Miles Live!

If you really want to hear the best of Miles during the final decade of his life, then a good place to start is his live recordings. The music Miles recorded in the studio was transformed on-stage, where it was enhanced, extended and often presented in fresh and exciting ways. For a long time, little of Miles’s live music was available from official sources, but the picture is improving (although many great gigs remain unreleased). Here is a run-down on what’s available on the high street.

Worldwide

We Want Miles

Miles, trumpet, keyboard; Mike Stern, guitar, Bill Evans, sax; Marcus Miller, bass, Al Foster, drums; Mino Cinelu, percussion.

1. “Jean-Pierre”
2. “Back Seat Betty”
3. “Fast Track”
4. “Jean-Pierre” (short version)
5. “My Man’s Gone Now”
6. “Kix”

Recorded during Miles’s 1981 tour of the US and Japan, it is a superb documentary of one of Miles’s best bands of this era. Highly recommended.

Star People

1. “Come Get It” Featuring the same band that recorded We Want Miles, “Come Get It” is a storming rock-funk number recorded in August 1982.
2. “Speak” Two changes for this band – Marcus Miller is replaced by Tom Barney on bass and Mike Stern is joined by John Scofield on guitar. So far, the only official release of Miles’s two-guitar band of 1982/3. Recorded February 1983 at Austin, Texas.

Decoy

1. “What It Is” Recorded at the 1983 Montreal International Jazz Festival, this hyperactive number features a driving beat and ferocious bass line from Darryl “The Munch” Jones.
2. “That’s What Happened” Recorded at the same venue and with the same group, this is actually an edited version of “Speak”.

Live Around The World

During the late 1980s, Miles and his management were trying to persuade Warner Bros to release a live album comprised of soundboard recordings made by concert sound engineer Patrick Murray. The request was turned down and it wasn’t until 1996 – five years after Miles’s death – that we finally saw the release of this album. Most of the cuts are taken from Murray’s 1988-1990 soundboard tapes, with “Hannibal” coming from Miles’s last concert at The Hollywood Bowl on 25 August 1991 (recorded by Don Kurek).

1. “In A Silent Way” Recorded Indigo Blues Club, New York, December 1988. Miles, trumpet; Kenny Garrett, sax; Foley, lead bass; Adam Holzman, keyboards; Joey DeFrancesco, keyboards; Benny Rietveld, bass; Ricky Wellman, drums; Marilyn Mazur, percussion.
2. “Intruder” Same date, venue and group as above.
3. “New Blues” Recorded Greek Theatre, LA August 1988 Miles, trumpet; Kenny Garrett, sax; Foley, lead bass; Adam Holzman, keyboards; Robert Irving III, keyboards; Benny Rietveld, bass; Ricky Wellman, drums; Marilyn Mazur, percussion.
4. “Human Nature” Recorded Graz, Austria in November 1988Miles, trumpet; Kenny Garrett, sax; Foley, lead bass; Adam Holzman, keyboards; Joey DeFrancesco, keyboards; Benny Rietveld, bass; Ricky Wellman, drums; Marilyn Mazur, percussion.
5. “Mr Pastorius” Recorded Montpelier, France April 1989 Miles, trumpet; Kenny Garrett, sax; Foley, lead bass; Kei Akagi, keyboards; John Beasley, keyboards; Benny Rietveld, bass; Ricky Wellman, drums; Munyungo Jackson, percussion.
6. “Amandla” Recorded Rome, Italy July 1989 Miles, trumpet; Rick Margitza, sax; Foley, lead bass; Adam Holzman, keyboards; Kei Akagi, keyboards; Benny Rietveld, bass; Ricky Wellman, drums; Munyungo Jackson, percussion.
7. “Wrinkle” Recorded Montreux Jazz Festival, July 1990 Miles, trumpet; Kenny Garrett, sax; Foley, lead bass; Kei Akagi, keyboards; Richard Patterson, bass; Ricky Wellman, drums; Erin Davis, percussion.
8. “Tutu” Recorded same date, venue and group as above.
9. “Full Nelson” Recorded Osaka, Japan August 1988Miles, trumpet; Kenny Garrett, sax; Foley, lead bass; Adam Holzman, keyboards; Robert Irving III, keyboards; Benny Rietveld, bass; Ricky Wellman, drums; Marilyn Mazur, percussion.
10. “Time After Time” Recorded JVC Jazz Festival, Chicago June 1989 Miles, trumpet; Kenny Garrett, sax; Foley, lead bass; Adam Holzman, keyboards; Kei Akagi, keyboards; Benny Rietveld, bass; Ricky Wellman, drums; Munyungo Jackson, percussion.
11. “Hannibal” Recorded Hollywood Bowl, LA, 25 August 1991 Miles, trumpet; Kenny Garrett, sax; Foley, lead bass; Deron Johnson, keyboards; Richard Patterson, bass; Ricky Wellman, drums.

