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Miles Ahead session details

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June 19, 1974 (34 items; TT = 134:31)
Columbia Studio B, New York NY
Commercial for Columbia
Show chatter

Miles Davis (tpt, org); Dave Liebman (fl); Pete Cosey (g); Reggie Lucas (g); Dominique Gaumont (g); Michael Henderson (el-b); Al Foster (d); James Mtume Forman (cga, perc)

1 He Loved Him Madly (take 1) (M. Davis) 4:54
2 He Loved Him Madly (take 2) (M. Davis) 4:42
3 He Loved Him Madly (take 3a) (M. Davis) 3:16
4 He Loved Him Madly (take 3b) (M. Davis) 6:16
5 He Loved Him Madly (take 4) (M. Davis) 6:27
6 He Loved Him Madly (take 5a) (M. Davis) 6:27
7 He Loved Him Madly (take 5b) (M. Davis) 14:30
8 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 1) (M. Davis) 0:37
9 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 2) (M. Davis) 0:13
10 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 3) (M. Davis) 0:23
11 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 4) (M. Davis) 0:08
12 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 5) (M. Davis) 0:14
13 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 6) (M. Davis) 4:31
14 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 7) (M. Davis) 0:18
15 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 8) (M. Davis) 2:52
16 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 9) (M. Davis) 3:11
17 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 10) (M. Davis) 4:38
18 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 11) (M. Davis) 1:59
19 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 12) (M. Davis) 1:03
20 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 13) (M. Davis) 0:57
21 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 14) (M. Davis) 2:39
22 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 15) (M. Davis) 4:42
23 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 16) (M. Davis) 1:59
24 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 17) (M. Davis) 4:44
25 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 18) (M. Davis) 4:42
26 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 19) (M. Davis) 1:21
27 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 20) (M. Davis) 4:01
28 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 21) (M. Davis) 2:48
29 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 22) (M. Davis) 0:29
30 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 23) (M. Davis) 0:13
31 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 24) (M. Davis) 0:50
32 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 25) (M. Davis) 5:29
33 He Loved Him Madly (fragment 26) (M. Davis) 0:46
34 He Loved Him Madly (issued version) (M. Davis) 32:12


34 He Loved Him Madly (issued version)
12" LP: Columbia KG 33236, CBS/Sony SOPJ 90/1, CBS/Sony 28AP 2163/4, CBS/Sony 36AP 1783/4, Vinyl Me, Please A017
CD: Columbia Legacy C2K 63970, Columbia Legacy C6K 06239, CBS/Sony 50DP 712/3, Sony SRCS 5726/7, Sony SRCS 9126/7, Sony SRCS 9741/2, Sony SIGP 22/3, Sony SICP 848/9, Sony SICP 1228/9, Sony SICP 20065/6, Sony SICP 30271/2, Sony SICJ 30096/7, Sony SICP 1581/6, Columbia Legacy 86975 24922 [= Columbia (F) 86975 52492] (CD 44)


Cosey does not play on this tune, and Gaumont is the only guitarist audible until the splice at 10:52.

The raw materials from which the issued version of "He Loved Him Madly" was assembled have appeared in a couple different forms. Most of the short fragments listed above (items 8-33) are included on a So What CDR Session of He Loved Him Madly, although they are differently indexed. With a few exceptions (items 8-12), these fragments are excerpted from the five takes that were performed in the studio (items 1-7). Several of the fragments include overdubs and/or post-processing of other kinds. In addition, there are different versions of the multi-take recording: and early version without echo added, in which take 5 runs out at about 6:27, and a later version with echo, where a 14:54 take 5 has been assembled from the earlier takes 5a and 5b.

