Miles Davis
(ARTE broadcast)
July 10, 1991
La Grande Halle de la Villette, Paris
Personnel: Miles Davis (tpt); Kenny Garrett (as); Bill Evans (ss); Wayne
Shorter (ss); Jackie McLean (as); Steve Grossman (ts);Joe "Foley" McCreary
(g); John McLaughlin (g); John Scofield (g); Deron Johnson (synth); Chick
Corea (el-p); Joe Zawinul (synth); Herbie Hancock (synth); Richard Patterson
(el-b); Dave Holland (b); Darryl Jones (el-b); Ricky Wellman (d); Al Foster
(d)
1. Penetration (Davis, Garrett, McCreary, Johnson, Patterson, Wellman)
2. Watermelon Man (Davis, Garrett, McCreary, Hancock, Johnson,Patterson,
Wellman)3. All Blues (Davis, Evans, Grossman, Corea, Holland, Foster)
4. In A Silent Way (Shorter, Zawinul) / It's About That Time (Davis, Garrett,
Shorter, Evans, Johnson, Patterson, Foster)
5. Human Nature (Davis, Garrett, McCreary, Johnson, Patterson, Wellman)
6. Jean Pierre (Davis, Garrett, Evans, McLean, Grossman, McCreary, McLaughlin,
Scofield, Johnson, Corea, Holland, Patterson, Jones, Foster, Wellman)
duration: 60 mins
Introduction by Luca Benporath
1991 was probably one of the most prolific and important years for Miles,
during his post-retirement period. But was also one of the hardest ones,
with several tours planned both in the States and in Europe. Miles was feeling
that he was close to the end, and for the first time in his life he accepted
to look back. In July 1991 in Montreux, at the local jazz festival, he played
the material from the 'Birth of the cool' period along with an orchestra
led by Quincy Jones. The show was brilliant but Miles did not feel very comfortable
to play music from over 40 years before. This concert has been fully documented,
both on audio and video format.
Only few days later in Paris, on 10th July, Miles did another reunion show
to cover another of his prolific periods: the 60's. From 'A Kind Of Blue'
up to 'In A Silent Way' with some newer material, Miles felt really comfortable
and happy. Many friends have come to celebrate him: Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul,
Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, John McLaughlin, Al Foster, Dave Holland and
many more. It was like if Miles was playing an intimate gig in one of those
dusty venues during the sixties! This performance was broadcast live by the
French Radio Europe 2 and an hour of it was televised few months later.
No official release has surfaced yet and, although plans exist at Warner
France to issue it, it is unlikely that this will happen in the near future.
The TV broadcast has been circulated among fans in the 90's, but because
of the particular french TV format (Secam) and huge loss of quality while
copying videotapes, only average copies are common in the trading circuit.
We have discovered a master tape from one of the broadcasts and, even if
the recording shows its age, we will try to work on it to improve the quality.
With the digital technologies available, we are now trying to attempt to
transfer this show on digital, to make the very first experiment of a Miles
DVD to be treed. All you have to do is sit down, relax and enjoy the very
last Miles Davis show that had a TV broadcast.
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