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Miles Ahead session details

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March 30, 1974 (9 items; TT = 100:50)
Carnegie Hall, New York NY
Commercial for Columbia

Miles Davis (tpt, org); Dave Liebman (ss, ts, fl); Azar Lawrence (ts); 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 Turnaroundphrase (M. Davis) 12:28
2 Tune in 5 (M. Davis) 12:39
3 Funk [Prelude, part 1] (M. Davis) 14:21
4 For Dave [Mr. Foster] (M. Davis) 10:41

Second set
5 Funk [Prelude, part 1] (M. Davis) 18:50
6 Calypso Frelimo (inc) (M. Davis) 6:23

Faded at 6:23; no Liebman or Lawrence solos
7 Ife (inc) (M. Davis) 16:07

Begins mid-Cosey g solo
8 Turnaroundphrase (M. Davis) 6:14
9 Tune in 5 (M. Davis) 3:07


1 Turnaroundphrase
12" LP: CBS/Sony 28AP 2165/6, CBS/Sony 36AP 1785/6, CBS/Sony 40AP 741/2, Four Men with Beards 4M 812LP
CD: Columbia Legacy C2K 65137, CBS/Sony 50DP 719/20, Sony SRCS 5724/5, Sony SRCS 9325/6, Sony SRCS 9757/8, Sony SICP 850/1, Sony SICP 4238/9, Sony SICJ 30094/5, Zipperdeke ZIP 011, Columbia Legacy 86975 24922 [= Columbia (F) 86975 52492] (CD 43)

2 Tune in 5
12" LP: CBS/Sony 28AP 2165/6, CBS/Sony 36AP 1785/6, CBS/Sony 40AP 741/2, Four Men with Beards 4M 812LP
CD: Columbia Legacy C2K 65137, CBS/Sony 50DP 719/20, Sony SRCS 5724/5, Sony SRCS 9325/6, Sony SRCS 9757/8, Sony SICP 850/1, Sony SICP 4238/9, Sony SICJ 30094/5, Zipperdeke ZIP 011, Columbia Legacy 86975 24922 [= Columbia (F) 86975 52492] (CD 43)

3 Funk
12" LP: CBS/Sony 28AP 2165/6, CBS/Sony 36AP 1785/6, CBS/Sony 40AP 741/2, Four Men with Beards 4M 812LP
CD: Columbia Legacy C2K 65137, CBS/Sony 50DP 719/20, Sony SRCS 5724/5, Sony SRCS 9325/6, Sony SRCS 9757/8, Sony SICP 850/1, Sony SICP 4238/9, Sony SICJ 30094/5, Zipperdeke ZIP 011, Columbia Legacy 86975 24922 [= Columbia (F) 86975 52492] (CD 43)

4 For Dave
12" LP: CBS/Sony 28AP 2165/6, CBS/Sony 36AP 1785/6, CBS/Sony 40AP 741/2, Four Men with Beards 4M 812LP
CD: Columbia Legacy C2K 65137, CBS/Sony 50DP 719/20, Sony SRCS 5724/5, Sony SRCS 9325/6, Sony SRCS 9757/8, Sony SICP 850/1, Sony SICP 4238/9, Sony SICJ 30094/5, Zipperdeke ZIP 011, Columbia Legacy 86975 24922 [= Columbia (F) 86975 52492] (CD 43)

5 Funk
12" LP: CBS/Sony 28AP 2165/6, CBS/Sony 36AP 1785/6, CBS/Sony 40AP 741/2, Four Men with Beards 4M 812LP
CD: Columbia Legacy C2K 65137, CBS/Sony 50DP 719/20, Sony SRCS 5724/5, Sony SRCS 9325/6, Sony SRCS 9757/8, Sony SICP 850/1, Sony SICP 4238/9, Sony SICJ 30094/5, Columbia Legacy 86975 24922 [= Columbia (F) 86975 52492] (CD 43)

6 Calypso Frelimo (inc)
12" LP: CBS/Sony 28AP 2165/6, CBS/Sony 36AP 1785/6, CBS/Sony 40AP 741/2, Four Men with Beards 4M 812LP
CD: Columbia Legacy C2K 65137, CBS/Sony 50DP 719/20, Sony SRCS 5724/5, Sony SRCS 9325/6, Sony SRCS 9757/8, Sony SICP 850/1, Sony SICP 4238/9, Sony SICJ 30094/5, Columbia Legacy 86975 24922 [= Columbia (F) 86975 52492] (CD 43)

