THE DEEPER YOU GO, THE HIGHER YOU FLY...

..such is the feeling when listening to 'In A Silent Way' by Miles Davis.

I've been playing it safe with the man's output for far too long. Being a jazz novice, I've felt a tad overwhelmed at times by the scope of his back catalogue, tending not to venture too far from the more obvious handful of titles. However, in recent months I've been inspired to explore further, particularly after reading a couple of enlightening articles on Miles written by Lester Bangs, plus a feature in Mojo magazine by readers rating the Davis albums from the 'electric years' of the late 60s to mid 70s. Coincidently, the Lester Bangs articles referenced this period too, which at times had left him, though clearly an admirer of Miles and his work, well let's just say 'challenged'. Whether praising or damning, what I read was persuasive enough for me to want to hear some of this music for myself.

The Mojo readers' favourite 'electric' Miles album wasn't the one that most intrigued me though. It was reading about 'In A Silent Way' and 'Big Fun', with the comments on these being, respectively, 'atmospheric' and influenced by classical Indian music. The favourite of the Mojo readers was, 'On The Corner', '...the absolute worst album the man ever put out...' according to Lester Bangs! Although slightly sceptical of 'Big Fun' too, Bangs was full of respect for 'In A Silent Way'...

'...'In A Silent Way' came close to changing my life, reinstilling a respect for the truly spiritual aspects of music when I was otherwise intent on wallowing in grits and metal...'

I couldn't ask for a more convincing recommendation! In quick succession, 'In A Silent Way', 'Big Fun', 'A Tribute To Jack Johnson' and what the hell, 'On The Corner' too, were added to my shopping basket!

I thought I'd initially concentrate on 'In A Silent Way' and at the time of writing it still occupies a good chunk of my listening time here. I'm sinking deep into this one, so the rest will have to wait until later. All in good time, eh? In this age of push-button music and so much more available too, it's good to slow down now and then with just the one album for a while and really concentrate on it. Old-fashioned and disciplined listening, then again, it's what this album demands!

The two sidelong pieces were 'created' by tape editing and other studio trickery employed by producer Teo Macero, techniques that began with 'In A Silent Way', but would also be a feature of other albums from the 'electric' period. I admire the cleverness of these, in giving the illusion of the music being just one complete take and I have difficulty detecting some of them.

Besides Miles on trumpet, the rest of the players on the album were, even to me, recognisable as being heavy hitters - Wayne Shorter (soprano saxophone), Chick Corea & Herbie Hancock (electric piano), Joe Zawinul (organ), John McLaughlin (electric guitar), Dave Holland (bass) and Tony Williams (drums). Phew! Wait a minute, three electric keyboards and an electric guitar? Surely a recipe for 'volume' and perhaps over-playing? No, that's the beauty of 'In A Silent Way' too, the playing is quiet and understated, the soloing controlled, and it all begins with (appropriately) 'Shhh/Peaceful'...

'Peaceful' gently eases in with just sparse keyboards, bass and drums, which McLaughlin joins with some subtle picking, reminiscent, to these ears, of Jerry Garcia. There's now a groove established for Miles to solo over, steady, not quite filling all the spaces. It's unselfish playing, the listener can still pick out all the instruments and follow whichever they wish. The keyboards are helpfully separated too, Corea in the left channel, Herbie Hancock the right, Joe Zawinul centre. After about six minutes, 'Peaceful' ends and 'Shhh' takes over and there's now a new, slightly more urgent groove. This is then followed by two further McLaughlin solos of skillful country-style picking to then introduce Wayne Shorter. Wayne's solo mirrors that of Miles' in that it still leaves 'gaps', allowing the other players room to improvise. Wayne's solo over, the (poly)rhythm section continues, gradually bringing 'Shhh' to a close, but not the music. The first six minutes of 'Peaceful' return (via an edit) and only after this has finished is the music allowed to gently fade away. It's bliss to listen to, as is 'In A Silent Way' which then follows.

The title track was brought to the sessions by Joe Zawinul. He wrote it while contemplating snow falling in a park outside his window while in his native Austria. The mood of this short piece, perfectly reflects such a scene and continues the ambience already created by 'Shhh/Peaceful'. Before recording it, Miles made a few changes to the melody and not entirely to Zawinul's approval, apparently. Zawinul's own version may be heard on his 'Zawinul' album from 1970 and it's worth hearing. It's a lovely, gentle piece.

The arrangement for 'In A Silent Way' follows the format of 'Peaceful' opening with guitar and keyboards, followed by the melody played by Miles. These four minutes are quite meditative listening, until then, seemingly out of nowhere, via another Macero intervention, 'It's About That Time' appears. This is a set of grooves which, as it progresses, interchange either naturally or from further editing. It's wonderful to hear these shifts in gear, as in turn Davis, Shorter and McLaughlin tastefully solo over them. Tony Williams remains unobtrusive, simply keeping a symbolic 'tick tock' rhythm. He only breaks out once, perhaps from a misreading of signals from Miles, but it's not unsettling to the overall mood and quickly a balance returns. It's a rare example of any hesitancy on the album. Together with Dave Holland's bass and the keyboards, the overall effect of the playing is now quite hypnotizing. It could probably go on forever too, but before monotony is allowed to set in, Macero is back for a final edit, this time to repeat those first four tranquil minutes and 'In A Silent Way/It's About That Time' (and the album) to a gentle end. Why has it taken me so long to discover this album? It's wonderful!

Those old clichés 'it's not what you play, but what you don't play' and 'it's all in the spaces between the notes' may also be rolled out once more, with apologies, to 'In A Silent Way'. There is certainly plenty of room in the music, restraint in the playing too. It's now my favourite Miles album, for now anyway. It defies easy categorisation. It will appeal to listeners of not only jazz, but rock, psych and ambient music too. It raises my spirits anyway and I'll end where I came in, with the words of Lennon and McCartney and my own, not so subtle edit...
...the higher you fly, the deeper you go...