After several delays, Columbia/Legacy will finally issue the six-CD boxed set “Miles Davis — The Cellar Door Sessions 1970” on Dec. 27. Recorded live at the height of Davis’ full-flame electric funk period, post-“Bitches Brew,” the discs feature an all-star lineup including Keith Jarrett on keyboards, guitarist John McLaughlin, saxophonist Gary Bartz, electric bassist Michael Henderson, drummer Jack DeJohnette and percussionist Airto Moreira.
“When you think of who was in the band and how they were playing and reacting to Miles’ extremely discreet and very ambiguous directions, it’s just amazing,” McLaughlin told Billboard earlier this year. “Keith was playing like a man possessed on two keyboards, and we all had wah-wah pedals.”
Bob Belden, who produced the previously unreleased compilation with Adam Holzman, says, “These guys had the idea of how rock and jazz worked together, and they got more of a focused sound out of their instruments than the rock guys. Miles was capturing Cream and Hendrix and extending it into improvisation in a powerful live setting. After this came fusion, most of which sounds childish in comparison.”
In related news, at Mo Pitkin’s House of Satisfaction in New York, Davis aficionado Greg Masters hosts Miles Monday, a free, three-hour weekly listening session featuring his extensive collection of Davis’ standard and bootleg recordings. “This is a chance for people to hear Miles’ music, especially the electric stuff, that never gets played on the radio,” Masters says.
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