The album is a transitional operate for Davis, who was shifting stylistically from acoustic recordings amongst his 2d "great" quintet to his subsequent "electric" period. Filles de Kilimanjaro was good received past times contemporary music critics, who viewed it equally a meaning release inwards modern jazz.
The June sessions featured Wayne Shorter on saxophone, Herbie Hancock on the electrical Rhodes piano, Ron Carter on electrical bass, too Tony Williams on drums. The September sessions replaced Hancock amongst Chick Corea, too Carter amongst Dave Holland, making Filles de Kilimanjaro the in conclusion Miles album to characteristic his Second Great Quintet, although all except Carter would play on his side past times side album, In Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 Silent Way. During the September sessions, The Netherlands played acoustic bass too Corea played an RMI Electra-piano inwards add-on to acoustic piano. These are The Netherlands too Corea's foremost known recordings amongst Davis. The album was produced past times Teo Macero too engineered past times Frank Laico too Arthur Kendy.
The album championship refers, inwards part, to Kilimanjaro African Coffee, a companionship inwards which Davis had made a fiscal investment. Davis decided to listing all the vocal titles inwards French to give the album an exotic touch. Davis married Betty O. Mabry Davis inwards September 1968, too named "Mademoiselle Mabry (Miss Mabry)" for her. The vocal itself was recorded during the same calendar month equally Davis's marriage ceremony too Betty appears on the album cover.
The album tin survive seen equally a transitional operate betwixt Davis's mainly acoustic recordings amongst the Second Quintet too his later electrical menstruation (for example, Bitches Brew). It is suffused inwards the heady abstraction of the 1960s, but attentive to blues tonalities, electronic textures, too dancing rhythms of later jazz fusion. Davis patently saw it equally a transitional operate for him, equally the album was the foremost inwards what would teach a serial of his releases to deport the subtitle "Directions inwards music past times Miles Davis". However, author Paul Tingen points out that piece Carter too Hancock played electrical instruments at the foremost recording session, the later session was a chip of a throwback, inwards which The Netherlands played only acoustic bass too Corea played both acoustic too electrical piano. Stanley Crouch, a staunch critic of Davis's purpose of electrical instruments, has described the album equally "the trumpeter's in conclusion of import jazz record". Noted linguist too Miles Davis-biographer Jack Chambers later wrote that the band sought to expand beyond their commons minimal construction too notice a mutual mood, wanting listeners to "discover the unity of the pieces instead of simply locating it, equally viewers must discovery the unity inwards a ikon amongst several simultaneous perspectives".
The melodic complexity of "Petits Machins (Little Stuff)" highlights Davis's involvement inwards departing from post-bop construction towards the sounds too textures of his subsequent fusion work. Music author Marcus Singletary commented on its complexity, "True to the full general concept of Filles de Kilimanjaro, a mosaic of controlled chaos becomes the defining audio of 'Little Stuff'". On the recording, the quintet expresses an 11/4 meter amongst a repeating riff too chromatically ascending dominant harmonies inwards the recording foremost section. Section 2 moves to a contrasting 10-bar department inwards 4/4 meter, amongst the opening vi bars relying on an F pedal indicate inwards the bass, higher upwards which occur shifting harmonies each measure. The static F pedal department yields to a syncopated progression amongst meters 7 to 8 too a modify of bass inwards meters nine to 10, equally the quintet makes an alteration to department 2 during the improvisations. Music theorist Keith Waters cites this equally an instance of "Davis's—by now—well-worn do of metric deletion", inwards which throughout the trumpet solo, the quintet maintains a repeated nine-bar cycle, rather than the 10 bars of department 2 heard during the foremost section. The quintet omits meter 10 of department 2 during the solos too maintains the harmonic progression of meters ane through nine. As inwards the foremost section, the syncopated progression occurs inwards meter seven, but Carter does non participate inwards playing the syncopation of meters 7 to 8 during the improvisations, piece Hancock interprets this progression to a greater extent than freely. Singletary said of its musical significance:
The fact that these musicians to a greater extent than oft than non follow each other instinctively into such undefined territory is jolting. Absent of whatever cast of actual standardization, these rare glimpses into the thought processes of geniuses validates their singular linguistic communication equally impossible to replicate inwards whatever agency that would do this original recording justice. Though relatively brief, this rail is the highlight of the album, too its significance to jazz remains tantamount. Through it, an apex of inventiveness inwards Miles's career was reached, too the rail equally good shows why each instrumentalist hither is considered an A-list innovator.
