The seventh volume in
Miles Davis' award-winning
Bootleg Series is comprised of unreleased material from the sessions for his final
Columbia studio albums --
Star People,
Decoy, and
You're Under Arrest -- that appeared annually from 1983 to 1985. They reveal the profound influence that era's pop music and MTV had on the trumpeter. The three-disc box assembles 19 alternates and outtakes, alongside the live What It Is: Montreal 7/7/83, issued for Record Store Day. The booklet includes interviews with the musicians and producer.
Eight of disc one's ten tracks are drawn from 1983's
Star People sessions, the last
Davis recording, produced by
Teo Macero. It opens with his bleating synth intro to the 13-minute "Santana." A rumbling
Marcus Miller bassline is framed by
Al Foster's drums,
Mino Cinelu's urgent percussion, and the funky, dissonant electric guitars of
Mike Stern and
John Scofield. The interplay between
Davis' muted horn and keyboards introduces
Bill Evans' fluid soprano sax halfway through. The choppy, repetitive horn vamps amid the jagged group interplay recall Ornette Coleman & Prime Time in places. The other highlight on disc one is the three-part "Celestial Blues." It's lithe and funky, bathed in steamy grooves.
Davis -- with and without mute -- freely engages the guitarists as the rhythm section lays a deep cut.
Evans' tenor solo in part one is saturated in the influence of
Ben Webster. It closes with two unremarkable alternates of
Decoy's "Freaky Deaky." Disc's two's highlights include two wonderful alternates of
Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" (from 1985's
You're Under Arrest). The first is uptempo and funky; the latter is three minutes longer with a slow, dubby, reggae processional. A jagged, muscular read of "Theme from Jack Johnson (Right Off)/Intro" offers a killer break from
Scofield and punchy, athletic bass from
Darryl Jones. In addition to an emotionally poignant version of
Michael Jackson's "Human Nature," the disc includes a warm, lyrical, moving read of
Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do with It" that never made the album. The disc closes with a smoking version of "Katia" featuring an incendiary performance by guitarist
John McLaughlin. Both discs are peppered with
Davis' studio banter. The live disc is riveting. The band --
Davis,
Scofield,
Jones,
Evans,
Foster, and
Cinelu -- open with a ramped-up, driving, 13-minute "Speak (That's What Happened)" that sometimes recalls, the unruly voodoo funk on
Agharta, albeit in more polished form. Here, "Star People" is loose and airy, offering great solos by guitarist, trumpeter, and saxophonist. "What It Is" offers fiery, interlocking funk as
Scofield,
Foster, and
Jones go head to head. Closer "Code 3" is an excellent showcase for
Evans and
Cinelu.
There is no question that
The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7: That's What Happened 1982-1985 will cause controversy among jazz fans. But it isn't for them. It's for
Miles Davis fans and presents an unvarnished taste of him -- from the cutting room floor no less -- attempting to reinvent himself one last time. ~ Thom Jurek