Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Great Expectations
2. Ife
3. Recollections [*]
4. Trevere [*]

Disc 2:

1. Go Ahead John
2. Lonely Fire
3. Little Blue Frog [*]
4. Yaphet [*]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #44096 in Music
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2000-08-01
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Enhanced, Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .25 pounds

Amazon.com
A collection of material recorded between 1969 and 1972, the period just after Bitches Brew, Big Fun was not issued until 1974. By then, Davis had moved on in other directions, so it became a much-neglected album. The compositions are too scattered to maintain a focus, but there is much to hear within. For example, this was the album that introduced "Ife," a piece recorded during the On the Corner sessions. Built on the simplest of bass vamps and the skimpiest of melodies, it nonetheless was enough to incite Miles's playing. It stayed in his performance book for years, and turned up on other recordings, such as Dark Magus, Agharta, Pangaea, and In Concert. "Go Ahead, John," from the Jack Johnson period in 1970, has a sublimely nasty (and sonically infuriating) guitar solo from John McLaughlin. This digitally remastered edition of Big Fun also contains the bonus tracks "Recollection," "Trevere," "The Little Blue Frog," and "Yaphet" (all of which were also included on the recently issued Complete Bitches Brew Sessions, along with "Great Expectations," "Recollections," "Orange Lady," and "Lonely Fire"). --John F. Szwed

Customer Reviews

"Kind of Blue," This Ain't.
If the idea of listening to an album featuring tracks that clock in at least 20 minutes doesn't appeal to you, "Big Fun" may not be your type of groove. This is not an album for those who suffer from a short attention span. It's not for those who still have conservative notions about what jazz should sound like. And it's certainly not for those who aren't open-minded enough to appreciate Miles Davis' era called the "electric" period. "Big Fun" ranks up there with "Bitches Brew" and "Get Up With It" as another double-CD fusion masterpiece. Miles's trumpeting is still in exceptional form, but on this album, he incorporates rock, funk, and a dash of blues into the mix. Many of the players that appeared on the "Bitches Brew" album return here, as well as Herbie Hancock. "Go Ahead John," which is the opening track on disc two, defies categorization: for nearly 30 minutes, the track swings stylishly between rock, soul and jazz featuring fierce electric guitars, great drum work, fine trumpeting from Davis, and nice sax from Steve Grossman. "Lonely Fire" is a seductive, near-ambient work of minimalism showing Davis on trumpet, Bernie Maupin on bass, as well as some light percussion. "Ife," which was written while Davis was working on his "On the Corner" album, is a suave and funky number with "1970s" written all over it, featuring a great bassline from Michael Henderson. "Big Fun," which is digitally remastered, also has four additional rare tracks which also appear on the "Bitches Brew" box set (also a must-own). While other musicians were settling into their comfort zones, Miles Davis continued to push boundaries and defy musical traditions. "Big Fun" is an incredible work of fusion that's almost guaranteed to get heavy rotation on your CD player.

Yes, this really is jazz.
It doesn't swing, there are almost no acoustic instruments and it's light-years away from the upbeat easy-bopping that the word 'jazz' conjures up in many people's minds. But Miles was one to make traditions, not follow them, and jazz has always been about spontaneity and change. His "electric" period in the first half of the 70s was all about wild grooves, head-spinning experimentation and following his curiosity. And I'm not an expert by any means, but I rank Big Fun right at the top (alongside Jack Johnson and Pangaea) as one of the most accomplished albums of this phase. It's exotic, it's spontaneous, it's rhythmic and cool, it's world-beat funk jazz like almost nothing else you're likely to hear.

How to describe this stuff? It's based in groove, but embellished with layers of inventive playing that keep it from ever sounding monotonous. "Ife" finds all kinds of variations on a four-note bass vamp. "Go Ahead John" bounces and swaggers all over the place, featuring a McLaughlin solo that's absolutely sick. Joe Zawinul's "Recollections" is the least funky of all the songs, instead floating through 18 minutes of a cozy dream haze. I agree with the poster below who said that it should come after "Trevere," not before.

There's a wonderful cast of talented characters breathing life into the music with a bright rainbow of vibrant colors - Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, Jack DeJohnette, Wayne Shorter, Airto Moreira, Chick Corea.. the cast list alone is astounding. The group lineups range from a basic five to a cunningly orchestrated eleven. It even expands on the general sound of Miles's groups at the time; in addition to the crazy horns and variety of electric keyboards, Big Fun has plenty of tabla, tambura, sitar and more Indian instruments than any jazz band outside of Shakti. And in the middle of it all is Miles: directing and guiding every step of the process, bringing all these people of different backgrounds together, weaving their contributions into a dazzling whole and fearlessly forging into new territory with a vengeance.. even if his sidemen themselves didn't even know where they were going.

It's a shame Big Fun is so often overlooked in the shadow of the monumental Brew that came before. It's more accessible, more upbeat, more variegated.. more fun. Those who didn't like B-Brew for its weird trippiness and meandering noodlings should still find plenty to like here.. those who liked it in the first place should enjoy this just as much. Those merely curious about electric Miles.. go look up A Tribute to Jack Johnson first, then come here once you're hooked.

Big Fun
I bought this album in London earlier this summer, where it has been available for some time, and is actually quite popular. This sales clerk nodded and said he thought it was an excellent album (or, I believe more accurately "that's a good one, there"). I also think it is an excellent album, though a bit scattered and disorganized in the arrangement of the songs and especially in the personnel and set information, and if you are interested in Miles Davis' funk 70s period (from Bitches Brew to Pangea) then I suggest buying this album. Like much of Miles Davis' music of this period, the interest doesn't lie in the melodies, or in the individual solos, but in two things; the overall buildup and cataclysmic weight of the songs themselves (all over 20 minutes), and the short sections where the whole band just seems to catch the groove (as Miles would say) and you feel it pass over you as well. It's a hard feeling to describe, and not everyone can catch it, but it's really what music is all about-and you can find it on this album. The music of this period has been described as 'seismic' or 'earth-shattering'; perhaps a bit overwinded, but accurate nonetheless.