MILES DAVIS

MILES DAVIS
ON THE CORNER (1972)
320 KBPS

In 1969, the house of jazz was shaken to its foundations when Miles Davis began to dabble in elements of rock when he recorded Bitches Brew. Many of his faithful quickly fell by the wayside with what they considered this outrageous gesture. Nonetheless, a younger audience quickly arose to embrace what he was doing. But when On the Corner was issued in 1972, it seemed that everyone jumped ship: Miles's effort to bring together the latest developments in European experimental music (Stockhausen's "Mixtur," for example) and Black American funk (Sly Stone) fell on dead ears. What's more, the art work on the cover was peculiar, there was no list of musicians, and the signature Davis trumpet sound was largely buried in the mix. Now, almost 30 years later, time has caught up to Davis, and this record seems the clear ancestor of hip-hop, trance, jungle, and other musics whose methods involve slowly revealing their meaning through repetition, small variation, and funk without cease. Though broken into tracks, it seems more like a single groove, swirling with every trend that was in the air at the time. Forget about conventional melody, harmony, and structure. Davis erased those elements along with the hierarchy that rules them. New digital remastering makes this methodology seem much clearer, and the prejudices of 30 years ago may yet fade into the distance.

1. On The Corner/New York Girl/Thinkin' Of One Thing And Doin' Another/Vote For Miles
2. Black Satin
3. One And One
4. Helen Butte/Mr. Freedom X