Davis left the "Newport Jazz Festival in Europe" tour early after a dispute with
producer George Wein. The rest of the Quintet performed the final concert or two
of the tour as "The Wayne Shorter Quartet."
Once back in New York, the Quintet reunited and resumed its busy studio schedule.
This was the first session in which Davis supplemented the Quintet with another
voice, to provide more "bottom" as Davis was to call it. In addition, Davis and
Teo Macero began regularly to record tunes in pieces, and then rely on editing and
other post-production techniques to produce a finished product. (This was not new,
of course. Many of tunes resulting from the Miles Davis/Gil Evans collaborations
in the late 1950s involve such post-production techniques.)
More than an hour of music, in 35 takes spanning two reels of tape, was recorded
during this session. The raw material was used to create two issued versions of
"Circle in the Round." Teo Macero assembled the first (33:29) in 1968, but it was
put on the shelf and only issued in 1997 as part of the complete 1960s Quintet
recordings (Mosaic MQ10-177, Columbia Legacy C6K 67398). Stan Tonkel assembled the second
(26:20), which was issued in 1979 on the LP Circle in the Round.
Enrico Merlin has published helpful comparisons of the two versions -- see his
sessionography in Paul Tingen's book Miles Beyond (p. 305), and in more
detail in Bitches Brew: Genesi del capolavaro di Miles Davis (Milano: Il
Saggiatori, 2009), pp. 45-50. Merlin rightly notes that 10:03-26:18 of Tonkel's
version is substantially the same as 17:20-33:01 of Macero's. They are interestingly
different in the first ten minutes, however. In the comparison below I have tried
to identify the edits involved in the two composites; each segment is accompanied
by a brief description of the musical content. (Macero's composite [first table
below] uses material from takes 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14-24, and 26-35; Tonkel's
[second table] uses material from takes 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14-16, 19-20, 22-24,
and 26-35.
I have benefitted from discussion of these composites with Carl Woideck.
| Teo Macero composite (1968) |
| 0:00-3:14 |
tk 6, 0:20-3:37 |
Introduction; theme (Shorter/Davis) at 0:26; Williams solo #1
at 2:11
|
| 3:14-4:47 |
tk 8, 0:08-1:41 |
Williams solo #1 (continued); theme (Shorter/Davis) at 3:36;
Williams solo #2 at 4:28
|
| 4:47-5:27 |
tk 9, 0:15-0:55 |
Carter solo; theme (Shorter/Davis) at 5:01 |
| 5:27-5:52 |
tk 10, 0:04-0:29 |
Williams solo #3 |
| 5:52-7:01 |
tk 11, 0:18-1:27 |
Williams solo #3 (continued); theme (Shorter/Davis) at 6:17;
back to Williams (6:44)
|
| 7:01-7:25 |
tk 12, 0:08-0:32 |
Hancock solo, Williams sticks on drum kit |
| 7:25-7:28 |
tk 12, 2:04-2:07 |
Hancock solo, Williams sticks on drum kit (continued) |
| 7:28-8:42 |
tk 14, 0:04-1:18 |
Hancock solo, Williams sticks on drum kit (continued) |
| 8:42-9:06 |
tk 15, 0:53-1:19 |
Davis solo #1 |
| 9:06-11:34 |
tk 16, 0:23-2:50 |
Davis solo #1 (continued); Shorter solo #1 at 9:57; Davis solo
#2 at 10:45
|
| 11:34-12:07 |
tk 17, 0:07-0:41 |
Davis solo #2 (continued) |
| 12:07-12:12 |
tk 18, 0:03-0:09 |
Davis solo #2 (continued) |
| 12:12-13:50 |
tk 19, 0:02-1:38 |
Davis solo #2 (continued); Shorter solo #2 at 13:00 |
| 13:50-15:59 |
tk 20, 0:03-2:11 |
Davis solo #3 |
| 15:59-16:31 |
tk 21, 0:55-1:24 |
Davis solo #3 (continued) |
| 16:31-18:09 |
tk 22, 0:05-1:43 |
Davis solo #3 (continued) |