According to the liner notes to the On the Corner Sessions box (Columbia Legacy CK7 06239), the issued version "was assembled from five different takes," i.e. items 1-7. But careful listening to the issued version reveals many splices and crossfades, e.g. at 2:39, 5:14 (2:39-5:14 repeats 0:04-2:39); 6:20, 7:42, 10:47, 10:52, 12:43, 15:45, 20:08, 21:30 (21:30-21:33 repeats 21:27-21:30), 22:35 (22:36-25:01 repeats 20:09-22:35 but without the repeated bit at 21:30-21:33), 30:59, and 31:28 -- many more than are needed to assemble five takes into a single extended performance. So it seems that the fragments are an intermediate stage in the editing process. Maybe the five takes were recorded, then edited and processed, and then those fragments were re-assembled into the version of the tune released on LP. In any case, here is how the fragments appear to have been assembled for the version released on Get Up With It (left), and where the various fragments come from (right):

Issued version Fragments
00:00-02:40 Fragment 9 (0:00-2:39)
02:40-05:15 Fragment 9 (0:00-2:36)
05:15-06:21 Fragment 10 (3:04-4:10)
06:21-07:40 Fragment 11 (0:05-1:21)
07:40-10:47 Fragment 6 (0:40-3:47)
10:47-10:53 Fragment 11 (0:05-0:11)
10:53-12:44 Fragment 14 (0:00-1:50)
12:44-15:45 Fragment 15 (0:29-3:30)
15:45-17:21 Fragment 16 (0:15-1:50)
17:21-20:09 Fragment 17 (0:04-2:54)
20:09-21:13 Fragment 20 (2:52-3:56)
21:13-22:36 Fragment 21 (0:18-1:38)
22:36-23:41 Fragment 20 (2:52-3:56)
23:41-26:02 Fragment 21 (0:18-2:39)
26:02-26:11 Fragment 22 (0:08-0:17)
26:11-26:21 Fragment 24 (0:05-0:29)
26:21-30:13 Fragment 25 (0:09-4:01)
30:13-31:22 Fragment 25 (4:43-5:29)
31:22-32:14 Fragment 26 (0:00-0:46)

Fragment Taken from
Fragment 6 (3:53) take 1 (1:02-4:54)
Fragment 7 (0:18) take 2 (0:04-0:14)
Fragment 8 (2:42) take 2 (0:04-2:45)
Fragment 9 (3:11) take 2 (0:04-3:14)
Fragment 10 (4:38) take 2 (0:04-4:42)
Fragment 11 (1:54) take 3a (0:04-1:57)
Fragment 12 (0:21) take 3a (2:19-2:37)
Fragment 13 (0:57) take 3a (2:19-3:16)
Fragment 14 (2:39) take 3b (0:00-2:37)
Fragment 15 (4:42) take 3b (1:22-6:02)
Fragment 16 (1:54) take 4 (0:03-1:52)
Fragment 17 (4:44) take 4 (1:45-6:27)
Fragment 18 (4:15) take 5a (1:15-5:25)
Fragment 19 (1:21) take 5a (5:12-6:22)
Fragment 20 (3:55) take 5b (0:55-4:48)
Fragment 21 (2:48) take 5b (4:26-7:12)
Fragment 22 (0:29) take 5b (6:57-7:25)
Fragment 23 (0:13) take 5b (7:10-7:22)
Fragment 24 (0:50) take 5b (7:09-7:58)
Fragment 25 (5:29) take 5b (8:07-13:34)
Fragment 26 (0:46) take 5b (13:18-14:03)

Some of the fragments (e.g. 6, 10-13, 18, and 20) are preceded by studio chatter, tuning, or brief rehearsals.

Bill Laswell's Panthalassa (Columbia CK 67909, Sony SRCS 8457) includes a 13:36 remix of some of this material. There is a different mix of essentially the same material on Random Factors: A Collection of Bill Laswell Productions and Collaborations (Sonic Arcana SACD 1004).

Davis was in bad shape when the Octet returned from the South American tour. He had missed at least one concert because of a drug overdose. Liebman was also interested in leaving, having recorded his second ECM album, Drum Ode, just before the tour. Davis eventually hired Sonny Fortune, and the Octet resumed touring -- e.g. Paul's Mall, Boston (July 28-August 3), Avery Fisher Hall, New York (September 13) -- but Davis' health precluded a busy touring schedule.

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