Breaking away
All seven hours of the legendary December 1965 residency that would change Davis’s sound forever.
By Andrew Male.
Plugged in: Miles Davis and Ron Carter discover new worlds in 1965.
Miles Davis
★★★★★
The Complete Live At The Plugged Nickel 1965
COLUMBIA/LEGACY. CD/DL/LP
BY 1963 Miles Davis was on the cusp of being left behind. Creatively exhausted, touring with a repeatedly imploding sextet, he was also trading in a form of modal jazz that was rapidly becoming old hat compared to the frenetic, discursive innovations of John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor. However, there were signs of promise. For three tracks on the inconsistent studio LP Seven Steps To Heaven, Davis recruited 17-year-old Chicago drummer Tony Williams, 23-year-old pianist Herbie Hancock and Michigan-born bassist Ron Carter (an ancient 26). Allied to the relentless skitter of Williams’s drums, Carter’s mellifluous bass, and Hancock’s background melodic conversations, Davis was able to expand and contract his sound, allowing for more abstractions outside the main notes. Even allowing for exquisite live performances like the dreamlike title track on 1965 live album My Funny Valentine (recorded at New York’s Philharmonic Hall, February 1964), there was still the sense that Davis was trading on past glories.