Miles Davis - Fillmore East, New York City, March 7, 1970
March 19, 2025 5:24 PM Subscribe
On March 7, 1970, Wayne Shorter played his final concert in Miles Davis' electrified band. The Fillmore East had them third on the bill, opening for Neil Young and Crazy Horse and Steve Miller Band. The performance was recorded.
I think I once read Steve Miller chuckling in an interview, remembering listening to this set from off-stage, thinking "How the fuck am I supposed to follow that?"
The other musicians were Chick Corea (electric piano), Jack DeJohnette (drums), Dave Holland (electric bass), and Airto Moreira (percussion).
Holland would soon be replaced on bass by the 19 year old Michael Henderson, who Davis saw while he was performing in Stevie Wonder's band. They say Davis walked up to Wonder afterwards and said, "I'm taking your fucking bassist."
Henderson would remain a constant in Davis' shifting lineups, as the latter drove ever further into unexplored depths of primeval Afro-funk, climaxing in the masterpiece that is Agharta.
I think I once read Steve Miller chuckling in an interview, remembering listening to this set from off-stage, thinking "How the fuck am I supposed to follow that?"
The other musicians were Chick Corea (electric piano), Jack DeJohnette (drums), Dave Holland (electric bass), and Airto Moreira (percussion).
Holland would soon be replaced on bass by the 19 year old Michael Henderson, who Davis saw while he was performing in Stevie Wonder's band. They say Davis walked up to Wonder afterwards and said, "I'm taking your fucking bassist."
Henderson would remain a constant in Davis' shifting lineups, as the latter drove ever further into unexplored depths of primeval Afro-funk, climaxing in the masterpiece that is Agharta.
Could you imagine being in that audience for this? Could hurt your brain if you weren't ready for it.
posted by drewbage1847 at 8:52 PM on March 19 [1 favorite]
posted by drewbage1847 at 8:52 PM on March 19 [1 favorite]
The full album Live at the Fillmore East, March 7, 1970: It's About That Time is also on Spotify. As is the possibly better known double album (as it was officially released instead of a bootleg), from the June 1970 concerts, Miles Davis at Fillmore
s'all good
posted by chavenet at 2:20 AM on March 20 [2 favorites]
s'all good
posted by chavenet at 2:20 AM on March 20 [2 favorites]
The place to find high quality bootlegs without all the compression added by streaming services is DimeaDozen.org They have strict rules and don't allow anything that's under copyright and if there are not enough seeders some uploads only last for a short time, so you have to check regularly and download things while they are available.
Wayne Shorter 1991-01-15 (Late Show) Blue Note - New York City, NY -- mp3 sample.
Miles Davis - 1970-10-15, Fillmore West, San Francisco, KPFA-FM
Miles Davis - 1970-04-09 - Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA, FM -- mp3 sample.
All files are high quality FLAC which is a little OTT given that the masters are mostly sourced from cassette tape or FM broadcasts.
posted by Lanark at 5:06 AM on March 20 [5 favorites]
Wayne Shorter 1991-01-15 (Late Show) Blue Note - New York City, NY -- mp3 sample.
Miles Davis - 1970-10-15, Fillmore West, San Francisco, KPFA-FM
Miles Davis - 1970-04-09 - Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA, FM -- mp3 sample.
All files are high quality FLAC which is a little OTT given that the masters are mostly sourced from cassette tape or FM broadcasts.
posted by Lanark at 5:06 AM on March 20 [5 favorites]
Great. I listened to this on my commute and now instead of working all I want to do is smoke a bowl and play Puzzle Fighter for three hours.
posted by thecaddy at 5:51 AM on March 20 [6 favorites]
posted by thecaddy at 5:51 AM on March 20 [6 favorites]
Cool. I rate this as pretty good for early 70s electric jamming era Miles projects.
Hey, this is recorded right around the same time as some parts of Big Fun.
posted by ovvl at 6:51 AM on March 20 [1 favorite]
Hey, this is recorded right around the same time as some parts of Big Fun.
posted by ovvl at 6:51 AM on March 20 [1 favorite]
It's a great show, but, man, a little Airto goes a long way. A message that was not conveyed to the percussionist, unfortunately.
posted by the sobsister at 8:29 AM on March 20 [2 favorites]
posted by the sobsister at 8:29 AM on March 20 [2 favorites]
Here's the Steve Miller set from that night. And Neil Young's acoustic/electric set with Crazy Horse. Both decent-quality auds. The CD of NY at the Fillmore is the previous night's show, I believe.
posted by the sobsister at 9:05 AM on March 20 [2 favorites]
posted by the sobsister at 9:05 AM on March 20 [2 favorites]
In his autobiography, Miles mentions listening to Kassav', the group from Guadeloupe & Martinique, that brought zouk into the international arena. Somehow zouk never took hold in the USA even though Kassav' released two albums on Columbia.
posted by DJZouke at 6:16 AM on March 21
posted by DJZouke at 6:16 AM on March 21
Could you imagine being in that audience for this?
In 1973 I saw a double bill at the Paramount theater in Seattle with Taj Mahal and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Taj was by himself mostly although he brought the Pointer Sisters out to do Texas Woman Blues and Cakewalk Into Town -- that Cakewalk is sans Pointer Sisters and from the Flip Wilson Show in the same year -- and the Mahavishnu Orchestra was, well, the Mahavishnu Orchestra. I sat next to a guy who came for them and had no idea why Taj who Mahal or why he was there. I was the same with the Mahavishnu Orchestra -- and although I was familiar with John Abercrombie, Jan Hammer and Jack DeJohnette's Timeless, which I did and still do adore. Needless to say, it was an interesting and very memorable concert.
Interestingly enough, I saw Taj Mahal touring his very first album in 1968 at Seattle's Eagles Auditorium with the fabulous Jesse Edwin Davis on lead guitar. He recorded that album with Davis and Ry Cooder, before I knew who Ry Cooder was. So, I may have seen that line up. And, God, does bringing this all up makes me feel so old.
posted by y2karl at 3:12 PM on March 22
In 1973 I saw a double bill at the Paramount theater in Seattle with Taj Mahal and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Taj was by himself mostly although he brought the Pointer Sisters out to do Texas Woman Blues and Cakewalk Into Town -- that Cakewalk is sans Pointer Sisters and from the Flip Wilson Show in the same year -- and the Mahavishnu Orchestra was, well, the Mahavishnu Orchestra. I sat next to a guy who came for them and had no idea why Taj who Mahal or why he was there. I was the same with the Mahavishnu Orchestra -- and although I was familiar with John Abercrombie, Jan Hammer and Jack DeJohnette's Timeless, which I did and still do adore. Needless to say, it was an interesting and very memorable concert.
Interestingly enough, I saw Taj Mahal touring his very first album in 1968 at Seattle's Eagles Auditorium with the fabulous Jesse Edwin Davis on lead guitar. He recorded that album with Davis and Ry Cooder, before I knew who Ry Cooder was. So, I may have seen that line up. And, God, does bringing this all up makes me feel so old.
posted by y2karl at 3:12 PM on March 22
« Older Pirate Attempts To Pirate The Village | "Obviously, the OGL fiasco has had some lasting... Newer »
posted by Jon_Evil at 6:06 PM on March 19 [7 favorites]