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Home , Billy Cobham, Bill Connors, Carlos Garnett, Flora Purim, Get Up with It, Miles of Aisles

Dec. 20, 1974-Jan. 3, 1975 Ann Arbor SUN page 17 Christmas). A lot of it, especially in the horn arrangements, bears an uricanny re­ Joni Mitchell, "Miles of Aisles," Asylum semblance to Chicago. Chicago! Of all the bland, non-descript, baby-food bull­ Reprise Records has, moldering in shit, they're the worst. And for cats like some vault in Burbank, a recording of these to wind up sounding like that? It's Joni Mitchell's 1968 concert at Carnegie sad. Sad. Hall. It has never been and probably never Much the same could be said of Stanley will be released. Why? Maybe the sound Clarke's latest: beautiful players: Clarke quality is bad, maybe they thought there bass; Tony Williams drums; Jan Ham­ wouldn't be enough of a market. But, mer keyboards; Bill Connors guitar; Air- having seen Joni while she was touring in to percussion; but again, the music is ov­ 1968,1 think 1 know the reason she erproduced, the package too tight. Yet was, for the most part, scared out of her Clarke's LP at least has some saving.gra- fragile mind by the audience. This is not ces. "Spanish Phases for Strings and to say that the audience was hostile, be­ Bass," with Stanley's hard, clear sound in cause they were effusive in their respect front of some sensitive string arrange­ and love for the willowy songstress. But ments by Michae! Biggs, is very strong, all those eyes were too much for her. very moving. Clarke's technique alone, "Miles of Aisles"'is Joni's coming of his speed, his sincere force of attack, is < age as a performer, at least in the concert shattering. "Phases" is a lucid showcase } setting. Gone are her tentative, paranoiac for this gift. quaverings, to be replaced by a more, shall Other than that, there's occasionally in­ we say, aggressive paranoia. Joni has not spired rock-oriented jams tied together changed her mind, only her style. Purists with some pretty but typical horn and may resent some of the changes, but many string arrangements. The suffers will find them refreshing. from lack of material, possibly due to There are two sides of Joni alone, Stanley's not wanting to do things too and two of Joni with the L.A. Express, much like his contemporaries. led by . The spectrum of her Miles' points out what's development is examined, from "Cactus and at least one "Without Love" seems to be a basically fine song. wrong with alot of the electric -rock Tree" to the two new songs, "Jericho" Aretha Franklin thing by being so right. Where others are and "Love or Money." The L.A. Express But there was a time when Aretha took Aretha Franklin, "With Every thing I Feel a standard Dionne Warwicke/Burt Bacha- stilted. Miles is free; where others are fash­ numbers in concert centered around cuts ionable, Miles is purely himself. This is from which are wisely in Me, "Atlantic SD 18116 rach tune "I Say A Little Prayer" dis­ rupted it, brought down to earth, and not a great record (it could have been ommitted on Miles ofAiles. Instead given the personnel: reedmen Dave Lieb- Joni chose to use either new songs or new Well, we know it's not everything she made a little gem of it. Now she takes feels in her; she's already given us much "You'll Never Get To Heaven" (same duo) man, Steve Grossman, , arrangements, sufficiently interesting and , and John Stubblefield, fresh, of the oldies. "Woodstock" gets much more than this. But here's Aretha, and throws a couple more layers of frost­ slickly packaged and produced, hawking ing on. Real curious. But check out the keyboards and Keith Jar- the blues treatment. "Carey," a charmer ret, guitarists John McLaughlin and Cor­ to begin with, becomes positively entranc­ love of the satin boudoir variety. It's album cover; on the back, a montage of good stuff, though there's nothing really glamorous Arethas framed by what ap­ nell Dupree, drummers and ing. "Jericho" is a strikingly lovely song, , and percussionists Mtume about, naturally enough, the breaking exciting going on; mostly tame and pain­ pears to be the late great Jayne Mans­ less "do it to me baby" riffs, and a mass field's swimming pool - and on the front, and Airto, among others) but it's music- down of walls. free, sincere, and unfettered by the prat­ There of formalized instrumentation so dense a pin-up shot of the Queen in the natural are disappointments, too. "All that a good Stevie Wonder tune fell in and state, graced only by a lucious fur and the falls of commercialism. 