Product Description

This 1985 performance at the Montreal Jazz Festival captures Miles at one of his peaks in popularity. Throughout his long career, Miles utilized the best in contemporary pop music, and this time he had some uniquely suitable sources; Cyndi Lauper's hit "Time After Time" and Michael Jackson's "Human Nature." Combine funk, pop, and the founder of the Birth of the Cool, the result is an elegant restrained restatement of everything Miles Davis. Add in the virtuoso guitarist John Scofield - and the result is a musical treasure.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51853 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-09-05
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, Live, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 59 minutes

Amazon.com
How bad were the 1980s in music? Not even jazz great Miles Davis could escape the black hole. The decade that saw synthesizers and slick approaches ruin pop music somehow caught the master trumpet player's ear and resulted in one of Davis's poorest periods. Of course, Davis was lucky to even be alive during the '80s, surviving sickness and drug abuse, and this hour-long performance, shot during the 1985 Montreal Jazz Festival, shows a performer looking happy just to be playing. Appearing thin and sickly, Davis and his six-piece fusion outfit run through six tunes, none coming close to the trumpet player's past experimental achievements. Songs like "One Phone Call" are long, metallic funk jams that nonetheless give Davis plenty of room to maneuver in spirited solos, when the rhythm section and keyboards aren't drowning him out. Davis also reinvents pop hits of the era--ballads like Michael Jackson's "Human Nature" (from Thriller) and Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time," but they come across more like soulless "smooth jazz." Still, on all of the numbers, if you can block out everything else and simply focus in on Davis's trumpet, the aging great possessed the ability to mesmerize, even in his down years. Despite the lack of terrific music material, this DVD is wonderfully packaged. The Milestones Biographical Time Line is a great source to introduce beginners to Davis's legacy, while the extensive liner notes on each individual song performed in Montreal are equally impressive. --Dave McCoy

From the Back Cover
One of the true legends of the jazz scene, Miles Davis was not only a virtuoso on the trumpet, but also one of the founders of cool jazz, groove, hard bop, and fusion. Available for the first time completely digitally re-recorded is Davis' live performance in Montreal with rare concert footage. This is a must-have for all jazz lovers.

SONGS
1. One Phone Call
2. Human Nature
3. Something's On Your Mind
4. Time After Time
5. Code M.D.
6. Jean Pierre

FEATURING
Miles Davis on trumpet, Robert Berg on sax, Robert Irving III on synthesizer, Daryl Jones on bass, John Scofield on guitar, Steve Thornton on percussion and Vince Wilburn on drums.

Customer Reviews

I recommend it
I have watched this video a bunch of times and have always thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't have any idea what the other reviewers are hearing when they call this 'smooth jazz'!!! I mean, listen to Bob Berg's solos for crying out loud. And Miles'. And Scofield's. These guys are clearly burning their butts off. If your idea of "Jazz" is only acoustic-straightahead-retrobebop then don't buy this. But if you're into "Music" in the broader sense that doesn't pigeonhole you into stylistic categories, then buy this. It's great music.

An essential mid-80's addition to Miles Davis' legacy!
This highly recommended June 28, 1985 Montreal concert--previously issued in Japan--helps reopen the case for recognizing much of the music of Miles' final years as a reiteration of his trademark strengths, albeit perhaps without a stunning creative landmark on the order of KIND OF BLUE or BITCHES BREW. Maybe LIVE IN MONTREAL is that mid-80's signpost--if not, it's very close! The level of inspiration, commitment to excellence, and turning the future into the present is what you would expect of Miles at any point in his career!

Davis' acumen for picking talented, individualistic sidepersons is glaringly evident on this Montreal date. John Scofield is of course a premier electric guitarist who makes very distinctive contributions, while reedman Bob Berg is a similiarly inspired soloist. Synthman Robert Irving III is the playmaker who doesn't shoot the ball much (i.e., no solos) but dishes out assist after assist to the overall group sound, via subtle textures that sometimes achieve the spirit if not the letter of the orchestrated Gil Evans sound that Miles seemed to desire after 1983. Darryl Jones puts those ping-ponging, thumb-popping notes in just a little bit better place than most other bassists. Vincent Wilburn Jr. provides a full sound and solid beats, thankfully without forgetting that his is a supporting role, and percussionist Steve Thornton also plays what is needed, where it is needed.

Included are expansive versions of the two most notable ballads of this era (HUMAN NATURE, TIME AFTER TIME), while the funk/r&b/soul idiom is covered via D-Train's SOMETHING'S ON YOUR MIND. Don't be concerned if you're not a fan of the then-current YOU'RE UNDER ARREST or DECOY albums which provded the bulk of the material for this tour: they were merely blueprints for the passionate live renditions heard here.

By TIME AFTER TIME, CODE M.D., and a Spain-sketched reworking of JEAN PIERRE, Miles Davis' playing is in a ZONE, absolutely burning with a passion he rarely surpassed--before or after! Davis' solos are marked by extended length, great endurance, and confidence in all ranges of his horn. Unless you absolutely cannot stand electric instrumentation and contemporary pop-culture music influencing a jazz-rooted perspective, LIVE IN MONTREAL is a must-have!

This music is burning...and Miles is astounding
If anybody needed more proof that Wynton Marsalis, Stanley Crouch and Peter Watrous are full of s... about Miles not playing challenging great music at the highest level in the 80ties, this DVD will show a Miles who once again has the cream of the crop sidemen in his band, with Scofield playing one of the greatest solos you'll ever hear on the first track! Miles, however, is particularly inspiring even around such fantastic musicians he remains the center of attention, his solos have that otherworldly "where did that come from" mystique yet totally logic that is the realm of the true greats. This is timeless jazzmusic on the highest level, even if Ken Burns and Wynton can't recognize that.