin’ hot at the time, what with his Ghostbusters theme and all.

Randy has obviously had his hair done and gone clothes shopping for the cover shoot. Nice to see he made an effort, despite having the bona fides of having worked with Miles Davis.

I remember buying this on US import from JiFS in Chadwell Heath. I reckon it cost seven pounds fifty, just before the price of imports went up to eight quid.

Honestly, musically, I don’t mind it. It’s of an age.

Lyrically, though...fucking hell.

I’ve Been Watching You (Jamie’s Girl) tells the tale of Randy pursuing his best mate’s girlfriend (possibly – but this isn’t mentioned in the lyrics – by telling her that he once collaborated with Miles Davis), before old mate Jamie finds out, offers him outside for fisticuffs, which Randy wins, then gets all gloaty over his double-victory:

Ain't no sense in goin' home, Jamie, I got your girl and gone

A Gentleman is a lesson in non-toxic masculinity which has aged so badly, it could come from the 19th century:

Don’t forget to tip your hat – a gentleman is where it’s at.

Are you listening, Andrew Tate?

Intergenerational relationships are celebrated in a totally modern and non-kink-shaming way on Older Woman, Younger Man:

Its the new thing today, so baby if you’re able, come on and rock my cradle.

With the name Randy Hall sounding like a luxury swingers' club, it's no surprise that things get a bit hot under the collar and the album comes to its sticky climax with I Want To Touch You, essentially a slowjam singalong about finger-banging, which has more sex noises than are required in a song. (Possibly a recording of Randy looking at the sleeve notes of Miles Davis’ The Man With The Horn.)

Oh and in the thanks list on the back cover, the first name after the big G and Randy's fam is ‘Miles’.

I’ve really enjoyed playing this album this morning.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#RandyHall
#IBelongToYou
#MilesDavis
#Boogie
#music
#RayParkerJr

Miles Davis - You're Under Arrest

It is commonly said that this album was Davis’ stab at a commercial hit. As if him covering two of the day’s recent pop hits (Human Nature and Time After Time) was ever going to get him into the top ten. I don’t think this is the case, and I'll tell you why.

First off, the usual way for jazz players to score a money-generating crossover hit back in those days was via the dancefloor, hence you get jazz-fusion albums with soul singers added for a couple of tracks, see Wilton Felder (feat. Bobby Womack), Sadao Watanabe (feat. Roberta Flack), Ralph McDonald (feat. Bill Withers) etc, not by recording two instrumentals of slowish-tempo pop hits, slathered in John Scofield’s chorus pedal-laden guitar.

Secondly, no-one has ever said, “We need a pop smash, get John McLaughlin on the phone!” And McLaughlin is all over this album like a twiddly-jazz rash. Sometimes, it’s both him and Scofield. Jazz foot & mouth.

Thirdly, it’s always been part of jazz to take a slab of popular music and do something special with it. Davis has done this before: Porgy and Bess anyone?

Finally, Davis kept both of the covers in his set for the rest of his career, which he would be very unlikely to do if he didn’t value them highly.

So, let’s talk about the covers, shall we? Human Nature, was written by one of Toto and discovered and finessed under Quincy Jones’ keen eye, for inclusion on Thriller which gives it a bit of a ick-factor. However, it is arguably NOT just a Noncey McNonceface song, and it is helpful to untether the song from its most famous singer. Davis’ version of this is just wonderful. I just wish it were longer.

Cyndi Lauper, who wrote and first performed Time After Time, has undergone something of a revision of her status as an artist, so her work is no longer seen as pop drivel, as it largely was at the time, but as something of greater import. That’s fine: times change. However, it’s important to bear in mind that Davis had selected this song from the depths of the low-status, disposable shite pile, where it dwelled at the time.

I'm on my fourth or fifth spin of this album, and I like it a lot.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#music
#MilesDavis
#YoureUnderArrest
#Jazz
#JohnScofield
#JohnMcLaughlin
#CyndiLauper
#HumanNature
#TimeAfterTime
#QuincyJones

Miles Davis - Decoy

Follow my train of thought here if you will. After my Randy Hall post, I watched Miles and Chaka do Human Nature live on you tube, and came to the conclusion that I really should dedicate part of my life to having a proper listen to Davis’ 80s work.

I’ve pulled the Discogs trigger on copies of Star People and The Man With The Horn (featuring Randy Hall, of course) and am actively pursuing a copy of Tutu.

I picked up a couple of his LPs from this period (Decoy and You’re Under Arrest) in the late 80s, secondhand, when, to be honest, the angular rhythms, celestial synth sounds and slap-ping-pop bass that had sounded so new and exciting in 1984 were sounding distinctly old hat by that time and they already seemed like a bit of an error of judgement. Certainly, the person who fucked them off into the second hand record shop thought so.

I’ve played them occasionally, but they've tended to feel a little too much like hard work, especially when there’s so many other of his albums to listen to. But anyway, today’s the day I go balls-deep into Davis’ 80s product.

Allmusic’s review of Decoy is both scathing and quite funny.

There’s some whopping names on this album: Gil Evans, Bill Evans, Al Foster (RIP), and Branford Marsalis (whose soloing is low-key, but breathtaking, and my favourite thing about the album, I think.) But the dominant sounds are John Scofield (guitar), Darryl Jones (bass) and Robert Irving III (synthesizers). Davis’ horn sounds reverby and a bit distant.

I don’t know whether the time is right for this to sound fresh and lovely again, or whether I’ve evolved as a person enough to appreciate it fully, but I fucking loved this from start to finish. I’m now on my second play.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#music
#Jazz
#MilesDavis
#Decoy

John Spithead

2025-06-30 02:03:10

Getting Randy

Randy Hall - I Belong To You

Randy Hall once played with Miles Davis. How do I know this? It’s mentioned first and foremost in everything that has been written about ol’ Randy ever since. Mind you, fair enough – if I’d once collaborated with Miles, I’d have it tattooed on my forehead. And carry a big sign around with me.

