Miles Davis
Essay by 24 • October 31, 2010 • 608 Words (3 Pages) • 1,456 Views
Dark Magus (1977)
[CD - Columbia - 2001]
Perhaps more fully than any other of Miles Davis' '70s fusion albums, Dark Magus represents Davis' departure from traditional jazz and his arrival, well, somewhere else - somewhere few musicians will ever dare to tread.
Entirely recorded live on March 30, 1974 at Carnegie Hall in New York, this two-disc set shows Miles Davis and his rather large band exploring the furthest reaches of something that can well be described as free-form acid funk. Much of this set is loud, repetitive and largely dependent on heavy-handed polyrhythmic percussion. No less than three guitarists are heard here and the resulting wall of fuzz and wah-wah is overtly inspired by Jimi Hendrix's more extreme flights of fancy. It's hard to imagine this sort of performance happening at Carnegie Hall, but Miles Davis was pretty much a legend by this time. He could probably have played to sold out crowds in any venue in the world whether the audience understood what he was doing at the time or not.
The first track on Dark Magus, "Moja (Part 1)" sets the tone for the album, beginning with some rather ham-fisted open hi-hat bashing (courtesy of drummer Al Foster) that lets the listener know instantly this is no ordinary jazz album. The rest of the track is basically a solo spot for Davis' pained trumpet playing. He honks, squeals and creates some elephantine sounds via the ubiquitous wah pedal. In the background the rest of the band sounds like some giant, ugly, clumsy, but very fast multi-limbed creature that is running, tripping over itself, getting up and running some more. The overall atmosphere is dark, oppressive and possibly just a bit scary, but it's also fun and adventurous for those who can handle it.
"Moja (Part 2)" finds the band taking things down a notch and experimenting with some more atmospheric grooves throughout which percussionist James Mtume interjects some primitive drum machine which he slows down and speeds up without regard for the tempo the rest of the band is playing in. This is a very cool and unique idea that pops up regularly throughout the album.
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