In A Silent Way

This is a nice mellow album from Miles Davis. It really relaxes me. I think that this is one of the greatest albums of all-time and it is in my opinion in the same catogory as Kind of Blue, Miles Smiles, and Afro-Cuban Jazz Moods. His trumpet is great on this album. And there are two songs on this album both 20 minutes making it up to 40 minutes of music. Anything instrumental is best for me. Anyways this album is for all rock fans who need to relax. No CD collection is complete without this and Kind of Blue. Highly recommended.

Miles Davis at his peak as he stood at the intersection of the rivers of popular music (jazz and rock) as they flowed into one another, and he took music itself to an entirely new higher level in he and producer Teo Macero's studio experimentation of tape loops and edits. Thus, this album is not only the first merging of the disparate genres of jazz and rock but it is also one of the first innovations of electronic/ambient music (along with the proto-dub/ambient sound washes Hendrix innovated on Electric Ladyland). Apart from this, it is also one of the greatest albums of instrumental improvisation ever recorded as Miles' trademark trumpet solos are accompanied by saxophone, bass, drums, guitar, and three fluid keyboards. Miles Davis' masterpiece--the first fusion of jazz/rock and still my favorite jazz album, it captures the late night musings and nocturnal wanderings of jazz like nothing else. One of a kind and ahead of its time.

Move over bop, here comes fusion. Cool, spiritual, funky, sophisticated, warm, slinky, mysterious, free. Finally, Miles' spirit broke loose from conventions of traditional jazz. You can feel it on preceding releases, something was trying to break out, a movement of the spirit, a restlessness, a need for new experiences in creativity. There was a feeling of incompleteness, of something missing. Well, Miles found it on this recording - a prototype fusion album, which opened the doors for later fusion developments. Somehow I feel that this is the best release of his fusion period, more focused, more relaxed, more spacial, more soul-searching. There is a sense of repose here, a satisfaction of having found. I feel this also every time I listen to this recording. It's soulful without being overtly funky, it's free without being atonal, it's electric without being loud, it's progressive without being experimental. A perfect balance. Needless to add, it features all of Miles' fusion disciples, (Zawinul, Corea, McLaughlin, Shorter, Williams, Holland) who learned key lessons here, and were getting ready to take Miles' soul message into the world. A classic one of a kind album, and a must for any fan of fusion.

In A Silent Way is Kind of Blue filtered through the lens of the 60s. Indeed, it's fitting that the two albums were released ten years apart, at the ends of their respective decades- while 1959's Kind of Blue summed up the detatched, intelligent cool of 50s jazz, In a Silent Way encapsulates the experimental eagerness and broad emotional range that was coming to prominence in its decade. The album retains Kind of Blue's simple elegance, uncluttered musial frameworks, ensemble feel, and emotional resonance, while at the same time drastically revising notions of what jazz is (and what it can be). For one thing, the group itself is pretty unorthodox: There are no less than three keyboard players (Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea on electric piano, Joe Zawinul on organ), creating dense, amorphous clusters of sound and voicing dense, six-handed chords. They give the album a dreamy, shadowy groove that rings with mystery and tension. Electric guitarist John Mclaughlin swims somewhere in the mix, shooting lightening bolts of melody from in between the maze of keyboards. Drummer Tony Williams and bassist Dave Holland hold the improvisations together, lending the proceedings a steady, hypnotic pulse. On soprano sax, Wayne Shorter is a skilled counterpart to Davis, creating haunting, creamy strings of improvised melody. As usual, it is to Miles' immense credit that he never steals the show; he plays brilliantly, of course, but at the same time he knows that just because his name's on the front of the record doesn't mean that he's the only one worth hearing. He gives each player plenty of space to do his this thing and drive the session to new heights. The end result is that no one person dominates the proceedings, and yet everyone sounds wonderful. The comibnation of playing produces a beautiful, surreal, mesmerizing labyrinth of sound.

Perhaps the most notorious member of the sessions is the man who doesn't play a single note: Producer Teo Macero (along with Miles), assembled this album piece by piece, stitiching together various fragments, editing excerpts and brief runs into a cohesive whole. Although it is somewhat dissapointing to think that the two tracks on In A Silent Way weren't originally played as pieces, Macero's editing really is neither heavy-handed nor invasive. Each piece builds naturally, with an organic feel that lasts throughout the proceedings. This editing technique doesn't ruint the improvisational nature of the music, either; after all, the individual excerpts themselves were improvised, and that more than shows- there's so much excitement in the playing, a communal vibe that holds the group together and allows for some dazzling interplay.

The overall sound of the album is that of an inspired late-night jam session. The comparison to Kind of Blue seems especially apt in describing the playing itself- the music, as the title implies, is quiet, never spiraling into the apocalyptic walls of electric noise that would mark the later days of Davis' fusion period. The ephasis here is not on volume but on creating and sustaining a groove, a dreamy rush of rhythms and melodies that never lets its complexities overwhelm the listener. This approach is evident from the first, bubbling guitar patterns of "Shhh/Peaceful." The track builds with slow, organic grace. Williams' drums fuel its sound, lending the music a steady, relentless rhythm and goading each player to construct his own little dizzying tower of sound. Miles' creamy solo and the keyboardists' dizzying webs of melody lend the piece ample atmosphere. The end result is something akin to riding past a beautifully lit city on a train in the middle of a cold, quiet night. "In A Silent Way/ It's About That Time" asends from a formless swirl of ethereal guitar notes to a funky, mesmerizing vamp.

It's a brilliant album, and one of the many towering achievements in the Davis catalogue.

Released in 1969, this album marks Miles full blown emergence into the realm of jazz rock although there are other influences besides jazz and rock including a bit of minimalism. Musically, this recording is very relaxed and is dominated by eerie organ parts and a monotonic acoustic bass and drum parts. I especially like Miles use of space; even when he is not playing it speaks volumes.

Apart from Miles (trumpet), the list of musicians on this album reads like a who's who of jazz rock: Herbie Hancock (Fender Rhodes electric piano); Chick Corea (Fender Rhodes electric piano); Wayne Shorter (tenor saxophone); Dave Holland (acoustic bass); Joe Zawinul (Fender Rhodes electric piano and organ); the amazing John McLaughlin (electric guitar); and Tony Williams (drums).

In spite of the fact that all of these guys are virtuosos, their performances on In a Silent Way are extraordinarily disciplined and restrained. The most notable example of this is Tony Williams, who simply plays a repeated rhythm on the hi-hat for all of the lengthy Shhh/Peaceful - in fact, it is not until near the end of In a Silent Way that he plays the entire kit, and for only a short time. Even John McLaughlin turns in a very sedate performance with clean tones; a marked change from the wildly savage virtuosity that characterized his playing during this early period. Although three keyboardists of such high caliber playing at the same time might not have worked under different circumstances, it works incredibly well here; the different players weave effortlessly in and around one another.

The album is split into two lengthy tracks with Shhh/Peaceful clocking in at 18'16" and In a Silent Way/It's about that Time running for 19'52". The mood of both pieces is very dreamy and quiet, with soft electric piano parts, and shimmering textures on the electric guitar fading in and out. Miles playing is very spacey and drifting - he comes in very so often and blows a few perfect notes and then stops, letting the other players do their thing. This music is deeply reflective and meditative, which is especially borne out in the hypnotic rhythm section.

All in all, this is a landmark recording that ushered in a new direction in jazz. Very highly recommended along with Bitches Brew (1970) and the much heavier sounding Jack Johnson (1971). Although a bit controversial, On the Corner (1972) is also recommended.