The Complete Miles Davis At Montreux 1973-1991

Bits and pieces of Miles’s music from the Montreux Jazz Festival concerts had long appeared on bootlegs, special project albums or albums only available in Europe, so it was great news for fans of Miles’s later music when this sumptuously packaged boxed set emerged in 2002. Consisting of 20 discs (two cover the 1973 concert and another, a short concert in Nice in 1991) these are all untouched soundboard recordings. The list below ignores the 1973 concert and the 1991 Montreux appearance, when Miles performed the music of Gil Evans with two orchestras. Acclaimed Miles discographer Enrico Merlin has produced a superb sessionography of these recordings, which is posted on Paul Tingen’s Miles Beyond website at http://www.miles-beyond.com/sessionspost80.htm

July 8 1984 (Afternoon Concert)

Miles, trumpet; Bob Berg, sax; Robert Irving III, keyboards; John Scofield, guitar; Darryl “The Munch” Jones, bass, Al Foster, drums, Steve Thornton, percussion

1. “Speak”
2. “Star People”
3. “What It Is”
4. “It Gets Better”
5. “Something’s On Your Mind”
6. “Time After Time”
7. “Hopscotch/Star on Cicely”
8. “Bass Solo”
9. “Jean-Pierre”
10. “Lake Geneva”
11. “Something’s On Your Mind.”

July 8 1984 (Evening concert) Same line-up

1. “Speak”
2. “Star People”
3. “What It Is”
4. “It Gets Better”
5. “Something’s On Your Mind”
6. “Time After Time”
7. “Hopscotch/Star On Cicely”
8. “Bass Solo”
9. “Jean-Pierre”
10. “Lake Geneva”
11. “Something’s On Your Mind” (reprise)
12. “Code MD”

July 14 1985 (Afternoon concert)

Miles, trumpet; Bob Berg, sax; Robert Irving III, keyboards; John Scofield, guitar; Darryl “The Munch” Jones, bass, Vince Wilburn Jr, drums, Steve Thornton, percussion

1. “One Phone Call/Street Scenes”
2. “Star People”
3. “Maze”
4. “Human Nature”
5. “MD1/Something’s On Your Mind/MD2”
6. “Time After Time”
7. “Ms Morrisine”
8. “Code MD”
9. “Pacific Express”
10. “Katia”
11. “Hopscotch”
12. “You’re Under Arrest”
13. “Jean-Pierre/You’re Under Arrest/Then There Were None”
14. “Decoy”

July 14 1985 (Evening concert) Same line-up

1. “One Phone Call/Street Scenes”
2. “Star People”
3. “Maze”
4. “Human Nature”
5. “MD1/Something’s On Your Mind/MD2”
6. “Time After Time”
7. “Ms Morrisine”
8. “Code MD”
9. “Pacific Express”
10. “Katia”
11. “Hopscotch”
12. “You’re Under Arrest”
13. “Jean-Pierre/You’re Under Arrest/Then There Were None”
14. “Decoy”

