Evil Miles
"I've changed music five or six times. What have you done?"
One song, one album, and the stories in between. Curated dispatches from the front row of the jazz scene—without pretension—to enable your musical discovery.
🎧 One Song: “Sivad” - Davis backwards
Anchored by Michael Henderson’s Motown bass, Sivad thumps and grinds and occasionally goes silent, as the 15-minute track moves through bursts of high-velocity funk. Miles’s wah-wah trumpet and John McLaughlin’s jagged guitar make for a dense, occasionally difficult listen that’s rewarding if you stick with it.
✍️ The Story: My Journey into Miles
During my junior year at Ohio State, I picked up Kind of Blue (1959) at the urging of Dana (then) Platt—who basically told me I was stupid (my words, not hers) if I didn’t. I bought it on CD later that week from Used Kids Records, which—after the collapse of CDs and a fire—is somehow still around. She was right. I got lost in Miles.
A few weeks later I burned Sketches of Spain from the library. I found and bought a used copy of In a Silent Way (1969) next. When I made some money that summer I got Live at the Fillmore (1970) and Live-Evil (1971) both double CDs. That fall I got Tutu (1986)… and jumped over to Coltrane, but that’s another journey.
💿 One Album Live-Evil
You’ve probably heard Kind Of Blue and Sketches of Spain. If you haven’t, you’re proving why I shouldn’t assume things. Both are masterpieces worth your attention; things of beauty. Enjoy them when you can.
When I was first listening to Live-Evil, I couldn’t just click over to Bitches Brew. I hadn’t heard it yet. None of my friends were into Miles, and I wouldn’t hear it for another decade. So I was blissfully unaware of the comparison—and fully aware of the sonic assault that is Live-Evil.
Miles had stopped being smooth and become dangerous.
Meanwhile… Back at the Studio
Some argue Bitches Brew and Live-Evil are effectively Teo Macero albums as much as they are Miles Davis albums. Without his razor blade, they’d just be three-hour rehearsal tapes. On Bitches Brew, Tea Macero took multiple takes and spliced, mixed, and overlaid them in a radical cut-and-paste approach.
Live-Evil vs Bitches Brew
It didn’t get the attention Bitches Brew did, and it wasn’t the album where Teo Macero first “cut and paste.”
Sound-wise Bitches Brew feels like a jazz band expanding into a rock orchestra. Live-Evil sounds like something else entirely—looser, dirtier, and locked into a funk groove.
🎷 Scene Notes
Congrats Neil!
Christian McBride’s Ursa Major play this May at the Reser in Beaverton. Ursa Major is: Ely Perlman on guitar, Nicole Glover on tenor saxophone, Mike King on piano, and Savannah Harris on drums.
The David Weiss Sextet plays at the Jack London Revue mid-May. Nicole Glover also plays in this sextet, but I’m not 100% certain she’ll be at the show. Fingers are crossed.
🎵 Background Listening
Jazz geeks (even geekier than me) I follow are pumped about Jiyu’s just released, synthed out album Wild Things. I’m halfway through and enjoying it.
I’ve listened to New Jazz Imagination (2017), from أحمد [Ahmed] 3 times this week. Joel Grip’s bass really holds things together for this avant garde-y group.
Last thoughts…
Live-Evil isn’t smooth, and it’s definitely not polite. It’s Miles turning the dial past comfort and seeing what breaks. If you stick with it, there’s something on the other side—louder, weirder, and hard to shake.
If you enjoyed this, forward it to someone who’s trying to get into jazz.