7 Ife (inc)
12" LP: CBS/Sony 28AP 2165/6, CBS/Sony 36AP 1785/6, CBS/Sony 40AP 741/2, Four Men with Beards 4M 812LP
CD: Columbia Legacy C2K 65137, CBS/Sony 50DP 719/20, Sony SRCS 5724/5, Sony SRCS 9325/6, Sony SRCS 9757/8, Sony SICP 850/1, Sony SICP 4238/9, Sony SICJ 30094/5, Zipperdeke ZIP 011, Columbia Legacy 86975 24922 [= Columbia (F) 86975 52492] (CD 43)

8 Turnaroundphrase
12" LP: CBS/Sony 28AP 2165/6, CBS/Sony 36AP 1785/6, CBS/Sony 40AP 741/2, Four Men with Beards 4M 812LP
CD: Columbia Legacy C2K 65137, CBS/Sony 50DP 719/20, Sony SRCS 5724/5, Sony SRCS 9325/6, Sony SRCS 9757/8, Sony SICP 850/1, Sony SICP 4238/9, Sony SICJ 30094/5, Zipperdeke ZIP 011, Columbia Legacy 86975 24922 [= Columbia (F) 86975 52492] (CD 43)

9 Tune in 5
12" LP: CBS/Sony 28AP 2165/6, CBS/Sony 36AP 1785/6, CBS/Sony 40AP 741/2, Four Men with Beards 4M 812LP
CD: Columbia Legacy C2K 65137, CBS/Sony 50DP 719/20, Sony SRCS 5724/5, Sony SRCS 9325/6, Sony SRCS 9757/8, Sony SICP 850/1, Sony SICP 4238/9, Sony SICJ 30094/5, Zipperdeke ZIP 011, Columbia Legacy 86975 24922 [= Columbia (F) 86975 52492] (CD 43)


Lawrence plays only during the second set.

This music was issued by Columbia as four edited medleys:

Moja = "Turnaroundphrase" + "Tune in 5"
Wili = "Funk" + "For Dave"
Tatu = "Funk" + "Calypso Frelimo" (inc)
Nne = "Ife" + "Turnaroundphrase" + "Tune in 5"

On the CBS/Sony LPs and early CDs (50DP 719/20, SRCS 5724/5), the applause following the first set's "Tune in 5" includes a short organ phrase which may be the coded phrase for "Funk." That brief phrase is missing from later issues, beginning with the Master Sound CDs from the early 1990s. Thanks to Spencer Baars for pointing this out.

Zipperdeke 011 contains incomplete versions of several titles, and duplicate versions of "Ife" and the second "Turnaroundphrase." It is clearly made from an LP, since surface noise is audible in many places. Tunes are wrongly labeled and incorrectly indexed. A botched job all around.

The Davis Septet had a busy road schedule during this period: Shaboo Inn, Willimantic (January 24-26); Massey Hall, Toronto (January 27); Arie Crown Theatre, Chicago (February 1); Guthrie Theatre, Minneapolis (February 5); Allen Theatre, Cleveland (February 8); Allen Theatre, Cleveland (February 8); Masonic Auditorium, Detroit (February 10); Keystone Korner, San Francisco (February 12-17); Club Etcetera, Washington (February 24-March 3); Carnegie Hall, New York (March 30); Chicago Auditorium (April 13). I'm sure there are many other dates here, but I'm still looking for ads and reviews.

A review of a Club Etcetera show begins by describing it as "one of the few local engagements [Davis] has not canceled," and goes on to capture nicely the Septet's performance: "His group is improvising, listening to each other, throwing phrases back and forth. They are not working under predefined changes or chord progressions. Neither are they being guided through the performance of a piece they have rehearsed to perfection with the score in front of them. Davis is giving direction to their improvisation, establishing a control that lessens the low points in communication that high-energy improvisational music is prone to suffer from."

Another review, this one from Detroit's Masonic Auditorium, was less enthusiastic:

On Sunday, February 10, the legendary Miles Davis turned out one of the worst performances of his career at the Masonic Temple in Detroit. It started out badly, as Miles was an hour and a half late... When Miles finally showed up, things went for the worse. His band was sensational, no, indescribably delicious, but Miles appeared sick and possibly drunk and played out of key, and without energy. He kept spitting on the floor, grossing the audience out. Amid catcalls and boos (his pants were even falling down), Miles finally walked off stage, only to return after heated arguments offstage and continue with a lackluster showing. It's sad, too, as the other people in his entourage were remarkable in their show, and also seemed irritated with Miles' unusual weirdness...

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