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Miles Ahead session details

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April 7, 1970 (25 items; TT = 166:28)
Columbia Studio B, New York NY
Commercial for Columbia
Show chatter

Miles Davis (tpt); Steve Grossman (ss); John McLaughlin (g); Herbie Hancock (org); Michael Henderson (el-b); Billy Cobham (d); Unknown orchestra (conducted by Teo Macero); Brock Peters (narr)

1 Right Off (rehearsal) (M. Davis) 9:46
2 Right Off (take 1) (M. Davis) 2:37
3 Right Off (take 2) (M. Davis) 1:42
4 Right Off (take 3) (M. Davis) 0:57
5 Right Off (take 4) (M. Davis) 4:01
6 Right Off (take 5) (M. Davis) 0:58
7 Right Off (take 6) (M. Davis) 0:53
8 Right Off (take 7) (M. Davis) 1:06
9 Right Off (take 8) (M. Davis) 0:32
10 Right Off (take 9) (M. Davis) 4:12
11 Right Off (take 10) (M. Davis) 11:14
12 Right Off (take 10A) (M. Davis) 4:41
13 Right Off (take 11) (M. Davis) 6:17
14 Right Off (take 12) (M. Davis) 9:04
15 Right Off (issued composite) (M. Davis) 26:32
16 Yesternow (rehearsal) (M. Davis) 2:11
17 Yesternow (take 1) (M. Davis) 2:31
18 Yesternow (take 2) (M. Davis) 15:49
19 Yesternow (take 3) (M. Davis) 1:21
20 Yesternow (take 4) (M. Davis) 16:13
21 Yesternow (take 16) (M. Davis) 9:49
22 Yesternow (issued composite) (M. Davis) 25:34
23 Untitled original 700407 (inc) (M. Davis) 0:26
24 Untitled original 700407 (inc) (M. Davis) 6:27
25 Unknown Title 1:35

Rhythm section with pre-recorded tpt solo


11 Right Off (take 10)
CD: Columbia Legacy C5K 86359, Columbia Legacy C5K 90926, Sony SICP 431/5

12 Right Off (take 10A)
CD: Columbia Legacy C5K 86359, Columbia Legacy C5K 90926, Sony SICP 431/5

13 Right Off (take 11)
12" LP: CMG 19439860581
CD: Columbia Legacy C5K 86359, Columbia Legacy C5K 90926, Sony SICP 431/5

14 Right Off (take 12)
CD: Columbia Legacy C5K 86359, Columbia Legacy C5K 90926, Sony SICP 431/5

15 Right Off (issued composite)
12" LP: Columbia KC 30445, Mobile Fidelity Sound Laboratory MFSL 1-440, CBS/Sony SOPC 57110, CBS/Sony SOPN 99, CBS/Sony 20AP 1405, Vinyl Me, Please A017
CD: Columbia CK 47036, Columbia CK 93599, Columbia Legacy C5K 86359, Columbia Legacy C5K 90926, CK 93599, Mobile Fidelity Sound Laboratory UDSACD 2150, CBS/Sony 32DP 709, CBS/Sony CSCS 5153, Sony SRCS 9120, Sony SRCS 9718, Sony SRGS 4504, Sony SICP 1222, Sony SICP 20060, Sony SICP 30269, Sony SICJ 30082, Sony SICP 431/5, Columbia Legacy 86975 24922 [= Columbia (F) 86975 52492] (CD 35)

18 Yesternow (take 2)
CD: Columbia Legacy C5K 86359, Columbia Legacy C5K 90926, Sony SICP 431/5

20 Yesternow (take 4)
CD: Columbia Legacy C5K 86359, Columbia Legacy C5K 90926, Sony SICP 431/5

21 Yesternow (take 16)
CD: Columbia Legacy C5K 86359, Columbia Legacy C5K 90926, Sony SICP 431/5

22 Yesternow (issued composite)
12" LP: Columbia KC 30445, Mobile Fidelity Sound Laboratory MFSL 1-440, CBS/Sony SOPC 57110, CBS/Sony SOPN 99, CBS/Sony 20AP 1405, Vinyl Me, Please A017
CD: Columbia CK 47036, Columbia CK 93599, Columbia Legacy C5K 86359, Columbia Legacy C5K 90926, CK 93599, Mobile Fidelity Sound Laboratory UDSACD 2150, CBS/Sony 32DP 709, CBS/Sony CSCS 5153, Sony SRCS 9120, Sony SRCS 9718, Sony SRGS 4504, Sony SICP 1222, Sony SICP 20060, Sony SICP 30269, Sony SICJ 30082, Sony SICP 431/5, Columbia Legacy 86975 24922 [= Columbia (F) 86975 52492] (CD 35)

