Tag Archives: Miles Davis
1975 JAZZ | #20 — #11
It is not entirely clear whether 1975 was an exceptional year for jazz or whether Vinyl Connection was simply more into the form at this time. Either way, it was quite a struggle to reduce the contenders to twenty. Those who are unmoved by America’s gift to music may still find things to enjoy in […]
1974 COUNTDOWN | A JAZZ EXCURSION
Although there are a few jazz-rock albums in the main 74 FROM ’74 list, I limited the jazz component to make the selection process more manageable. But here are ten (from the eighty or so) from the VC collection, albums I enjoy greatly. Plenty of variety, both in terms of style and relative fame of […]
73 FROM ’73 | AN INTRODUCTION
From the time I first extracted the more than three hundred 1973 albums in the VC collection I knew that 73 FROM ’73 would be a challenging project. And that was before I’d even researched the holes in the stash. No New York Dolls! Betty Davis overlooked! Where’s Aerosmith? Oh, the shame. Then I mulled […]
MILES’ BLUE FIRE
Revered as one of the most influential jazz albums of all time, Kind of Blue is kinda slippery to get a handle on. Not a frustrating kind of slippery like soap in the bath, nor the dodgy kind of slippery of a pub deal too good to be true; what Kind of Blue offers is […]
1972 COUNTDOWN… #50 — #46
50 PENTANGLE — SOLOMAN’S SEAL The last album in Pentangle’s original run, Solomon’s Seal is not well regarded by critics who, in my opinion, are being too hard by half. Yes, this LP does seem a little light on the bubbling invention and restrained exuberance of earlier works, but it is solid and thoroughly enjoyable. […]
1971 COUNTDOWN: #29 — #26
#29 FOCUS — Moving Waves The second album from the Dutch progressive rock band contained their surprise hit “Hocus Pocus”. Who knew yodelling could be cool? The side-long “Eruption” suite is a highlight in the Focus catalogue and the album is consistently inventive and entertaining as the music dances between Jan Ackerman’s mercurial guitar and […]
1971 LIVE [PART ONE]
By the close of the 1960s the technology and knowhow for recording live music had improved substantially. Sure, the results were patchy on many occasions, but overall live albums had become much more listenable. Here (and in the forthcoming Part Two) we trawl through Vinyl Connection’s 1971 “Live” holding, counting ‘up’ to my favourites. 13 […]
MILES AWAY
It’s the biggest single slab of music by a single artist in the entire Vinyl Connection collection. More titles than anyone needs, I suspect, and certainly more than I care to admit to. Why do I always come back to Miles? Perhaps the answer is simple. Miles Davis was an innovator, talent spotter, restless musical […]
NOW HE SINGS
If I delay writing, I’ll stall for sure. Too much information will kill the personal resonance. What do I do with this Chick-shaped hole? Attempting to cover a sixty year career is daunting. … a few of the thoughts tumbling through the Vinyl Connection brain box as the news of Chick Corea’s death hits home. […]
1970 COUNTDOWN | NUMBER 3
3. MILES DAVIS — BITCHES BREW It shimmers, it growls. It moans and howls. There is glowing radiance and dirty work. With this double album—sometimes mesmerising and occasionally jolting—Miles Davis changed both jazz and popular music. Having done cool, modal and progressive (all that restlessness!), Miles and producer Teo Macero engineered this vast work from […]
JAZZ DAY
Although quite a lot of jazz is played at Vinyl Connection headquarters, I rarely write about it. There are a couple of reasons. Firstly, I am less confident writing about America’s contribution to world music; it somehow seems harder to capture in words than rock. Perhaps the language of jazz is less comfortable, less familiar. […]
1969 ARCHIVE DIVE (PART 2)
Here is the second part of an archeological post featuring 1969 albums that have appeared at Vinyl Connection over the past six years. The month (in brackets after the title) shows the release date (if known) and there is a link to the original post. Despite the passage of half a century, there is some […]
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