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Bitches Brew

Cote Dazur

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After re discovering Bitches Brew and listening to it more recently, I have a few comments and question to this forum members.
As jazz is my favorite music genre, I also listen to other genre, but jazz, all kind of jazz, as been on top of my listening time for a good 15 years now, of course, Miles Davis music is part of what I listen to.
Comments
Bitches Brew, as never been, until recently, something I really liked. Even today, when I appreciate it very much, I am not even sure it is jazz. Music, yes, absolutely! Jazz?, not so sure.
It is one of those album, that first intrigued me without really feeling anything, I was not sure to what I was supposed to listen to.
Was I suppose to listen loud? not loud? And then, eventually, I started to like it, and eventually love it.
Today, I listen to it as a whole, as what the music make me feel, not at what the ( extraordinary ) musicians, and there is a lot of them, all star cast, are playing. To me, it is not about virtuosity, it is about the sum being everything and the parts being nothing. A lot like a classical piece, where the orchestra plays as one unit.

Questions
How did you acquire a taste for Bitches Brew, Love at first site or acquired taste?
Is it jazz?
Is a great sound system, speakers or headphones a pre requisite, to be able to grasp what an album like Bitches Brew bring to the table?
 

hex168

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Love at first hearing, for sure.
No strong opinion as to jazz categorization,but why not?
I'm able to enjoy it as driving music as well as at home, so hifi is not necessary (but it always helps).

I have to add that it may be a solitary vice. In the 1980's my friends looked at me funny if I played it around them. One, an accomplished musician, thought Miles Davis's trumpet sounded like a chicken. I would not even ask my wife to listen to it. On second thought, headphones may be a prerequisite after all.
 
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ryanosaur

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Wow.
I don't even know quite where to begin.

As a Legit (Classical) and Jazz trained Saxophonist who is an avid Rock'n'Roller, I will unequivocally stand by calling Bitches Brew Jazz. As The Quintet transitioned beyond Hard Bop and into the grayer area of their fusion experimentation and the personnel was augmented, a lot of magic began happening. The cauldron of these years and recordings that came from them are no different than the melting pot of a certain park in New Orleans where a lot of different ideas combined... and eventually formed the basis of Jazz. ;)
Experimentation and the quest for a new sound was driving almost every musician to push themselves. This held true in Rock and Art music... just as in Jazz... during that time.

For me, that phase of Miles which I identify beginning with Miles In The Sky reaches it's pinnacle with Bitches Brew. But Files de Kilimanjaro, In A Silent Way, Tribute to Jack Johnson, On the Corner, Big Fun, Live:Evil, Dark Magus and Get Up With It are all part of this, too, and many share in the story and contain absolute gems. The creation that takes place over these albums... in their approach to the music, their improvisation and experimentation, is simply stunning to me. During my time performing, this music never failed to inspire me, stimulate my imagination or drive me to strive for more.

Bitches Brew specifically was pretty much pure love from the start. Some of the Albums from this phase were a little more challenging, but not in the way that some of the more Avant Garde stuff was challenging to listen to... perhaps it was just the intensity of performance...
Yet with all things Music, sometimes it requires a few sessions of active listening to make friends with. There are many works spanning almost all genres that I failed to make friends with no matter how hard I tried. On the other hand, there are countless others that I am hard friends with after that process...
Anybody down for a listen to Penderecki's St. Luke Passion? Perhaps some George Crumb? :)

I'll take my Brew straight, no chaser... on my main system at about -10dB.
:D
 

theREALdotnet

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How did you acquire a taste for Bitches Brew, Love at first site or acquired taste?

Thank you for the push, I’ve been toe-tapping all night through all ages of Miles Davis albums.

Is it jazz?

Is that a loaded question? What else would it be?

Is a great sound system, speakers or headphones a pre requisite, to be able to grasp what an album like Bitches Brew bring to the table?

Not sure. A great sounding system always helps, but I would enjoy this album in a noisy car over the car stereo.
 

DMill

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I’m not a jazz expert, nor do I gravitate to to the genre, but I probably have heard all of Miles recorded work. That album blows me away more than any of the others. Maybe Live Evil has one track… but damn Bitches is a sick album. I always look at his stuff in context of when it was recorded and am amazed, i get when the OP says they don’t know what to call it, Its like he was in his own world and I mean that as a compliment.
 

krabapple

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After re discovering Bitches Brew and listening to it more recently, I have a few comments and question to this forum members.
As jazz is my favorite music genre, I also listen to other genre, but jazz, all kind of jazz, as been on top of my listening time for a good 15 years now, of course, Miles Davis music is part of what I listen to.
Comments
Bitches Brew, as never been, until recently, something I really liked. Even today, when I appreciate it very much, I am not even sure it is jazz. Music, yes, absolutely! Jazz?, not so sure.
It is one of those album, that first intrigued me without really feeling anything, I was not sure to what I was supposed to listen to.
Was I suppose to listen loud? not loud? And then, eventually, I started to like it, and eventually love it.
Today, I listen to it as a whole, as what the music make me feel, not at what the ( extraordinary ) musicians, and there is a lot of them, all star cast, are playing. To me, it is not about virtuosity, it is about the sum being everything and the parts being nothing. A lot like a classical piece, where the orchestra plays as one unit.