July 17 1986

Miles, trumpet; Bob Berg, sax; Robert Irving III, keyboards; Adam Holzman, keyboards; Robben Ford, guitar; Felton Crews, bass; Vince Wilburn Jr, drums, Steve Thornton, percussion; George Duke, keyboards (“Tutu” and “Splatch”); David Sanborn, sax (“Burn,” “Portia,” “Jean-Pierre”)

1. “One Phone Call/Street Scenes”
2. “New Blues”
3. “Maze”
4. “Human Nature”
5. “Wrinkle”
6. “Tutu”
7. “Splatch”
8. “Time After Time”
9. “Al Jarreau”
10. “Carnival Time”
11. “Burn”
12. “Portia”
13. “Jean-Pierre”

July 7 1988

Miles, trumpet; Kenny Garrett, sax; Robert Irving III, keyboards; Adam Holzman, keyboards; Foley, lead bass; Benny Rietveld, bass, Ricky Wellman, drums, Marilyn Mazur, percussion

1. “In A Silent Way”
2. “Intruder”
3. “New Blues”
4. “Perfect Way”
5. “The Senate/Me And You”
6. “Human Nature”
7. “Wrinkle”
8. “Tutu”
9. “Time After Time”
10. “Movie Star”
11. “Splatch”
12. “Heavy Metal Prelude”
13. “Heavy Metal”
14. “Don’t Stop Me Now”
15. “Carnival Time”
16. “Jean-Pierre”
17. “Tomaas”

July 21 1989

Miles, trumpet; Rick Margitza, sax; Adam Holzman, keyboards; Kei Akagi, keyboards; Foley, lead bass; Benny Rietveld, bass, Ricky Wellman, drums, Munyungo Jackson, percussion; Chaka Khan vocals (“Human Nature”)

1. “Intruder”
2. “New Blues”
3. “Perfect Way”
4. Hannibal”
5. “Human Nature”
6. “Mr Pastorius”
7. “Tutu”
8. “Jilli”
9. “Time After Time”
10. Jo-Jo”
11. “Amandla”
12. “The Senate/Me And You”
13. “Wrinkle”
14. “Portia”

July 20 1990

Miles, trumpet; Kenny Garrett, sax; Kei Akagi, keyboards; Foley, lead bass; vocals “In The Night”; Richard Patterson, bass, vocals “In The Night”; Ricky Wellman, drums, Erin Davis, percussion

1. “Perfect”
2. “New Blues”
3. “Hannibal”
4. “The Senate/Me And You”
5. “In The Night”
6. “Human Nature”
7. “Time After Time”
8. “Wrinkle”
9. “Tutu”
10. “Don’t Stop Me Now”
11. “Carnival Time”

July 8 1991

Miles played the music he’d recorded with Gil Evans in the 1950s and 1960s. Two orchestras (the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band and Gil Evans Orchestra) were conducted by Quincy Jones. Kenny Garrett was the only member of Miles’s current band to play at the concert.

July 17 1991, Nice, France

Miles, trumpet; Kenny Garrett, sax; Deron Johnson, keyboards; Foley, lead bass; Richard Patterson, bass, Ricky Wellman, drums.

1. “Perfect Way”
2. “New Blues”
3. “Hannibal”
4. “Human Nature”
5. “Time After Time”
6. “Wrinkle”

Miles Davis Septet Live in Poland 1983

A CD of the famous 1983 concert in Warsaw. It also includes three tracks from Miles’s 1981 concert in Japan: “Ursula,” “My Man’s Gone Now,” and “Aida.”

This concert had a big impact on Miles, because he mentioned it in his autobiography and talked about how the Polish people had made him welcome. The band comprised of Miles (trp and key); John Scofield (g); Bill Evans (sax); Robert Irving III (key); Darryl Jones (b); Al Foster (d) and Mino Cinelu (per). The repertoire was mainly from the albums Star People and Decoy and included a rare live performance of the blusey number “That’s Right.”

Album back cover

The booklet includes a photo of Miles and Foley – who didn’t join the band until 1987!

