Miles Davis - Bitches Brew

When one thinks about the summer of ‘69, the first thing that comes to mind would be a certain Mr. Adams. But, if one were to step out of the world of Pop-Rock music and move back in time to the real summer of ‘69, they would come across history in the making (musically speaking of course, not space travel). Bitches Brew, the double album recorded in 1969, pushed the barriers of jazz even further than any of Miles’ previous experiments, and nurtured rock music into its fold. With the use of electric pianos and guitars, Miles rejected the notion of traditional jazz, thus paving the way for the jazz-rock revolution.

They say innovation is the breaking free from the conformist, and this is exactly what happens on Bitches Brew. The expansive and elaborate album understandably pricked the nerves of the jazz fundamentalists, who refused to accept the album as the dawn of a new era, a creation of a novel art form. Yes Bitches does indeed have a zillion sounds sealed in one envelope. A psychedelic haze hovers above the entire album, which would become one of  the main criticisms the album would face as psychedelic music was running big at the time, and many interpreted it as Miles’ attempt to grab a larger audience.

On Bitches Brew, Miles’ managed to rope in the youngest and most proficient musicians at the time, filling both the rhythm and lead teams with all stars. As many as fourteen musicians worked on the album under the supervision of Miles Davis. The amount of attention that is paid to the rhythms on the album is astounding; multiple bassists and drummers have performed simultaneously on tracks. The underlying rhythm sections provide an inviting platform for the lead instruments. The free spirit feel of the album draws the listener into the core of the album, and forces him to become a musician himself. The anticipation of the lead lines opens up one’s creativity, and one can’t help but to assign musical lines to the album stemming from that creativity.

Bitches Brew, was the first hand experience of the electric John McLaughlin for many listeners. His chunky chords and boisterous lead work would leave a definite impact on jazz music, countless others would follow in his footsteps in the time to come. His playing contrasted with jazz guitarists of the yesteryears, as he would invariably stand out from the rest of the band, when previously the norm for a jazz guitarist would be to sail smooth and blend with the rest of the instruments. On the other side of the coin, the delicate pianos of Larry Young, Joe Zawinul and Chick Corea tame the outwardly rashness associated with the entire album to a great extent. The sweet notes of the stringed instrument resonate beautifully against the low rumble of Miles’s Trumpet and Wayne Shorter’s Saxophone.

The great Duke Ellington had once described Miles Davis as “The Picasso of Jazz”. An analogy between the two artists is quite apparent. Both the artists developed revolutionary styles of their own, all whist expanding their creativity and versatility of their output as the years rolled on. Bitches Brew is a result of  Miles’ own peculiar style, his very own version of cubism.