25 Unknown Title
CD: So What SW-158 (CDR)


Chick Corea and Dave Holland were unavailable for this session -- two sessions with Barry Altschul at Rudy Van Gelder's on April 7 and 8 yielded several tracks issued on Corea's The Song of Singing (Blue Note BST 84353) and Circling In (Blue Note LA472-H2). They rejoined Davis for the Fillmore West engagement (April 9-12) and remained in California with the Sextet until late April. And Jack De Johnette was in Tokyo on this date, recording his Have You Heard? LP (CBS/Sony SONP-50282; later issued in the USA as Milestone MSP-9029). De Johnette also rejoined the Davis Sextet for the Fillmore West engagement.

The issued versions of "Right Off" and "Yesternow" are both heavily edited from the raw materials listed above. Here is an approximate guide to the contents of these versions. Columbia Legacy C5K 86359 includes both the raw materials and the versions originally issued on the Tribute to Jack Johnson LP. Overlapping times reflect the crossfades used on some of the transitions, and discrepancies in durations reflect small differences in analog tape speed. Thanks to Pat Buzby for spotting an edit point I had missed in "Right Off."

Right Off (26:50)
00:00-10:53 Take 10 (0:10-11:099; the segment from 10:51-10:57 is edited out and does not appear in the LP version)
10:53-12:14 Davis tpt solo [1] + ring modulator
11:58-15:02 Take 10A (0:03-3:07)
15:02-18:30 Take 11 (2:01-5:35)
18:30-19:31 Take 12 (0:12-1:14)
19:31-26:50 Take 12 (0:26-7:56)

[1] Davis solo recorded on November 19 or 28, 1969

Yesternow (25:34)
00:00-07:31 New Take 4 (0:06-7:36)
07:31-12:25 New Take 4 (10:14-15:09)
12:25-14:09 Davis tpt solo (right channel); "Shhh/Peaceful" [2] (left channel)
13:57-18:34 "Willie Nelson" take 3 (0:06-4:44)
18:34-18:49 "Willie Nelson" insert take 1 (5:50-6:05)
18:49-18:53 "Willie Nelson" insert take 1 (6:21-6:25)
18:53-23:55 "Willie Nelson" insert take 2 (0:08-5:13)
23:52-25:34 Davis tpt solo + orchestra [3] + Brock Peters narration [4] (25:15-25:33)

[2] Excerpt of "Shhh/Peaceful" from February 18, 1969
[3] Excerpt of Macero's "The Man Nobody Saw," probably recorded in early 1970
[4] "I'm Jack Johnson, heavyweight champion of the world. I'm black. They never let me forget it. I'm black all right. I'll never let them forget it..."

The Jack Johnson documentary contains the following musical fragments:

00:00-03:18 Right Off
03:33-03:46 Right Off
03:57-05:03 Right Off
08:44-09:51 Shhh/Peaceful + orchestra
10:07-10:54 Right Off
10:55-12:09 Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
16:12-17:25 Right Off
17:45-21:40 Right Off
21:42-22:48 Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
23:04-24:01 Right Off
24:47-24:58 Double Image
28:56-29:38 Pharaoh's Dance
30:55-31:52 Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
31:59-32:59 Right Off
33:29-34:24 Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
34:56-39:04 Right Off
39:28-40:04 d solo (probably Billy Cobham)
43:51-45:28 d solo
45:28-46:05 I Fall in Love Too Easily
46:05-47:04 Yesternow
47:28-47:45 d solo
48:28-48:56 I Fall in Love Too Easily
48:56-49:05 Sanctuary
49:05-52:50 Shhh/Peaceful
54:19-56:36 Willie Nelson
56:36-57:10 d solo
57:43-57:56 Willie Nelson
57:56-59:04 Yesternow
59:18-61:20 Right Off
68:50-70:09 Davis tpt solo + orchestra
70:28-71:59 Spanish Key
72:04-72:27 Willie Nelson
72:33-73:15 Davis tpt solo, no orchestra
73:17-76:08 Shhh/Peaceful
77:36-78:47 Right Off
79:22-79:47 Yesternow
82:23-82:53 d solo
82:53-83:00 Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
83:10-83:45 Davis tpt solo + orchestra
86:05-87:47 Spanish Key

The other unissued tune (the two takes of "Untitled original 700407") is not used in the issued version of either "Right Off" or "Yesternow."

The So What CDR Unknown Sessions, volume 5 (SW-158) contains the last item listed above, with the title "Unknown SE (A new version of excerpt of Jack Johnson?)." No date is given, and it may not belong here. But the pre-recorded trumpet solo is the same as that used in several places in "Yesternow," so I have listed it here.

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