Booklet track listing and personnel information. Note the band played “Speak” three times! There are also three tracks from Miles 1981. Note these tracks were recorded in Japan, and not New York, as stated on the album

The booklet includes an interview Miles did with the late jazz trumpeter and Miles biographer Ian Carr, plus photos of the band members, in this case John Scofield

Bill Evans

Japan-only release

Miles! Miles! Miles!

Recorded on 4 October 1981 on Tokyo, this double-disc set wasn’t released in Japan until 1996. It’s a record of Miles’s comeback concerts and is notable for featuring the unedited version of “Jean-Pierre” which appears on We Want Miles. Miles was very sick on this tour and not at his best, but the rest of the band rally around. Miles, trumpet, keyboard; Mike Stern, guitar, Bill Evans, sax; Marcus Miller, bass, Al Foster, drums; Mino Cinelu, percussion.

1. “Back Seat Betty”
2. “Ursula”
3. “My Man’s Gone Now”
4. “Aida”
5. “Fat Time”
6. “Jean-Pierre”

The back cover of the album

Disc and booklet

The two discs

First pages of booklet

The booklet includes an extensive interview with Miles in Japanese (natch!)

There are some great photos from the tour included in the booklet

The back pages of the booklet

The rear of the booklet

European Releases

Due to quirks in copyright laws, a number of official and semi-official live albums have been released in Europe. All the discs listed below were purchased in major music stores on high streets in Europe.

Munich Concert

A terrific, value-for-money, three-disc set released in early 2006 that features the music from Miles’s Live in Munich DVD (recorded July 1988), plus the 35-minute track “Call It Anything” from the 1970 Isle of Wight concert! Miles, trumpet; Kenny Garrett, sax; Robert Irving III, keyboards; Adam Holzman, keyboards; Foley, lead bass; Benny Rietveld, bass, Ricky Wellman, drums, Marilyn Mazur, percussion

1. “Perfect Way”
2. “Human Nature”
3. “Tutu”
4. “Splatch”
5. “Heavy Metal Prelude”
6. “Heavy Metal”
7. “Don’t Stop Me Now”
8. “Carnival Time”
9. “Tomaas”
10. “New Blues”
11. “Portia”
12. “Hannibal”
13. “The Senate”
14. “Me And You”
15. “Wrinkle”
16. “Time After Time”

Fat Time

A single-disc version of Miles! Miles! Miles! Miles, trumpet, keyboard; Mike Stern, guitar, Bill Evans, sax; Marcus Miller, bass, Al Foster, drums; Mino Cinelu, percussion.

1. “Back Seat Betty”
2. “Ursula”
3. “My Man’s Gone Now”
4. “Aida”
5. “Fat Time”
6. “Jean-Pierre”

“From His Last Concert In Avignon”

Actually recorded in Miramas, France in February 1988. This double-disc set includes the only available version of “Wayne’s Tune” [correct title “Bookends”]. Miles, trumpet; Kenny Garrett, sax; Robert Irving III, keyboards; Adam Holzman, keyboards; Foley, lead bass; Darryl Jones, bass, Ricky Wellman, drums, Rudy Bird, percussion

1. “Intruder”
2. “New Blues”
3. “One Phone Call/Street Scenes”
4. “Perfect Way”
5. “The Senate/Me And You”
6. “Tutu”
7. “Movie Star”
8. “Splatch”
9. “Time After Time”
10. “Wayne’s Tune”
11. “Full Nelson”

Time After Time

Although the CD cover suggests these recordings are from Miles’s US tour, the line-up suggests this was recorded in Europe in early 1989. Miles, trumpet; Kenny Garrett, sax; Foley, lead bass; Kei Akagi, keyboards; John Beasley, keyboards; Benny Rietveld, bass; Ricky Wellman, drums; Munyungo Jackson, percussion.