| 18:09-19:45 |
tk 23 0:06-1:42 |
Davis solo #3 (continued) |
| 19:45-21:22 |
tk 24, 0:06-1:42 |
Shorter solo #3 |
| 21:22-22:08 |
tk 26, 0:06-0:53 |
Davis solo #4 |
| 22:08-23:49 |
tk 27, 0:03-1:44 |
Davis solo #4 (continued) |
| 23:49-25:26 |
tk 28, 0:09-1:46 |
Carter solo |
| 25:26-27:03 |
tk 29, 0:15-1:32 |
Williams solo; back to Carter at 26:46 |
| 27:03-28:48 |
tk 30, 0:04-1:39 |
Davis solo #5 |
| 28:48-29:54 |
tk 31, 0:03-1:09 |
Davis solo #6 |
| 29:54-30:50 |
tk 32, 0:10-1:06 |
Shorter solo #4 |
| 30:50-31:35 |
tk 32, 1:10-1:55 |
Davis solo #7 |
| 31:35-32:05 |
tk 33, 0:05-0:36 |
Davis/Shorter interplay #1 |
| 32:05-32:35 |
tk 34, 0:07-0:37 |
Davis/Shorter interplay #2 |
| 32:35-33:01 |
tk 35, 0:15-0:41 |
Davis/Shorter interplay #3 |
| 33:01-33:29 |
tk 35, 0:51-1:19 |
Davis/Shorter interplay #4 |
|
Stan Tonkel composite (1979)
|
| 0:00-1:19 |
tk 6, 0:20-1:40 |
Introduction; theme (Shorter/Davis) at 0:26 |
| 1:19-2:22 |
tk 6, 2:31-3:35 |
Williams solo |
| 2:22-2:49 |
tk 9, 0:51-1:17 |
Theme (Shorter) |
| 2:49-3:36 |
tk 8, 0:55-1:41 |
Theme (Shorter/Davis); Williams solo #2 at 3:16 |
| 3:36-4:15 |
tk 9, 0:15-0:55 |
Carter solo; theme (Shorter/Davis) at 3:49 |
| 4:15-4:46 |
tk 10, 0:04-0:35 |
Williams solo #3 |
| 4:46-5:49 |
tk 11, 0:24-1:27 |
Williams solo #3 (continued); theme (Davis/Shorter) at 5:05
|
| 5:49-6:13 |
tk 12, 0:08-0:32 |
Hancock solo, Williams sticks on drum kit |
| 6:13-6:16 |
tk 12, 2:04-2:07 |
Hancock solo (continued), Williams sticks on drum kit |
| 6:16-7:30 |
tk 14, 0:04-1:18 |
Hancock solo (continued) |
| 7:30-7:32 |
tk 15, 0:53-0:56 |
Opening notes from Davis solo #1 (= 8:42-8:44 of TM version)
|
| 7:32-8:22 |
tk 16, 0:23-1:16 |
Davis solo #2 |
| 8:22-9:14 |
tk 19, 0:48-1:40 |
Shorter solo #1 |
| 9:14-10:03 |
tk 20, 0:03-0:52 |
Davis solo #3 |
| 10:03-10:54 |
tk 22, 0:53-1:44 |
Davis solo #3 (continued), from 17:19 of TM version |
| 10:54-12:30 |
tk 23, 0:06-1:42 |
Davis solo #3 (continued), from 18:09 of TM version |
| 12:30-14:07 |
tk 24, 0:06-1:42 |
Shorter solo #3 |
| 14:07-14:53 |
tk 26, 0:06-0:53 |
Davis solo #4 |
| 14:53-16:34 |
tk 27, 0:03-1:44 |
Davis solo #4 (continued) |
| 16:34-18:12 |
tk 28, 0:09-1:46 |
Carter solo |
| 18:12-19:49 |
tk 29, 0:15-1:32 |
Williams solo (starts one beat later than TM version); back to
Carter at 19:32
|
| 19:49-21:34 |
tk 30, 0:04-1:39 |
Davis solo #5 |
| 21:34-22:41 |
tk 31, 0:03-1:10 |
Davis solo #6 |
| 22:41-23:36 |
tk 32, 0:11-0:36 |
Shorter solo #4 |
| 23:36-24:22 |
tk 32, 1:10-1:55 |
Davis solo #7 |
| 24:22-24:52 |
tk 33, 0:05-0:36 |
Davis/Shorter interplay #1 |
| 24:52-25:22 |
tk 34, 0:07-0:37 |
Davis/Shorter interplay #2 |
| 25:22-25:48 |
tk 35, 0:15-0:41 |
Davis/Shorter interplay #3 |
| 25:48-26:18 |
tk 35, 0:51-1:19 |
Davis/Shorter interplay #4 |
| 26:18-26:20 |
N/A |
Davis growls "All right. That's enough of that..." |
Several bits are included in The Miles Davis Radio Project, produced by
Steve Rowland and broadcast by American Public Radio.
Live dates around this time include Jazz Workshop, Boston (November 20-26); Royal
Arms, Buffalo (November 27-December 5); Plugged Nickel, Chicago (December 6-10 --
Reggie Workman replaced Carter on bass for the first night, and the group without
Davis played a matinée on Sunday, December 10).
Carter and Beck joined Bobby Timmons and Jimmy Cobb for a session in New York's
Plaza Sound Studios on this date, where four tunes were recorded for Timmons'
Got to Get It! album (Milestone MSP 9011).
|