The Many Moods of Miles

No, this isn't about my 10 1/2 month old son, Miles, who has had his ups and downs recently due to teething, but it's about Miles Davis, one of my favorite all-time musicians (and yes, my wife and I did name our son after the jazz great).  Miles Davis was a trumpeter, composer, and arranger of some of the most amazing jazz music from the 50's through the 70's.  Miles was never afraid to change and move onto a new musical direction, which is what I've always respected from him the most.   Miles Davis had many "eras", whether it's the early bebop of Birth of the Cool, the collaboration with composer/arranger Gil Evans on the Spanish flavored orchestration of  Sketches of Spain, the modal-jazz, minimalism of Kind of Blue, the post-bebop, hard-bop of ESP or Miles Smiles, the early electric jazz fusion of In a Silent Way or Bitches Brew, or the agit-funk of On The Corner, the one thing Miles never did was settle.  In terms of my favorite Miles era, it varies depending on my mood, which is what makes Miles so unique from many of his contemporaries.  I thought I'd focus on the funk of On The Corner, as this is one of my favorite Miles albums.

Mainly panned by the critics and jazz fans alike when it was initially released in 1972, On The Corner has grown to become a cult favorite among funk, punk, and soul fans over the years.  Dig this track "Black Satin":   

I love the sitar, congas, and the spacey keyboard/guitar (?) that appears at the introduction of the song, then shortly after the introduction, Miles' band locks into a funk groove with a fat bass line.  Repetition is the key on this track, and in the whole album in general.  The grooves are repetitious in On The Corner, but they never tire or feel overused. 

On The Corner is an album that you have to listen to all the way through to truly appreciate it, as each track segues into the next one.  I suggest putting this album on an i-pod and walking around in your nearest city while listening to this.  It feels like the chaos of city life to me.  However, as much as I love this album, I can't say it's my favorite Miles album (probably would be either Kind of Blue or Bitches Brew).  You really do have to be in a certain type of mood to listen to this.  But if you need the perfect album to accompany you through the busy streets of New York, Chicago, Seattle, etc., or want to blast an album in your car as you weave through the congestion of traffic, On The Corner can be a great companion to the madness.