On the Corner

by Miles Davis

Overview

Could there be any more confrontational sound in Miles Davis' vast catalog than the distorted guitars and tinny double-timing drums reacting to a two-note bass riff funking it up on the first track from On the Corner? Before the trumpet even enters the story has been broken off in the middle -- deep street music melding with a secret language exchanged by the band and those who can actually hear it as music. Here are killer groove riffs that barely hold on as bleating trumpet and soprano sax lines (courtesy of Dave Liebman on track one) interact with John McLaughlin's distortion-box frenzy. Michael Henderson's bass keeps the basic so basic it hypnotizes; keyboards slowly enter the picture, a pair of them handled by Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, as well as Ivory Williams' synthesizer. Finally, Colin Walcott jumps in with an electric sitar and there are no less than five drummers -- three kits (Al Foster, Billy Hart, and Jack DeJohnette), a tabla player, and Mtume. It's a four-tune suite, On the Corner is, but the separations hardly matter, just the shifts in groove that alter the time/space continuum. After 20 minutes, the set feels over and a form of Miles' strange lyricism returns in "Black Satin." Though a tabla kicks the tune off, there's a recognizable eight-note melody that runs throughout. Carlos Garnett and Bennie Maupin replace Liebman, Dave Creamer replaces McLaughlin, and the groove rides a bit easier -- except for those hand bells shimmering in the background off the beat just enough to make the squares crazy. The respite is short-lived, however. Davis and band move the music way over to the funk side of the street -- though the street funkers thought these cats were too weird with their stranded time signatures and modal fugues that begin and end nowhere and live for the way the riff breaks down into emptiness. "One and One" begins the new tale, so jazz breaks down and gets polished off and resurrected as a far blacker, deeper-than-blue character in the form of "Helen Butte/Mr. Freedom X," where guitars and horns careen off Henderson's cracking bass and Foster's skittering hi-hats. It may sound weird even today, but On the Corner is the most street record ever recorded by a jazz musician. And it still kicks. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	08/01/2000
Label:	Bmg / Sony Music / Sony Music Entertainment
UPC:	0886919847529

Tracks

1. On the Corner/New York Girl/Thinkin' of One Thing and Doin' Another/Vote for Miles
2. Black Satin
3. One and One
4. Helen Butte/Mr. Freedom X [Unedited Master]

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Miles Davis   Primary Artist,Trumpet
Miles Davis Quintet   Primary Artist
Billy Hart   Drums,Cowbell,Percussion,Wood Block,Handclapping,Whistle (Human)
Collin Walcott   Sitar (Electric)
Jack DeJohnette   Drums,Handclapping,Whistle (Human)
Chick Corea   Synthesizer,Piano (Electric)
David Creamer   Guitar,Guitar (Electric)
James Mtume   Percussion
David Liebman   Sax (Soprano)
Khalil Balakrishna   Sitar (Electric)
John McLaughlin   Guitar
Al Foster   Drums
Badal Roy   Tabla,Handclapping,Whistle (Human)
Bennie Maupin   Clarinet (Bass)
Don Alias   Congas,Percussion,Handclapping,Whistle (Human)
Carlos Garnett   Sax (Tenor),Sax (Soprano)
Michael Henderson   Bass,Bass (Electric)
Herbie Hancock   Synthesizer,Piano (Electric)
Harold "Ivory" Williams   Organ,Synthesizer

Technical Credits

Bill Milkowski   Liner Notes
David Liebman   Liner Notes
John McLaughlin   Liner Notes
John Jackson   Production Assistant
Nedra Olds-Neal   Reissue Producer
Mark Wilder   Engineer,Restoration,Digital Remastering
Miles Davis   Composer
Michael Brooks   Series Coordinator
Amy Herot   Series Coordinator
Urve Kuusik   Photography
Paul M. Martin   Art Coordinator
Art Maillet   Photography
Stanley Tonkel   Engineer
Don Hunstein   Photography
Gary Pacheco   Series Coordinator
Russ Payne   Engineer
Seth Rothstein   Project Director
Allen Weinberg   Art Direction
Howard Fritzson   Art Direction
Pete Cenedella   Package Coordinator
Penny Armstrong   Product Manager
Teo Macero   Producer
Bob Belden   Liner Notes