Bitches Brew Revisited<br /> Discover Jazz Festival <br /> Flynn Theater Main Stage<br /> Burlington, Vermont <br /> June 3, 2011 - Friday<br /> <br /> Audio Technica at853rx(card caps) &gt; Zoom H1 [24/48] <br /> FOB Row 3 Center Orchestra <br /> Mastered in WaveLab 6.0 with iZotope Ozone 4.0 <br /> Green Mountain Bros. <br /> <br /> Graham Hayes – Cornet<br /> Vernon Reid – Guitar<br /> Marco Benevento – Keyboards<br /> JD Logic – Turntables, Samples<br /> Antoine Roney – Clarinet, Saxophones <br /> Melvin Gibbs – Bass<br /> Adam Rudolph – Percussion<br /> Pheeroan Aklaff - Drums<br /> <br /> ** 24 Bit **<br /> <br /> 1.Pharaoh's Dance<br /> 2.Bitches Brew<br /> 3.Spanish Key<br /> 4.John McLaughlin<br /> 5.Miles Runs The Voodoo Down<br /> 6.Sanctuary<br /> 7.Band Intros <br /> <br /> Time: 93:41<br /> <br /> --- Program Notes ---<br /> <br /> A stunning cast of acclaimed musicians reveals the epic legacy of Miles Davis’ landmark album on the 40th anniversary of its release. <br /> Bitches Brew, Davis’ pioneering work with electronic music, was, in 1970, an augur of jazz’s cross-genre evolution and is, <br /> today, hailed by some audiophiles as the greatest jazz and rock album ever made. A who’s who of jazz, hip–hop and rock artists <br /> pack the stage, led by cornetist Graham Haynes, a major force in contemporary electronic and world music. The inimitable <br /> Marco Benevento employs pedals, amplifiers, circuit bent toys and sundry effects around his acoustic piano setup. The revered <br /> innovator DJ Logic, pioneering guitarist Vernon Reid (erstwhile leader of multiplatinum rock band Living Colour), cross cultural <br /> percussionist Adam Rudolph, in demand saxophonist and clarinetist Antoine Roney and Melvin Gibbs, “the best bassist in the world” <br /> (Time Out New York), all conspire to create a supernatural night that will leave devotees, skeptics and neophytes charmed and <br /> reeling, happily, back into the future of jazz. <br /> <br /> Bitches Brew is back.  And with its return, a re-birth of jazz legend Miles Davis, as well.<br /> Davis, who played at the Flynn in the early 80s, unleashed a new era in jazz with the breakthrough release of “Bitches Brew” in 1969.  <br /> The album’s continued appeal was evident Friday night, as a near capacity audience was on hand for a “revisit” at the Flynn Center.<br /> <br /> <br /> --- Review ---<br /> <br /> <br /> “Bitches Brew Revisited” was conceived to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the album that took modern jazz to a place it had never been. <br /> Originally recorded in August, 1969, the cauldron of creativity was astonishing in its arrangement (and lack thereof), its new way of <br /> integrating electronics, and in the individual performances of players en route to becoming a “Who’s Who” in jazz.<br /> The album’s visual presentation was also unprecedented. While illustrations had certainly been employed as a central focus in prior <br /> music industry packaging, “Bitches Brew” brought a sensuality that was aggressive yet mysterious. A buyer could spend time with the art, <br /> seeing different perspectives and picking up small details that were hardly unplanned.  Discover Jazz included a contest to re-create <br /> the album art, and the Top Ten became backdrops onstage.<br /> “Bitches Brew” album sales eventually waned, but never withered. The notion of “covering” the music in subsequent decades, however, <br /> was nearly inconceivable.  Graham Haynes was the perfect candidate to coalesce such an effort. He is a cornet player by trade, but <br /> also has been a central figure in the evolution of jazz that combines various electronic modalities as part of a core sound structure.<br /> As the band leader of “Bitches Brew Revisited,” Haynes   gathered together ingredients that made the original brew so compelling — <br /> and added some spicy elements that took the date in Burlington well past the boiling point.<br /> An ingenious tonality was created with the insertion of DJ Logic into the mix. His turntables and samples at times brought  jarring <br /> departures, and in other sections became part of the underlying texture. Vernon Reid’s guitar work was simply staggering. He lathered <br /> his solos with effects that were just coming of age in the 60s: fuzz tone and wah-wah (think Hendrix on the latter, Kinks on the former).<br /> Just as you were pulling your jaw up from the floor, bassist Melvin Gibbs would step in and fire off a crazy combination of riffs <br /> unlike any we’ve ever heard. He, too, used the 60s effects, a notion that seems completely improbable yet worked very well.<br /> One of the hallmarks of “Bitches Brew” is its relentless percussion. Adam Rudolph employed a suitable array, playing with <br /> unrestrained velocity. Pheeroan akLaff brought a non-stop fury of cymbals, snares, and bass.<br /> As to Haynes, his role as “conductor” should not be understated. As the nearly two hour piece seemingly ran roughshod over <br /> everything in sight, Haynes, cued his players with counts, shakes, and stares. His playing was sublime, capturing the genius <br /> of Davis in its stark simplicity.<br /> Out on the sidewalk after the show, attendees gulped in the crisp evening air. They’d just been had. It was breathless in Burlington.<br /> <br /> <br /> Paul Kaza has reviewed jazz and contemporary music for the Burlington Free Press since 1980.<br />

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