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Miles Ahead session details

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April 19, 1974 (8 items; TT = 93:36)
Keystone Korner, San Francisco CA
Audience recording (B+)

Miles Davis (tpt, org); Dave Liebman (ss, ts, fl); Pete Cosey (g, perc); Reggie Lucas (g); Dominique Gaumont (g); Michael Henderson (el-b); Al Foster (d); James Mtume Forman (cga, perc)

First set
1 Right Off (M. Davis) 24:40
2 Turnaroundphrase (M. Davis) 0:46
3 Untitled Original 740419 (with applause) (M. Davis) 20:39

Second set
4 Funk [Prelude, part 1] (M. Davis) 18:54
5 Turnaroundphrase (M. Davis) 6:51
6 Tune in 5 (M. Davis) 8:06

"Willie Nelson" vamp at 0:06-0:53, 1:48-2:11
7 Funk [Prelude, part 1] (M. Davis) 3:45
8 Calypso Frelimo (with applause) (M. Davis) 9:55


This music is sometimes dated May 19, 1974, but I suspect that this is a mistake. The Davis group was booked for six nights at the Keystone Korner in mid-April (April 16-21), but by mid-May they were en route to South America for a brief tour. And prior to the South American trip Dave Liebman was in New York to record his second album, Drum Ode, for ECM.

This is an odd show in some respects. The tempo of "Right Off" is much slower than usual, and this is the only example I know of Davis playing the theme along with the guitars. He plays only a few notes on the organ until he enters on trumpet at 8:05; he plays the theme on and off from 11:45-15:30. There is a brief break for applause at 19:00 or so, after which the tune continues. Following "Right Off," the "Turnaroundphrase" theme is stated briefly, but the group then settles into a very diffuse version of an unknown tune that is also performed live in São Paulo on June 2, in Boston on August 3, and at New York's Bottom Line Club on June 10 and 12, 1975. In a couple places during "Funk" you can hear strains of an untitled Davis original ("Untitled Original 730424c") which was first performed in the studio in April 1973 but was frequently performed live after that.

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