I was inspired to drag this one out of the racks of wax by this post, which features Randy’s old band (before he collaborated with Miles Davis). This album comes about 4 years after he collaborated with Miles Davis. It’s produced by Ray Parker Jr, who was schmokin’ hot at the time, what with his Ghostbusters theme and all.

Randy has obviously had his hair done and gone clothes shopping for the cover shoot. Nice to see he made an effort, despite having the bona fides of having worked with Miles Davis.

I remember buying this on US import from JiFS in Chadwell Heath. I reckon it cost seven pounds fifty, just before the price of imports went up to eight quid.

Honestly, musically, I don’t mind it. It’s of an age.

Lyrically, though...fucking hell.

I’ve Been Watching You (Jamie’s Girl) tells the tale of Randy pursuing his best mate’s girlfriend (possibly – but this isn’t mentioned in the lyrics – by telling her that he once collaborated with Miles Davis), before old mate Jamie finds out, offers him outside for fisticuffs, which Randy wins, then gets all gloaty over his double-victory:

Ain't no sense in goin' home, Jamie, I got your girl and gone

A Gentleman is a lesson in non-toxic masculinity which has aged so badly, it could come from the 19th century:

Don’t forget to tip your hat – a gentleman is where it’s at.

Are you listening, Andrew Tate?

Intergenerational relationships are celebrated in a totally modern and non-kink-shaming way on Older Woman, Younger Man:

Its the new thing today, so baby if you’re able, come on and rock my cradle.

With the name Randy Hall sounding like a luxury swingers' club, it's no surprise that things get a bit hot under the collar and the album comes to its sticky climax with I Want To Touch You, essentially a slowjam singalong about finger-banging, which has more sex noises than are required in a song. (Possibly a recording of Randy looking at the sleeve notes of Miles Davis’ The Man With The Horn.)

Oh and in the thanks list on the back cover, the first name after the big G and Randy's fam is ‘Miles’.

I’ve really enjoyed playing this album this morning.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#RandyHall
#IBelongToYou
#MilesDavis
#Boogie
#music
#RayParkerJr

Randy Hall - I Belong To You

Randy Hall once played with Miles Davis. How do I know this? It’s mentioned first and foremost in everything that has been written about ol’ Randy ever since. Mind you, fair enough – if I’d once collaborated with Miles, I’d have it tattooed on my forehead. And carry a big sign around with me.

I was inspired to drag this one out of the racks of wax by this post, which features Randy’s old band (before he collaborated with Miles Davis). This album comes about 4 years after he collaborated with Miles Davis. It’s produced by Ray Parker Jr, who was schmokin’ hot at the time, what with his Ghostbusters theme and all.

Randy has obviously had his hair done and gone clothes shopping for the cover shoot. Nice to see he made an effort, despite having the bona fides of having worked with Miles Davis.

I remember buying this on US import from JiFS in Chadwell Heath. I reckon it cost seven pounds fifty, just before the price of imports went up to eight quid.

Honestly, musically, I don’t mind it. It’s of an age.

Lyrically, though...fucking hell.

I’ve Been Watching You (Jamie’s Girl) tells the tale of Randy pursuing his best mate’s girlfriend (possibly – but this isn’t mentioned in the lyrics – by telling her that he once collaborated with Miles Davis), before old mate Jamie finds out, offers him outside for fisticuffs, which Randy wins, then gets all gloaty over his double-victory:

Ain't no sense in goin' home, Jamie, I got your girl and gone

A Gentleman is a lesson in non-toxic masculinity which has aged so badly, it could come from the 19th century:

Don’t forget to tip your hat – a gentleman is where it’s at.

Are you listening, Andrew Tate?

Intergenerational relationships are celebrated in a totally modern and non-kink-shaming way on Older Woman, Younger Man:

Its the new thing today, so baby if you’re able, come on and rock my cradle.

With the name Randy Hall sounding like a luxury swingers' club, it's no surprise that things get a bit hot under the collar and the album comes to its sticky climax with I Want To Touch You, essentially a slowjam singalong about finger-banging, which has more sex noises than are required in a song. (Possibly a recording of Randy looking at the sleeve notes of Miles Davis’ The Man With The Horn.)

Oh and in the thanks list on the back cover, the first name after the big G and Randy's fam is ‘Miles’.

I’ve really enjoyed playing this album this morning.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#RandyHall
#IBelongToYou
#MilesDavis
#Boogie
#music
#RayParkerJr

Tinselwig

2025-06-29 01:51:59

Sunday Coffee and Tunes - 29/06/25

Pleasure - Joyous

This is one of those records I'd keep picking up and then putting down cos I knew nothing about it but was drawn to the cover. I love the design of this album art!

I'd first seen it at a record fair years ago and the guy next to me digging said "ohhh that's great album you should get it" when I was checking it out. I didn't have enough money then to take a punt as it wasn't cheap and also wasn't sure about this random advice.

For the last few months I discovered it had been tucked away in one of our local stores which is more known for punk/metal/indie but has a small soul and jazz section. I finally gave it a listen the other week and it's tops! It brings the same "joyous" vibe that Donald Byrds Places and Spaces gives. It has a cast of thousands on it. Starts with an instant party mood lifter and ends with the track Selim which has crazy bass lines. 

This is a rerelease by Jazz Dispensary and one for the We Buy Records podcast bingo- mixed by Kevin Gray, proper inner sleeve, quality pressing, good price point etc.

#nowplaying #nowspinning #vinyl #records #pleasure #jazzfunk #soul #jazz