Bitches Brew by Miles Davis turns 48 years, 7 months, and 14 days today. To celebrate, a quick primer on Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew.
Released on Columbia Records, Bitches Brew marked a continuation of Davis’s experimental jazz-rock phase which he began with In a Silent Way. While critical reception at the time was mixed, Bitches Brew garnered Davis his first certified gold record. Bitches Brew would go on to influence many other genres and artists, including the likes of Herbie Hancock and Quincy Jones.
During recordings for Bitches Brew, Davis would often toss his studio musicians behind the recording booth with no direction as to what they would be recording but instead a few words on the mood or tone he wanted to capture. Notable artists who contributed to Bitches Brew include Chick Corea and Wayne Shorter.
For Bitches Brew, Davis switched his trademark mellow style for a more in-your-face style of playing. In another bit of pioneering, Bitches Brew incorporated a lot of self-referential elements into the recordings including but not limited to sound effects like “tape loops, tape delays, reverb chambers, and echo effects.”
Decades later, Bitches Brew still rips. That is all.
What are some of your favorite albums or songs that introduced new ideas and innovations to the art-form?
Sound off about those or whatever else you want. I’m not your supervisor!