Honoring Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew on its 40th Anniversary

miles davis bitches brew 40th anniversary
Don Cheadle, Jeremy Sole, Henry Rollins, Maggie Lepique, Bennie Maupin, Vince Wilburn, Jr., and Erin Davis discuss Bitches Brew on its 40th anniversary at the GRAMMY Museum. Photo: Earl Gibson.

When Bitches Brew came out in 1970, the critics were split and many fans were turned off to hear Miles Davis turn toward a definitively more electric sound. But it became Davis’ first gold record — probably because so many people just had to hear it for themselves.

Bitches not only marked a major turning point in Miles Davis’ sound but also laid the foundation for the jazz-rock “fusion” sound to come while featuring grooves and sequences that would inspire the hip-hop generation. It’s 40th anniversary is an ideal time to honor the record and Sony and the Davis family have done just that, capped by last week’s panel at the GRAMMY Museum and Sony Legacy’s release of a deluxe edition featuring a bonus DVD of the group performing in Copenhagen a couple months after the recording sessions (see a clip from it below).

The 40th Anniversary of Bitches Brew has been celebrated in many ways including last month’s remix performance featuring J-Rocc at Sunset Junction and Dogfish Head Brewery even released its own special edition Bitches Brew.

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VIDEO: They Played an All Time Favorite Jam: Miles Davis’ ‘Black Satin’


Disrupting lunch in downtown LA with one of my all-time favorite jams from Miles Davis’ On the Corner
Live at Grand Performances, California Plaza, Los Angeles, August 6, 2010, noon. Indus Valley Civilization is:
Ndugu Chancler: drums
Badal Roy: tablas
Anantha Krishnan: mridhangam, khanjira
Alphonso Johnson: bass
Omar Ruiz: keyboards
Justo Almario: reeds