Miles in 3-D: Images of Bitches Brew

Using new commentary from the people behind the lens blended with revealing photographs, this chapter examines the visual narrative of Bitches Brew. Although the sessions were never shot, Miles Davis was photographed just about everywhere else at the time, whether it was on stage, at home, at the gym, or driving around New York in his Ferrari. Despite his shy and difficult demeanor, Davis had a warm and sincere relationship with the camera and the people behind it. These photographers were not only able to document this period in Davis’s life, but were also able to unveil a whole other side of him.

Preparation

This chapter examines the preparations Miles Davis took to record Bitches Brew. Davis was obsessed with getting the right musicians and instrumentation. As a result, his final roster was mainly comprised of musicians who had limited, to no experience working with him. Bitches Brew is a study in spontaneity. Davis had no interest in exhaustive rehearsing since it would only limit his scope. There was hardly anything even written down. Most of the work was recorded in small sections, and studio playbacks of the material were at a strict minimum. His directions were minimal, essentially leaving his young players in the dark for three days. After the sessions, the musicians had mixed feelings about the experience. But after hearing the finished material, they discovered something transcendent.

With No End (An Epilogue)

Growing up, I never liked jazz. Even when I began taking music seriously, my heroes were still Kiss and the like. It was not until my high school years, when I stumbled across a worn copy of Bitches Brew at the local library, that I began to take notice of jazz. My curiosity came from both boredom with my music collection at home and the wild album cover that was in my grasp. It felt like holding ...

Beginnings

I don’t play rock. I play black.1 —Miles Davis, 1969 Between 1969 and 1975, Miles Davis went through the most productive period of his career. In no other seven-year span had he produced as many studio and live recordings. This was yet another period marked by the intense experimentation and innovation that was already a hallmark of his then thirty-year career. He was on a mission. The high-water mark of this expedition happened during three summer days in August of ’69: the double album ...

Climate

Bitches Brew was not created in a void. This chapter illustrates how Davis coincided with the emerging status of African-Americans in late-60s America. The innovations of artists such as Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, and Sly Stone--the trumpeter’s key influences, illustrated the importance of African-American artists and helped shape the transformation in Davis’s life and music. As Davis did on Bitches Brew, these artists pioneered new approaches in self-expression that coincided with the changing cultural and political conditions surrounding them. Davis would insist that Bitches Brew was his music for his generation regardless of how progressive it sounded.

Beyond Brew

Those musicians involved with Bitches Brew became stars in their own right. This chapter focuses on Davis’s career and personal life shortly after the album came out and how Bitches Brew became the catalyst for the entire jazz-fusion movement of the 1970s and the blueprint for musical genres ranging from rap, to rock, to hard core, to heavy metal, and beyond for the next four decades.

Post-Production

This chapter examines the complex post-production process of Bitches Brew. Miles Davis utilized state-of-the-art recording equipment, massive editing work, and a variety of special effects to get his sound. His involvement during post-production illustrates how artistically invested he was with the album and offers key insights regarding his infamous relationship with famed producer Teo Macero.

Development

To many critics and fans, Bitches Brew appeared to have come out of nowhere. His transition from being a “jazz” artist to a “popular” artist parallels the drastic transition Bob Dylan made from being a “folk” artist to a “rock” artist shortly before. Bitches Brew, however, was not a revolution. This chapter illustrates how Bitches Brew came from a ten-plus year development period and an abundance of African-American culture. Like Dylan’s music, Bitches Brew illustrates both continuity and change. Many of the traits of this album show how existing elements can reach a new synthesis that gives the illusion of the radically new, when there is actually a blend of the new and the familiar.

Aftermath

This chapter examines the marketing behind Bitches Brew and its response from the media, critics, and fans once the album was released. Davis was now forty-three and wanting to remain relevant. In order to stay on top, many critics argued that Davis sold his soul for commercial success, leading to his fall from grace. Davis was hostile towards the accusations and criticism he had received by releasing this album.

Music

This chapter provides a complete day to day account of the Bitches Brew sessions. Although Davis conducted his rehearsals for Bitches Brew loosely, his concepts were well developed. He had specific structural ideas which were drawn from past concepts mixed with new innovations. He was also reliant on his band mates to help formulate the compositions. With the combination of precondition and spontaneity, Davis was able to create a very complex musical world.