Miles would often change band members to keep things fresh, or because some musician he’d seen or heard sparked his musical curiosity. Sometimes, a band change was forced on him when a member decided to leave. In this case, three band members left at the same time.
Miles at the keyboard.
The Band
The band was an octet, with two keyboardists. The band members were:
- Miles – who played trumpet and keyboards.
- Kenny Garrett – alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute. He had previously played with Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw and Dizzy Gillespie. He joined the band in February 1987, remaining until Miles’s final gig in August 1991.
- Kei Akagi – keyboards. Had worked with Flora Purim, Allan Holdsworth and Al Di Meola. He joined the band in April 1989, staying until November 1990. He took on the role of musical director in late 1989.
- John Beasley – keyboards. He had played with Hubert Laws, Freddie Hubbard, John Pattitucci. He joined Miles’ band in April 1989 and left the following month, as his wife had just had their first child.
- Joseph ‘Foley’ McCreary – was invited to join the band after Miles heard a tape recording of his performance. Foley played ‘lead bass’ using tuning and effects to create a guitar-sound for the bass. He joined the band in May 1987 and remained until August 1991.
- Benny Rietveld – bass. He worked with Roy Obiedo, Pete Escovedo and Sheila E before Miles. Benny had the unenviable task of filling the shoes of Darryl Jones, which he did with aplomb. He joined the band in April 1988 and stayed until April 1990.
- Ricky Wellman – drums. A pioneer of the Go-Go sound which originated in Washington DC, he was invited to join the band after Miles heard a recording of him playing. Miles loved the grooves Wellman laid down, and the drummer was often given a long solo spot during concerts. He died in 2013.
- Munyungo Jackson – percussion. Was very experienced before joining Miles’ band, having played with The Temptations, Eartha Kitt, Barry White, Ronnie Laws and Joe Zawinul. An exciting, dynamic musician, he joined the band in April 1989, remaining until October 1989.
You can find further information about each band member in our profiles section.
Miles and Foley.
A Few Band Facts
In March 1989, Miles lost three band members, including both his keyboardists: Joey DeFrancesco and Adam Holzman. The former left to pursue a solo career, whilst Holzman was suffering from burn-out and needed to take leave of absence. Miles’ nephew Vince Wilburn Jr was responsible for Miles recruiting Beasley and Jackson, while Miles’ tour manager Gordon Meltzer connected Miles with Akagi. In March, the band rehearsed together in New York for two weeks, with Adam Holzman helping out on the arrangements.
Kei Akagi.
The band toured Europe for three weeks in April 1989 followed by a handful of gigs on Southern USA in late April/early May and the US. The tour schedule below is courtesy of Jan Lohmann and Peter Losin from the website Miles Ahead.
- April 2: Coliseu dos Recreios, Lisbon, Portugal
- April 6: RAI-TV Studio, Rome, Italy
- April 7: Teatro Pineta, Rome
- April 8: Palazzetto del Brescia, Brescia
- April 10: Palasport Carnera, Udine
- April 11: Cineteatro Orfeo, Milan
- April 12: Le Zenith, Domaine de Grammond, Montpellier, France
- April 14: unknown venue, Bordeaux
- April 15: unknown venue, Barcelona, Spain
- April 18-19: Apollo Theatre, Manchester, Great Britian
- April 21: St. David’s Hall, Cardiff, Wales
- April 28: Brevard Performing Arts Center, Melbourne FL
- April 29: Festival Hall, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Centre, Tampa FL
- April 30: Sunrise Musical Theatre, Sunrise FL
- May 2: River Tent and Fairgrounds, New Orleans LA
The April 6 gig at International DOC Club Studio, Rome was a TV performance, where the bad played a handful of tunes, including two very rare ones, ‘Unknown Y’ and ‘Cobra.’
Miles in Rome.
Set-list
- ‘Unknown Y’
- ‘Star People’
- ‘Perfect Way’
- ‘Jilli’
- ‘Cobra’
There’s more on this performance here.
John Beasley.
Incidentally, the concert at Le Zenith Domaine de Grammond, in Montpellier, France on April 12 included a performance of ‘Mr. Pastorius,’ which was edited from 8:43 to 3:32 for the 1996 album Live Around The World. It’s so far, the only official release of this band.
The European tour included three gigs in the UK, although unusually, none of them were in London (Miles would return to London in the summer with a new band playing at the Birmingham NEC on July 10, and the Royal Festival Hall on July 11.
Miles and Kenny Garrett.
The Repertoire
The band set-list consisted of an unknown and so far unreleased tune (‘Unknown Y’), with songs from Star People, You’re Under Arrest, Rubberband, Tutu and the yet to be released Amandla.
- ‘Jilli’ / ‘Hannibal’ / ‘Mr. Pastorius’ – from Amandla
- ‘Perfect Way’ / ‘Tutu’ / ‘Full Nelson’ – from Tutu
- ‘Human Nature’ / ‘Time After Time’ – from You’re Under Arrest
- ‘New Blues’ – from Star People
- ‘Carnival Time’ – from Rubberband
- ‘Unknown Y’ / ‘The Senate – Me & U’ No official studio release, although ‘The Senate – Me & U’ is on discs 12, 15 and 16 in The Complete Miles Davis at Montreux boxed set.
Miles and Benny Rietveld.
The Band Live
The April UK gigs were in Manchester (two nights) and Cardiff (a single night). The press criticism was largely negative. Jazz critic Richard Cook, writing in the London Sunday Times, described the first Manchester concert as a “ragged and inauspicious affair, lacking any focus or inner life,” before lambasting every band member, except for Kenny Garrett. The Cardiff gig was described by one critic as: “Off-form Miles is unexciting.” But Miles fan Steve Duffy, who was also present at the gig, disagrees, and has written a very interesting piece about the gig, which includes interviews with John Beasley and Kai Akagi.
Munyungo Jackson.
