a Silent Way in Bloomington, MN

Listening to
Miles Davis
' originally released version of
In a Silent Way
in light of the complete sessions released by
Sony
in 2001 (
Columbia Legacy
65362) reveals just how strategic and dramatic a studio construction it was. If one listens to
Joe Zawinul
's original version of
"In a Silent Way,"
it comes across as almost a
folk
song with a very pronounced melody. The version
and
Teo Macero
assembled from the recording session in July of 1968 is anything but. There is no melody, not even a melodic frame. There are only vamps and solos, grooves layered on top of other grooves spiraling toward space but ending in silence. But even these don't begin until almost ten minutes into the piece. It's
Miles
McLaughlin
, sparely breathing and wending their way through a series of seemingly disconnected phrases until the groove monster kicks in. The solos are extended, digging deep into the heart of the ethereal groove, which was dark, smoky, and ashen.
Hancock
are particularly brilliant, but
Corea
's solo on the Fender Rhodes is one of his most articulate and spiraling on the instrument ever. The A-side of the album,
"Shhh/Peaceful,"
is even more so. With
Tony Williams
shimmering away on the cymbals in double time,
comes out slippery and slowly, playing over the top of the vamp, playing ostinato and moving off into more mysterious territory a moment at a time. With
Zawinul
's organ in the background offering the occasional swell of darkness and dimension,
could continue indefinitely. But
is hovering, easing in, moving up against the organ and the trills by
;
Wayne Shorter
hesitantly winds in and out of the mix on his soprano, filling space until it's his turn to solo. But
John McLaughlin
, playing solos and fills throughout (the piece is like one long dreamy solo for the guitarist), is what gives it its open quality, like a piece of music with no borders as he turns in and through the commingling keyboards as
Holland
paces everything along. When the first round of solos ends,
Williams
usher it back in with painterly decoration and illumination from
.
picks up on another riff created by
and slips in to bring back the ostinato "theme" of the work. He plays glissando right near the very end, which is the only place where the band swells and the tune moves above a whisper before
's organ fades it into silence. This disc holds up, and perhaps is even stronger because of the issue of the complete sessions. It is, along with
Jack Johnson
Bitches Brew
, a signature
session from the electric era. ~ Thom Jurek