Semi-Formal

"None of Miles Davis' recordings has been more shrouded in mystery than Jack Johnson, yet none has better fulfilled Davis' promise that he could form the "greatest rock band you ever heard." Containing only two tracks, the album was assembled out of no less than four recording sessions between February 18, 1970 and June 4, 1970, and was patched together by producer Teo Macero. Most of the outtake material ended up on Directions, Big Fun, and elsewhere. The first misconception is the lineup: the credits on the recording are incomplete. For the opener, "Right Off," the band is Davis, John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham, Herbie Hancock, Michael Henderson, and Steve Grossman (no piano player!), which reflects the liner notes. This was from the musicians' point of view, in a single take, recorded as McLaughlin began riffing in the studio while waiting for Davis; it was picked up on by Henderson and Cobham, Hancock was ushered in to jump on a Hammond organ (he was passing through the building), and Davis rushed in at 2:19 and proceeded to play one of the longest, funkiest, knottiest, and most complex solos of his career. Seldom has he cut loose like that and played in the high register with such a full sound. In the meantime, the interplay between Cobham, McLaughlin, and Henderson is out of the box, McLaughlin playing long, angular chords centering around E. This was funky, dirty rock & roll jazz. The groove gets nastier and nastier as the track carries on and never quits, though there are insertions by Macero of two Davis takes on Sly Stone tunes and an ambient textured section before the band comes back with the groove, fires it up again, and carries it out. On "Yesternow," the case is far more complex. There are two lineups, the one mentioned above, and one that begins at about 12:55. The second lineup was Davis, McLaughlin, Jack DeJohnette, Chick Corea, Bennie Maupin, Dave Holland, and Sonny Sharrock. The first 12 minutes of the tune revolve around a single bass riff lifted from James Brown's "Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud." The material that eases the first half of the tune into the second is taken from "Shhh/Peaceful," from In a Silent Way, overdubbed with the same trumpet solo that is in the ambient section of "Right Off." It gets more complex as the original lineup is dubbed back in with a section from Davis' tune "Willie Nelson," another part of the ambient section of "Right Off," and an orchestral bit of "The Man Nobody Saw" at 23:52, before the voice of Jack Johnson (by actor Brock Peters) takes the piece out. The highly textured, nearly pastoral ambience at the end of the album is a fitting coda to the chilling, overall high-energy rockist stance of the album. Jack Johnson is the purest electric jazz record ever made because of the feeling of spontaneity and freedom it evokes in the listener, for the stellar and inspiring solos by McLaughlin and Davis that blur all edges between the two musics, and for the tireless perfection of the studio assemblage by Miles and producer Macero." - Allmusic

• Magical performance at the Agora Theater, Cleveland, Ohio in 1976 on Agora Radio Network's New World of Jazz show• Includes the entire broadcast• Digitally remastered for greatly enhanced sound quality• Background linersBorn in Hungary in 1936, Gabor Szabo became a major name on the emerging US jazz fusion circuit in the 1960s. By the mid-70s he was firmly established as one of the most popular guitarists in the style, influencing Carlos Santana, George Benson and many others.This superb live set was taped in Cleveland for broadcast on the Agora Radio Network's New World Of Jazz show, to coincide with the release of his classic Nightflight LP, and is presented here together with background notes and images.TRACKS1. DJ intro to New World Of Jazz 2. DJ intro about Gabor3. It Happens 4. Autumn Leaves 5. Magical Connection6. Concorde (Nightflight)7. DJ outro 

"Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, live at the 9th Annual Chicago Jazz Festival on September 5th 1987Art Blakey's band was unofficially known as the 'finishing school of jazz', with celebrated players including Hank Mobley, Freddie Hubbard, Donald Byrd, Lee Morgan, Chuck Mangione, Wayne Shorter, Keith Jarrett and Wynton Marsalis passing through its ranks over the decades. Blakey continued to play and tour right up to the end of his life.The superb sets here were recorded at the 9th Annual Chicago Jazz Festival on September 5th 1987 and broadcast on NPR radio the following year.They are presented together with notes and images."

"Broadcast live on WBCN-FM radio, this remarkable performance captures Pat Metheny at a fascinating point in his career. His debut album, the classic Bright Size Life, had recently been released, but he'd already moved on, forming a quartet for the forthcoming Watercolors LP, issued in 1977.Featuring material from both sets, it showcases the guitarist at his youthful best and is presented here with background notes and images."TRACKLISTING1. Bright Size Life2. River Quay3. There Will Never Be Another You4. Band Introduction5. Watercolors6. Nacada7. The Whopper8. Icefire9. Unquity Road10. Untitled

""In 1963, Miles Davis was at a transitional point in his career, without a regular group and wondering what his future musical direction would be. At the time he recorded the music heard on this CD, he was in the process of forming a new band, as can be seen from the personnel: tenor saxophonist George Coleman, Victor Feldman (who turned down the job) and Herbie Hancock on pianos, bassist Ron Carter, and Frank Butler and Tony Williams on drums. Recorded at two separate sessions, this set is highlighted by the classic "Seven Steps to Heaven," "Joshua," and slow passionate versions of "Basin Street Blues" and "Baby Won't You Please Come Home." The 20-bit remastered version issued by Sony's Legacy imprint in 2005 includes two rather startling bonus tracks from the original sessions that were not included on the LP or previous CD releases; they are the beautiful "So Near, So Far," and "Summer Night."" - All Music Guide" - All Music Guide

"Nefertiti, the fourth album by Miles Davis' second classic quintet, continues the forward motion of Sorcerer, as the group settles into a low-key, exploratory groove, offering music with recognizable themes -- but themes that were deliberately dissonant, slightly unsettling even as they burrowed their way into the consciousness. In a sense, this is mood music, since, like on much of Sorcerer, the individual parts mesh in unpredictable ways, creating evocative, floating soundscapes. This music anticipates the free-fall, impressionistic work of In a Silent Way, yet it remains rooted in hard bop, particularly when the tempo is a bit sprightly, as on "Hand Jive." Yet even when the instrumentalists and soloists are placed in the foreground -- such as Miles' extended opening solo on "Madness" or Hancock's long solo toward the end of the piece -- this never feels like showcases for virtuosity, the way some showboating hard bop can, though each player shines. What's impressive, like on all of this quintet's sessions, is the interplay, how the musicians follow an unpredictable path as a unit, turning in music that is always searching, always provocative, and never boring. Perhaps Nefertiti's charms are a little more subtle than those of its predecessors, but that makes it intriguing. Besides, this album so clearly points the way to fusion, while remaining acoustic, that it may force listeners on either side of the fence into another direction." - All Music Guide