Cellar Door Sessions 1970
These mythical, Washington, DC December dates, released for the first in this impressive six-CD compilation, are an extension of Miles Davis's fusion LP,Live-Evil. Davis’s piercing, electronically altered trumpet tones fire up of his young Turks; keyboardistKeith Jarrett, drummerJack DeJohnette, bassistMichael Henderson, percussionistAirto Moreira, saxophonistGary Bartz, and guitaristJohn McLaughlin. Davis's acoustic fans hated the adventurous and extended, jazz-rock excursions of selections like  "Directions," "What I Say," and "It's About That Time," but there was no denying the complex interplay and improvisations, especially with Jarrett's rare Fender Rhodes electric piano and organ solos. Bartz's snaky, alto and soprano sax lines are equally astounding in this context, as is McLaughlin's "Hendrixsation" of the jazz guitar tradition. Davis bragged that he could "put together the greatest rock n' roll band you ever heard."  He came pretty close to doing just that.--Eugene Holley, Jr.