As amongst the album's championship track, the quintet does non supply to the foremost department too the recording concludes amongst a 2d Davis improvisation. Gil Evans, amongst whom Davis had previously collaborated, helped compose, arrange, too make the album, though he is non mentioned inwards the credits. Evans co-composed "Petits Machins", which he later recorded equally "Eleven" amongst himself too Davis listed equally co-composers. The vocal "Mademoiselle Mabry (Miss Mabry)", piece credited to Davis, is genuinely Gil Evans' reworking of "The Wind Cries Mary" past times Jimi Hendrix (Davis too Evans had met amongst Hendrix several times to telephone substitution ideas). At the same time, around portions of the vocal resemble Mann, Weil, Leiber too Stoller's "On Broadway"
In a contemporary review, Rolling Stone claimed that "no sum of track-by-track description hither tin start to select the beauty too intensity. There are 5 songs, but genuinely they correspond together equally 5 expressions of the same basic piece, ane sustained work". In a retrospective review of the album, Uncut called it "a masterpiece of tropical exoticism". Sputnikmusic staff author Tyler Fisher commented that the beat section-players "sound exclusively innovative too fresh" too "The whole band, inwards both quintets, has an extreme awareness virtually each other too knows precisely where each soloist is going". He attributed its "more avant-garde feel" to a "lack of cast too the constant outlook of many measures ahead", piece calling it "a total out enjoyable listen, showcasing plenty multifariousness too virtuosity to non brand the 70-minute album a tiring listen". AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine called its music "unpretentiously adventurous, grounded inwards driving, mildly funky rhythms too bluesy growls from Miles, graced amongst weird, colorful flourishes from the band [...] Where Miles inwards the Sky meandered a bit, this is considerably to a greater extent than focused", dubbing it equally "the swan vocal for his 2d classic quintet, arguably the finest collective of musicians he always worked with". Erlewine equally good cited the album equally "the get-go of a novel stage for Miles, the house that he begins to dive headfirst into jazz-rock fusion", too commented on its significance inwards Davis's catalogue:
What makes this album too then fascinating is that it's possible to hear the breaking indicate — though his quintet all followed him into fusion (three of his supporting players were on In a Silent Way), it's possible to hear them all intermission amongst the conventional notions of what constituted fifty-fifty adventurous jazz, turning into something novel [...] [C]ertainly the music that would jump total blossom on In a Silent Way was withal inwards the gestation phase, too despite the rock-blues-n-funk touches here, the music doesn't wing too search the agency that Nefertiti did. But that's non a bad affair — this middle basis betwixt the adventurous bop of the mid-'60s too the fusion of the belatedly '60s is rewarding inwards its ain right, since it's possible to hear peachy musicians notice the foundation of a novel form.Down Beat critic John Ephland called Filles de Kilimanjaro "the stylistic precursor to the ever-popular In a Silent Way of 1969", writing that "Filles is performed (and edited) similar a suite, amongst a sense of current dissimilar anything Davis had recorded upwards to that point. That current is enhanced past times a music played all inwards ane primal (F), amongst only 5 'tunes,' too amongst a mood too rhythms that modify gradually from start to finish". Ephland concluded inwards his review, "In passing, Filles de Kilimanjaro is a turning-point album dissimilar whatever other for Davis: For the foremost time, his bebop roots were essentially severed, rockier rhythms, electricity too ostinato-driven bass lines right away belongings sway". Jim Santella from All About Jazz wrote that the album's music "flows amongst a lyricism that remains highly regarded inwards today’s format", final inwards his review that "Filles De Kilimanjaro remains ane of the classic albums from their collaboration, too represents a high indicate inwards modern jazz".
Since it's billed equally "Directions inwards Music past times Miles Davis," it should come upwards equally trivial surprise that Filles de Kilimanjaro is the get-go of a novel stage for Miles, the house that he begins to dive headfirst into jazz-rock fusion. It equally good happens to survive the swan vocal for his 2d classic quintet, arguably the finest collective of musicians he always worked with, too what makes this album too then fascinating is that it's possible to hear the breaking indicate -- though his quintet all followed him into fusion (three of his supporting players were on In a Silent Way), it's possible to hear them all intermission amongst the conventional notions of what constituted fifty-fifty adventurous jazz, turning into something new. According to Miles, the modify inwards "direction" was equally much inspired past times a wishing to supply to something earthy too bluesy equally it was to notice novel musical territory, too Filles de Kilimanjaro bears him out. Though the album sports inexplicable, rather ridiculous French vocal titles, this is music that is unpretentiously adventurous, grounded inwards driving, mildly funky rhythms too bluesy growls from Miles, graced amongst weird, colorful flourishes from the band. Where Miles inwards the Sky meandered a bit, this is considerably to a greater extent than focused, fifty-fifty on the iii songs that run over x minutes, yet it withal feels transitional. Not tentative (which In the Sky was), but sure the music that would jump total blossom on In a Silent Way was withal inwards the gestation phase, too despite the rock-blues-n-funk touches here, the music doesn't wing too search the agency that Nefertiti did. But that's non a bad affair -- this middle basis betwixt the adventurous bop of the mid-'60s too the fusion of the belatedly '60s is rewarding inwards its ain right, since it's possible to hear peachy musicians notice the foundation of a novel form. For that alone, Filles de Kilimanjaro is necessary listening.
Track listing:
All songs were credited to Miles Davis.
"Frelon brun" (Brown Hornet) – 5:39
"Tout de suite" (Right Away) – 14:07
"Petits machins" (Little Stuff) – 8:07
"Filles de Kilimanjaro" (Girls of Kilimanjaro) – 12:03
"Mademoiselle Mabry" (Miss Mabry) – 16:32
The foremost too in conclusion tracks were recorded inwards September 1968, the others inwards June. The CD reissue includes a 6th track, an alternate accept of "Tout de suite".
Personnel:
Miles Davis – trumpet
Wayne Shorter – tenor saxophone
Herbie Hancock – Fender Rhodes electrical pianoforte on tracks 2, 3, four & 6
Chick Corea – piano, RMI Electra-piano on tracks 1 & 5
Ron Carter – electrical bass on tracks 2, 3, four & 6
Dave The Netherlands – double bass on tracks 1 & 5
Tony Williams – drums
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