Questions
How did you acquire a taste for Bitches Brew, Love at first site or acquired taste?
Is it jazz?
Is a great sound system, speakers or headphones a pre requisite, to be able to grasp what an album like Bitches Brew bring to the table?

My go-to BB is the quadraphonic mix, beautifully reissued on SACD by Sony Japan a few years ago.
 

Eulipian

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How Bitches Brew opened up a new, unknown musical paradigm is humorously illustrated by an anecdote told by Joe Zawinul that mirrors John McLaughlin’s incomprehension during the In a Silent Way session. The keyboardist had been so baffled by the Bitches Brew sessions that he didn’t even recognize the resulting music when he heard it later in another context. “I didn’t really like the sessions at the time,” Zawinul reminisced. “I didn’t think they were exciting enough. But a short while later I was at the CBS offices, and a secretary was playing this incredible music. It was really smoking. So I asked her, ‘Who the hell is this?’ And she replied, ‘It’s that Bitches Brew thing.’ I thought, Damn, that’s great.”

Reported in Jazz Times.
 

bluefuzz

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How did you acquire a taste for Bitches Brew, Love at first site or acquired taste?
I liked it a lot on first listen though I think I prefer The Complete On The Corner Sessions now. But this period, late 60s - early 70s, of Miles' oevre is certainly my favourite.
Is it jazz?
It's as good a name as any. Genre definitions are always a bit fuzzy and change over time and context. At this point it could be argued that anything involving Miles Davis is the very definition of Jazz. It's definitely not Country and Western ...
 

Chrispy

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I'm not good with labeling music types of all sorts, I even have trouble with very basic desciptions of types. I've always considered it jazz, tho and it came along with my rather late discovery of Miles Davis' stuff outside of Kind of Blue (but that can be said for me and jazz in general, always listened to a little but but not as much as some other types, that's changed over the years). I particularly like my multich sacd of this, it's well suited to it. I never tried it on headphones as I don't care to wear them if I don't have to.
 

FrantzM

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Hi

This album should be labelled "Classic" and put in a Time Capsule.
Remarkable (among so many ) aspects of this albums are the length and yet, cohesion of the pieces. They do not sound scripted ... Improvisation is clearly there .. Do imagine what it took to record and edit these.. Those were the days of scissors and adhesive tapes ... in the recording studios.
Also the Chutzpah of the Studio to come out with an album like this.
I can't believe in all my 50+ years of being a Jazz fan, I just listened to this masterpiece!!

These albums require multiples (not subsequent) listening sessions. These are dense, rich and intricate.


Peace.
 
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mhardy6647

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It's definitely not Country and Western ...
:D:D:D:D

I mean, there's always Way Out West...

0983308a93bc81941541273f1635d8b4.jpg


;) :cool:
 

Joe Smith

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I love all phases of Miles' career, apart from the late stuff, I felt in the end there was a bit of a falling off. But I recently re-listened to AURA and liked it more than I remembered.

Bitches Brew is a workout for the ears, that's for sure, but it is amazing, fantastic.

Lesser known, not as groundbreaking but also great is the BIG FUN album, some of which was recorded during the BB sessions, not released until 1974 where it fell with a bit of a thud. Discovered this one last year and fell in love with it. The track Go Ahead John is worth the price of the album alone.
 

symphara

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I heard "Spanish Key" when seeing Collateral in the cinema, during the club scene. Couldn't wait until I found out what it was, then bought it immediately.

Now the best version I have is a Japan SACD remaster, which I love.
 

Multicore

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How did you acquire a taste for Bitches Brew, Love at first site or acquired taste?
Either way is fine. In A Silent Way was love at first needle drop for me. Bitches Brew took more work.

I think newcomers to Bitches Brew should be prepared to put in some effort, and I remember saying so to someone who was interested. It's not easy listening.

Is a great sound system, speakers or headphones a pre requisite, to be able to grasp what an album like Bitches Brew bring to the table?
Absolutely not. Creative music this good is fascinating in and of itself and never needs high quality reproduction to enjoy it. You don't want to give a bad impression with really lousy SQ but good enough is good enough. Truly good music survives.
 

mhardy6647

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You don't want to give a bad impression with really lousy SQ but good enough is good enough. Truly good music survives.
Your comment (which, I'd opine, is spot on) put me to mind of this (now) iconic photograph from Aleppo.

GettyImages-651238466-1-1024x698.jpg


 
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