In A Silent Way

This is, far and away, the best of Miles' fusion albums. Now, I'm generally not a fan of the fusion stuff - I see Bitches Brew as tepid and lackluster with a couple shining moments (title track, Miles Runs the Voodoo Down, John McLaughlin), Jack Johnson as half a masterpiece (Right Off rules) and half a bore (Yesternow... grrgh...), Live-Evil as assorted wankery (though What I Say is great), and On the Corner as a disaster, albeit a gutsy one. Now, In a Silent Way... that's a whole different free type of burger. A bigger, better, MUCH juicier burger.
What sets this apart? For one, the number of musicians. There are eight guys here, and a small army on every other album I mentioned. Eight guys contribute ideas MUCH better than a small army. Especially if Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, Tony Williams, Wayne Shorter and Miles himself are five of those eight guys. Hell, sneak in Ron Carter on bass and you've got the Second Great Sextet (first being the Kind of Blue band) on your hands. I know that Miles, Shorter, McLaughlin and Hancock played pivitol rows on Bitches Brew, but in a less crowded setting, they communicate better and their contributions come to the fore. Oh, and Tony Williams is my favorite drummer in the history of ever, and he left after this album, so maybe that relates to the huge drop in quality, I don't know. But even Joe Zawinul (who I'm not a fan of) and Chick Corea (who I have no opinion on) work magic on their keyboards. Basically, the only guy who DOESN'T make an amazing contribution is Dave Holland, who perfectly conforms to the stereotype of the bassist as being "random guy who nobody's heard of and doesn't draw attention to himself in his playing". He's just the bassist.
This is a haunting, restrained, atmospheric affair. The volume and tempo rarely pick up, and if they do it's only briefly (i.e. that quick little blurb in the middle of the title suite). It's an eerie calm this one gives off, like Kind of Blue (which is god) on downers. Moody, reflective Miles has always been some cool stuff, and this is no exception. Shorter's soprano is ethereal and creepy - in good senses of both terms. And John McLaughlin is, well... John McLaughlin. If you've never heard his work, this is a great place to start.
Two beautiful, otherworldly twenty-minute suites... Miles fans should be in heaven. Oh, and the cover would make a cool t-shirt. I'd buy it, at least.

Ever the innovator, Miles continues along the fusion path on this album with his new electric quintet all the members of which have gone on to have great solo careers and read almost as a who's who list of jazz history: Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, John McLauglin and Josef Zawinul among others. Not quite as way out there as "Bitches Brew" was to become and hence is a little more accessible but this is a very good representation of Miles' earlier electric fusion output.

This version of the album is a real treat for fans too as the mini-lp replica sleeve design is very well executed and the mastering is very well done as well resulting in a very good sound quality and hence listening experience. Recommended.

I can think of few records that would fit most any situation as well as this one would. About the only thing I can't imagine this album being good for is to get one's blood pumping before an athletic competition . . . otherwise, Davis & this incredible cast of musicians made one of the most enduring & soul-caressing pieces of music imaginable. The only jazz artists who made anything to rival this for vision and harmonic genius in the '60s are named Mingus and Coltrane.

I shouldn't have to belabor what these songs sound like and why they are great. I think it should be enough to say that this is Miles's best record of the '60s (and therefore pretty much his best ever, with the only possible competition coming from _Kind of Blue_ and _On the Corner_). It settles on slow, soothing grooves and throws almost surreal harmonic and rhythmic softballs where one might least expect it . . . and, like I said, takes the listener exactly where she needs to be. To unadulterated sonic bliss.

Shhh, don't tell anyone but Miles and his "in your face" trumpet give me a headache.

I like funk and groove so I should have done a bit more homework before trying out the jazz scene. For me this CD is mostly silent except for some irritating trumpet blowing like foxtail into your eardrums.

I was about to give up on the whole jazz scene when I came upon Panthalassa. Track 1 of that CD (In a silent way/Shhh/Peaceful) is nice; smoothing out and grooving out Miles while staying true: say the purists.

If you love it remixed and electrofied (yes sir!) check out DJ Cam's tribute to "In a silent way".

Miles Davis historians look at this album and at "Bitches Brew" which followed, and talk of how important these recordings were to Miles' career as a turning point. This album is the first of Miles' "electric period," a highly controversial segment of his career that produced some highly influential, profound music of arguable accessibility. But what makes this album so incredible is not just how it was a beginning for Miles in fusion; it was the equivalent of the Second Continental Congress for the new genre that would dominate the jazz scene in the 1970s. One only has to look at the personnel and think for a bit: in addition to Miles, the group consisted of Wayne Shorter on saxophone, John McLaughlin on guitar, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Joe Zawinul on keyboards, Dave Holland on bass, and Tony Williams on drums. This is not just a list of the absolute top tier of young musicians of the time; it is literally the core group of EVERYTHING significant that happened in fusion. Every one of these men with the exception of Dave Holland went on to start a fusion group: Shorter and Zawinul began Weather Report, Hancock started Mwandishi and later the Headhunters, Corea led Return to Forever, McLaughlin started the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Tony Williams led Lifetime. Without exception, these groups were the defining forces of fusion (arguably the only ones that truly succeeded). That's what makes this album so incredible in historical context; anyone who would leave a mark on fusion was here, and anyone who wasn't here...wouldn't. That's what makes this more than an interesting experiment. It was the planting of a seed that altered the course of the careers of each musician here.

As for the music itself, the description has been more or less covered by the myriad of reviews already here. Suffice it to say that it is one of the rare musical documents that can be appreciated on ALL musical levels: there is enough interest in the soloists and group interaction to give it true depth and replay value, it's funky (though not overtly), it's brilliant mood music (as much as I hate that term), and it's even quiet enough to be shoved into the background (though why would you want to?). My favorite moment is when Tony Williams finally ramps up the groove about 13 minutes into the second track and pushes Miles to the next level of intensity.

Get this album to hear the music which sent forth the new wave of true innovators, arguably jazz's last (at least for now).