1971-11-03 Belgrade

Disco1971-11-03 Belgrade
Year1971
VenueYugoslavia, Union Hall, Belgrade, Serbia (the former Yugoslavia)
Date1971-11-03
NotesSource: http://bigozine2.com/roio/?p=191
Original folder name: The Newport Jazz Festival In Belgrade 1971
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MILES DAVIS
The Newport Jazz Festival In Belgrade 1971 [1CD]
Live at the Union Hall, Belgrade, Serbia (the former Yugoslavia). November 3, 1971. Very good radio broadcast.

The Newport Jazz Festival might have started in 1954 and held in Newport, Rhode Island before moving to New York City in 1972 and then becoming a two-site festival in 1981. Meanwhile across the Atlantic, this fest was “brought” to Belgrade and the Newport Jazz Festival in Belgrade started in 1970, where, according to Europe Jazz Network, “this festival hosted almost everyone who’s important in jazz history.”

One could say that Miles Davis was still basking in the success of Bitches Brew, which was released in 1970. As Miles said: “Bitches Brew sold faster than any other album I had ever done, and sold more copies than an other jazz album in history. Everyone was excited because a lot of young rock fans were buying the album and talking about it.”

But it wasn’t entirely the Bitches Brew album that Miles played in Belgrade. It was an eclectic mix that included tracks that were found on the Live-Evil album. Fans normally turn to the two-CD Another Bitches Brew (Jazz Door) to listen to Miles Davis in Belgrade 1971. [The second CD features the show from November 7, 1973.] Taken from a radio broadcast, it is one long track with no track marks, with an incomplete Yesternow. For a long time, fans have also speculated about the existence of another track from the set, Funky Tonk.

Now fans can listen to Funky Tonk, albeit incomplete, thanks to joerg, who taped and shared the show when The Newport Jazz Festival In Belgrade was re-broadcast. The first seven tracks are taken from the Another Bitches Brew CD, and given track breaks.

According to live-bootleg.blogspot.com, “The set is marked by tense, drawn-out transitions between themes. Directions floats in on a rocket before dropping into half-time at 3:27; the transition into Honky Tonk begins at 10:25 and stretches over two minutes, with Jarrett and Henderson musically arguing over where the music will go. Once it gets rolling, Jarrett builds some new modalities and nervous rhythm under the sax and trumpet solos, adding unexpected but just-right pokes and prods, then shouting out his own gospelly funk. For a wailing Bartz, he’s down home; under Miles, he goes off into exotic territory. One doesn’t usually think of Jarrett as having an accompanist’s nature, but here’s the evidence. In between the solos, Jarrett gets his groove on…

“This two-percussionist band with Mtume and Don Alias, with five or six congas onstage, is among the least-documented of Miles’ multitudinous incarnations. It’s gratifying to hear them take the spotlight in tandem so winningly. Sanctuary receives an atmospheric theme statement, before Miles screams a few times, turning up the juice.”

Note: Click on the highlighted tracks to download the MP3s (these are high quality MP3s - sample rate of 192 kbps). As far as we can ascertain, these tracks have never been officially released on CD.

Due to the size of some of the files, please be very patient when downloading the tracks. It could be that the server was very busy. Please try again later. Kindly email us at mybigo@bigozine.com if you encounter persistent problems downloading the files.

Track 01. Band warming up (309k)
Track 02. Directions (14.5MB)
Track 03. Honky Tonk (17.7MB)
Track 04. What I Say (20.4MB)
Track 05. Sanctuary (3.7MB)
Track 06. It’s About That Time (20.7MB)
Track 07. Yesternow (incomplete) (16.5MB)
Track 08. Funky Tonk (incomplete) (14.5MB)

Lineup:
Miles Davis - trumpet
Gary Bartz - alto and soprano saxophones
Keith Jarrett - electric piano, organ
Michael Henderson - electric bass
Ndugu Leon Chancler - drums
Charles Don Alias - conga, percussion
James Mtume Forman - conga, percussion
MediaMP3
Live1
Incomplete0
ALBW0
Compilation0
nVol307