Bitches Brew

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Bitches Brew is an album by trumpeter Miles Davis, released in 1970.

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Bitches Brew - Miles Davis - 1970

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Recorded mostly in three days (August 19 to 21, 1969) it incorporated electric instruments, such as electric piano and guitar, and mostly rejected traditional jazz rhythms in favor of a looser, funk influenced improvisational style. Bitches Brew was an unusual, groundbreaking and controversial contribution to jazz; the album is considered a seminal jazz fusion record.

Related Topics:
Electric - Electric piano - Jazz - Funk - Jazz fusion

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The 2 LP/CD set contains mostly very long tracks, improvisations on pieces that were largely written on the spot. Instead of the largely diatonic style of cool jazz, Bitches Brew often favored dissonance.

Related Topics:
Diatonic - Cool jazz - Dissonance

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Some jazz fans and musicians felt the album was crossing the limits, or was not jazz at all. One critic writes that "Davis drew a line in the sand that some jazz fans have never crossed, or even forgiven Davis for drawing." http://www.inkblotmagazine.com/rev-archive/Miles_Davis_Bitches_Complete.htm

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On the other hand, many fans, critics, and musicians see the records as an important, vital release. In a 1997 interview, drummer Bobby Previte sums up his feelings about Bitches Brew thus: "Well, it was groundbreaking, for one. How much groundbreaking music do you hear now? It was music that you had that feeling you never heard quite before. It came from another place. How much music do you hear now like that?" http://users.bestweb.net/~msnyder/writings/previte.htm

Related Topics:
Drummer - Bobby Previte

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In 2003 the VH1 named Bitches Brew the 64th greatest album of all time, and it was ranked #94 on the List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Related Topics:
2003 - VH1 - List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

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Bitches Brew is often called the best-selling jazz record. Such sales figures have been disputed, but it was Davis's first gold record, selling more than half a million copies. However, 11 years earlier Davis had released Kind of Blue, another groundbreaking record that has been cited as perhaps the best-selling jazz release.

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In 1998, Columbia Legacy/Sony Music released The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions, a four-disc box set that included Bitches Brew in its entirety.

Related Topics:
1998 - Columbia Legacy - Sony Music - The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions - Disc - Box set

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