Miles Davis – The Lost Septet
(Sleepy Night SNRCD013. CD Review by John Bungey)
It’s 5 November 1971, and what sort of a night were fans at the Vienna Konzerthaus expecting from the mercurial prince of darkness? Hopefully they had a better idea than the Yugoslav audience who had booed Miles the previous year for not playing Some Day My Prince Will Come and My Funny Valentine.
But even if you were one of the hipper Austrian souls, well-versed in Bitches Brew and In a Silent Way, the intense, burstingly noisy set documented here would have been quite a shock. In his quest to find a new music that mixed the brawn of rock with the brain of jazz the trumpeter had moved on once again. This septet, never recorded in the studio (hence the “lost”), features Keith Jarrett on electric piano, Gary Bartz on saxes, Michael Henderson, electric bass, Ndugu Chancler on drums with Don Alias and Mtume on percussion. Tracks come from In a Silent Way, Live Evil, Jack Johnson and Bitches Brew but they are marshalled into a more or less continuous performance. Tunes amount to little more than brief phrases propelled by a bass line and a rock drum beat.
It is, though, music of febrile intensity, anchored by Henderson (a veteran of Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder) and is of course, as with any early ’70s Miles, not for the faint-hearted. This show was recorded for radio and has been widely available as a bootleg with good sound; this is the first official release (with some informative but shakily-spelt sleeve notes).
Miles is on strong form, straying out of his usual middle register to play declamatory high notes between dramatic pauses. Using his wah-wah pedal he sometimes sounds a little like his friend Jim Hendrix, occasionally like a scalded cat. While Bartz plays with high-velocity passion, the 26-year-old Jarrett is the other obvious star, wresting as much emotion as he can from the tinny electric piano and Contempo organ allotted him.
Jarrett has been famously dismissive of this crew: “Miles and I were in a duo with a group who had no idea of what they were doing.” For Miles that was part of the point; when Henderson asked Miles whether he should learn some of the older material he was told: “If you learn that old shit… you’re fired.” Henderson can sound leaden rather than funky – his four-note bass line towards the end of It’s About That Time is more Black Sabbath than Sly Stone. Jarrett has some lovely moments towards the end of that piece, his delicate sprays of notes contrasting with the heaviness all about. On Honky Tonk and elsewhere he summons warm, gospel-tinged chords, but he is on his own. “When Keith starts playing that Catholic school shit, lay out, don’t play, don’t follow him,” Miles reportedly told the rest of the band.
There is group playing of thunderous power – as when Honky Tonk acquires an unrelenting momentum (in the build-up Davis fools around with the motif that would become Jean Pierre, a fan favourite debuted on record 11 years later). What I Say, as on Live Evil, is taken at break-neck speed and features incendiary soloing. But sometimes this is music to admire rather than love. This concert is fascinating, yes, intriguing, yes, but fun? Hmm. There is a dourness that means the music isn’t half as approachable today as other Miles projects. The year 1971 had been a tricky one for the band leader as he struggled with addiction, ill health, a marital bust-up, racism and the tax authorities. You can hear some of that on stage. Back in 1971, for all the thrill of encountering Miles’s new thing, I bet a few people at the Vienna Konzerthaus were wishing he’d play a little of “that old shit”. Categories: CD reviews
quote:
This concert is fascinating, yes, intriguing, yes, but fun?
hmm, if the concert ist fascinating and intriguing, fun is as unnecessary as a goiter. I experienced 3 concerts at the beginning of the septet’s 1971 tour:
Oct. 17 Munich 2 sets (19:00 hour & 21:45 hour)
Oct. 18 Frankfurt 2nd set (21:45 hour)
I was baffled and blown away. These concerts belong to the deepest impressions I ever had in a concert hall.
Ok, that is my very personal opinion
Hi Sonator, i really like this album, i’ve only really listened to Bitches brew other than this; can you recommend me some other great live albums, by Miles but also any jazz artist in this same dark, abrasive fashion? Thanks
hi solarino
I think you refer to THE LOST SEPTET (= “this album”). Recommendations usually are subjective. I especially like the Miles Davis Quintet from the Sixties and the early (earlier) Electric Period from “In A Silent Way” up to “On the Corner”. There are not so many Live Documents available on Vinyl, CD, Streaming etc. (as far as I know).
My favorite Miles Davis life album from the Sixties:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Funny_Valentine_(Miles_Davis_album)
I highly recommend the LOST SEPTET’s preceding band, recorded at Cellar Door Club December 1970. This gig is nearly complete(ly) documented and published as 6 CD Box, out of stock now, but available high priced at Discogs:
https://www.discogs.com/Miles-Davis-The-Cellar-Door-Sessions-1970/master/358845
The Cellar Door Sessions are also offered via Spotify et al.
Parts of the last evening at Cellar Door are published on LIVE-EVIL
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live-Evil_(Miles_Davis_album)
A gold mine ist the Youtube Channel “milestones – A Miles Davis Archive” where you’ll find a lot of live concerts:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrWdmFiEms9vUgrgUVhF0Fg
I think Keith Jarrett is the most exceptional musician both in the CELLAR DOOR BAND and in the LOST SEPTET. So look for early Jarrett-Live recordings from the Sixties and Seventies, for example
–
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_Flower
–
https://www.ecmrecords.com/shop/143038752916/hamburg-72-keith-jarrett-charlie-haden-paul-motian-keith-jarrett-charlie-haden-paul-motian
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Yawuh
more Jarrett’s American Quartet (not live):
–
https://www.ecmrecords.com/shop/143038750737/the-survivors-suite-keith-jarrett
–
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solo_Concerts:_Bremen/Lausanne
Hi solarino,
There are some really good live albums from Miles’ electric period in the 70’s:
Miles Davis at Fillmore: Live At The Fillmore East (1970)
Black Beauty: Miles Davis At Fllmore West (1970)
Miles Davis In Concert: Live At The Philharmonic Hall (1973)
Dark Magus (1974)
Agharta (1975)
Pangaea (1975)
The first two are more similar to “The Lost Septet”, the later ones are even more dark and heavy. I especially like the ones from 1975, recorded on the same day in Japan.
To me the as yet officially unreleased 22nd January 1975 Tokyo gig is incendiary (also called “Laurasia”) is a FM broadcast soundboard recording, full funk fusion. The band are super tight and leaves Agharta & Pangaea sounding tired (and in Pangaea’s case unfocused).