1. “Jilli”
2. “Hannibal”
3. “Intruder”
4. “Star People”
5. “Perfect Way”
6. “Mr Pastorius
7. “Human Nature”
8. “Tutu”
9. “Time After Time”
10. “Full Nelson”
11. “Me And You”
12. “Carnival Time”

Miles in Montreux

Recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 21 1989 Miles, trumpet; Rick Margitza, sax; Adam Holzman, keyboards; Kei Akagi, keyboards; Foley, lead bass; Benny Rietveld, bass, Ricky Wellman, drums, Munyungo Jackson, percussion; Chaka Khan vocals (“Human Nature”)

• “Intruder”
• “New Blues”
• “Perfect Way”
• “Hannibal”
• “Human Nature”
• “Mr Pastorius”
• “Tutu”
• “Jilli”
• “Time After Time”
• “Jo-Jo”
• “Amandla”
• “The Senate/Me And You”
• “Wrinkle”
• “Portia”

Live Tutu

Recorded in Perugia, Italy, July 1989. Miles, trumpet; Rick Margitza, sax; Kei Akagi, keyboards; Adam Holzman, keyboards; Foley, lead bass; Benny Rietveld, bass, Ricky Wellman, drums, Munyungo Jackson, percussion

1. “Human Nature”
2. “The Senate/Me And You”
3. “Jo-Jo”
4. “Tutu”

North Sea Jazz Legendary Concerts Miles Davis

A very nice CD/DVD package of a concert played on 13 July 1985 at the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague, Netherlands. Sadly, only part of the concert is on CD, and although the DVD disc features additional music, there is still plenty missing. Even so, it’s a good release to have, especially if you’re a fan of Miles’ 1985 band (which I am!). The band was: Miles, tpt and key; John Scofield g; Robert Irving III, keys; Bob Berg, sax; Darryl Jones, b; Vince Wilburn Jr, d; Steve Thornton, per.

Back cover

The CD listing:

• “Street Scenes”
• “Star People”
• “Maze”
• “Human Nature”
• “Something’s On Your Mind”
• “Time After Time”
• “Ms. Morrisine”
• “Code M.D.”

The package include a booklet and additional liner notes

DVD tracks:

• “Street Scenes”
• “Star People”
• “Maze”
• “Human Nature”
• “Something’s On Your Mind”
• “Time After Time”
• “Ms. Morrisine”
• “Code M.D.”
• “Pacific Express”
• “Medley: Katia/Jean-Pierre/You’re Under Arrest/Then There Were None”

Booklet and CD and DVD discs

There are informative liner notes by Jeroen de Valk

However, the track listings on the CD package and booklet are not fully accurate and it’s well worth heading for the excellent Kind of Blue website for the correct information – it’s also a superb resource for anyone interested in Miles’ music, whatever era!

Merci Miles! Live at Vienne

Recorded barely three months before Miles’ death, this album documents a band on fire. With the group pared down to a sextet, there’s plenty of room for the music to breath and for everyone to stretch out. Miles is in excellent form on both open and muted horn. Highlights include, extended versions of ‘Hannibal’ and ‘Human Nature,’ two Prince tunes, and a powerful band jam finale driven along by the powerhouse drumming of Ricky Wellman.

For more information on this album go to our albums section.

The Man With The Horn	We Want Miles	Star People	Decoy
You're Under Arrest	Aura	Rubberband	Tutu
Siesta	Amandla	Dingo	The Hot Spot
Doo-Bop	Live Around The World	Montreux 1973 - 1991	miles alive
Miles Davis Trilogy	Time After Time	Perfect Way	Hollywood Bowl 1981
Original Classics	Complete Columbia Collection	Tutu Deluxe Edition	Montreal Concert
1986 - 1991 Warner Years	Perfect Miles Collection	On The Crest Of The Airwaves	The Last World
Tutu Deluxe LP	Rubberband	Music from Birth of the Cool	Original Album Series
Merci Miles! Live at Vienne

• Miles 80s Music Collections - a round up of various Miles compilations from the 1980s
• The Man With The Horn Album Primer - An Introduction To Miles’ 80s album
• We Want Miles Album Primer - An Introduction To Miles’ live album from 1982
• Star People Album Primer - An Introduction To Miles’ album from 1983
• Decoy Album Primer - An Introduction To Miles’ album from 1984
• Miles Live - a round up of the various Miles live albums from the 1980s