With a title like this one it is not always clear what concert we are talking about! After all Miles & Montreux is a hell of combination! However this Jazz Door double CD is about Miles performing in 1989 at the Montreux Festival!

By 1989 (a couple of years before his death) Miles Davis toured with a total different band and a new repertoire as well. But that doesn’t mean things changed for the worst!  As a matter of fact it didn’t!  Miles is performing in high gear here with a series or new tunes and modern renditions that doesn’t necessarily reflects his older days! But his music is very accessible and sounds even today, 20 ears after the event fresh and hot! On this Montreux set you’ll find kind of classics like Mr Pastorius(ode to bass giant Jaco Pastorius) , a long version of  Tutu(from the 1986 album with the same name) ,  Time after time (remember Cindy Lauper), a 19 minute version of Wrinkle and Human Nature (with Chaka Kahn on vocals) amongst others!  While these aren’t the tunes you relate to Cool Jazz, these tunes are certainly a bliss for the ear.  According to the registration of the audience, this must have been a great session and that’s the way I also feel it when listening to this record. Performing in quite modern style, almost muzak at times, the man succeeds in creating a quite loungy and relaxed mood for the audience.

With the re-release of this Jazz door album we finally can lay our hands on a great performance that was hard to find for years. With an complete box on hands of all Montreux sessions of Miles Davis this release might sound obsolete, but on the other hand if you  are into the later years of his music career I can imagine you won’t spend that much money on two or three interesting concerts! Take it or leave it but this Montreux festival double CD is hot for a man that gave birth to Cool!

Mr Blue Boogie.