1 Want" is flacid, "Blue" adds nothing to Rock has made its impression on Miles, the never made it out the other side. As al­ shadow of a mysterious smile that seems studio version and "Love or Money" ways with Aretha, there are at least some to suggest that, in some perverse way, she but in a much different way than it has on is not very strong. Moreover, there's an treats. On a few cuts she talks just as knows what she's doing. After all, Ameri­ Clarke or ;Cobham. Miles never emulates. error of omission the hard charging ver­ Where Cobham, and Clarke to some ex­ sion of "" which was smooth as she sings; there's an unusual vo­ ca is the land of the sugar jones, and the cal twist or two that brings Ann Peebles stuff is getting more expensive all the tent, have set up a rock style after which so exciting when Ms. Milchell appeared at to model their music, Miles has no model Hill isn't here, and I wish it was. But you to mind; there's a touch of good hand- time. clapping gospel rhythm on "Sing It Again" -Ivy Ramo save his own soul. He draws from rock can't have everything. a rhythm section groove, or a phrase on Joni has made it to the point where ity that puts you in touch with ever which to extrapolate a tune -but his mu­ she's comfortable on stage. And the con­ subtler, crueler, more ecstatic regionsr>f sic is still put together as only Miles can fidence shows. put it together. What sounds he borrows - Justin Arthur Prettyface inner space. Flora Purim, "Stories to Tell," (Milestone Her voice is a stunning instrument, al­ are brought into the whole of the music M-9058) ways clear and pure, with its unearthliness in a way that makes them Miles' own. Billy Cobham,Stanley complemented well by ARP and MOOG On , Miles plays more in a few Flora Purim is a jazz vocalist whose sounds on many cuts on this album, as it notes than many players do in a lifetime. musical roots can be traced through Chick produces sounds ranging from siren-like There's a thought fulness in the way his Clarke,& Corea's group, for wails (on "Silver Sword") to torch-song tones are shaped, a precise flexibility which enables him to say a great deal with Billy Cobham, Total'Eclipse, SD1821. which she sang. Those of you (like my­ desolation (on "To Say Goodbye") to ec­ self) who are unfamiliar with Corea's work static sighs (in a duet with her percussion­ very little. The wah-wah adds a new di­ , Stanley Clarke, NE431. mension to this shaping, but it's an exten­ Miles Davis, Get Up With It, 33236KG. will instantly recognize in her singing the ist-husband on "0 Canta- Astrid Gilberto-"Girl From Ipanema"- dor"). She sings songs about dreams, sion of an approach that was part of Miles' Thank God for Miles Davis. With Billy Bossa Nova-Brazilian sound that kept the heaven, hearts, flying, shadows, twilight, style twenty-five years ago when he Cobham and Stanley Clarke, two of the whole country humming and swaying love, hope, silence and desire, all with played with Charlie Parker. He's playing best young players on the scene, turning some ten years ago. masterful clarity and utter abandonment. how too, and there's a lot out the kind of tired, pop-rehash manu­ On this album, however, Ms. Purim's Her flawless diction communicates unmis­ of space in that, believe me. Widely factured on their latest LPs, we've still singing goes beyond the usual provocative takable messages whether she sings in her spaced chords, slow moving harmonies got Miles to show us the Light. rhythms and sensuously detached mood native Portuguese, or in an accented Eng­ you've really got to hear it. It's not that Cobham's and Clarke's rec­ of that idiom to suggest something more- lish that will drive you wild. Finally, what Miles' Get Up With It has ords are so bad really. It's just that they an ethereal, mysterious, Third World qual­ --Ed Reckford that Total Eclipse and Stanley Clarke are capable of doing so much more. If f doesn't have is freedom, room to wander walked into a bar and the band was play­ monster on drums, everybody in his band stuff. So much so that these beautiful and fly in. Really beautiful music, music ing the music that's on Cobham's Total is a bitch: John Abercrornbie-guitar; musicians can't open up enough to really that leaves the Earth, is music that is dis­ Eclipse, I'd be pleasantly surprised - nice, Mike Brecker reeds; - play. The music's so overproduced, so covered as it is played, by both the musi­ tight horn arrangements, tasteful but av­ trumpet; trombone; Milcho tightly packaged, there's no looseness, no cian and his audience. There has got to erage solo work good beat, easy to dance Leviev-keyboards; -bass. freedom. Cobham, or Cobham's promo­ be openness, space to explore and find to, give it a 73. But Billy Cobham's mu­ There's no reason for the music to be any­ ters, have chosen a bag they consider to the Spirit, the Light. Neither Clarke's nor sic shouldn't be a pleasant surprise. It thing but beautiful. be the current thing, and boxed the music Cobham's records have this. Miles' does. ought to knock you on your ass. He's a But this is contrived, trendy, uninspired up to fit that bag (and just in time for -Steve Wood

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