In A Silent Way (1969) by Miles Davis
• In A Silent Way (YT)
In a Silent Way was assembled from various takes from a three-hour session on February 18, 1969, at CBS 30th Street Studio’s Studio B in Manhattan. “Shhh / Peaceful” was composed solely by Davis, while the opening and closing section to “In a Silent Way / It’s About That Time” is based on [Joe] Zawinul’s “In a Silent Way”, which he would record in its original form in 1970 for his third solo album, Zawinul (1971). After Zawinul presented the tune to the group, it was rehearsed as it was originally written, but Davis wished for it to sound more rock-oriented and stripped the various chord changes to leave a more basic melody built around a pedal point. [John] McLaughlin had some difficulty playing in the manner Davis wished of him, but found his way after the trumpeter suggested he play the guitar as if he were a novice. Davis believed that Zawinul was never happy with his adaptation of “In a Silent Way”, but felt that the album would have been less successful had its original arrangement been kept. Zawinul had expressed some dislike of Davis’ arrangement, in particular of two chords that he believed that Davis was wrong to remove. Zawinul claimed that he was responsible for the melodic bass line and descending melody of “It’s About That Time” but was not credited; he blamed [Teo] Macero for this, as he “always put things together so that it came out as if Miles had written it.” (more)
Zawinul (1971) by Joe Zawinul
• In A Silent Way (YT)
Celebration (1972) by El Chicano
• In A Silent Way (YT)
Live At The Montreux Jazz Festival (1972) by Roy Ayers Ubiquity
• In A Silent Way (Should really be titled It’s About That Time since Ayers is playing the second part of the Davis piece) (YT)
Filmore – The Last Days (1972) by Various Artists
• In A Silent Way by Santana (YT)
Double Exposure (1975) by Nat Adderley
• In A Silent Way (YT)
Concerto Retitled (1976) by Joe Zawinul
• In A Silent Way (YT)
Babel (1978) by Max
• D’Una Manera Silenciosa (YT)
8:30 (1979) by Weather Report
• In A Silent Way (YT)
Evidence (1980) by Steve Khan
• In A Silent Way (YT)
Miles Away (1995) by Dave Liebman Group
• In A Silent Way (YT)
Remember Why (1997) by New Stories
• In A Silent Way (YT)
Endless Miles: A Tribute To Miles Davis (1998) by Various Artists
• In A Silent Way (YT)
Miles Remembered: The Silent Way Project (1999) by Mark Isham
• In A Silent Way (YT)
Two (1999) by Paul Davies / David Pouradier-Duteil
• In A Silent Way (Bandcamp)
Ivey-Divey (2004) by Don Byron
• In A Silent Way (YT)
Brown Street (2006) by Joe Zawinul
• In A Silent Way (YT)
Five Peace Band Live (2009) by Chick Corea / John McLaughlin
• In A Silent Way / It’s About That Time (YT)
Fast City – A Tribute To Joe Zawinul (2010) by Metropole Orkest / Vince Mendoza
• In A Silent Way (YT)
Elevation – The Upper Air (2015) by Bernie Worrell
• In A Silent Way (Bandcamp)
In An Ambient Way (2015) by Powerhouse
• In A Silent Way (YT)
Waterfall: Music Of Joe Zawinul (2020) by Oleś Brothers & Piotr Orzechowski
• In A Silent Way (Bandcamp)
Previously on { feuilleton }
• Miles and Miles
A surprisingly quiet celebration of Miles’ 100th anniversary! Thank you
Santana played it live back in the day https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_XWOSDbyz2Y
empirico2001: Thanks. I wasn’t thinking of the anniversary although it does work as a premature celebration. Last week I was listening to The Complete In A Silent Way Sessions, followed by the Zawinul album that has his first recording of the piece. The latter made me wonder for the first time whether there were any cover versions apart from the Roy Ayers one which I’d known about for a while. Lo and behold… If I had the time I’d be tempted to make a mix for Mixcloud but I’m too busy with work just now.
Lonepilgrim: There’s a live Santana version from 1972 in the list.
Hearing Davis’s KIND OF BLUE performed live at the Edinburgh Festival one warm evening last August was one of the finest experiences of my life. The musicians, I feel, did him justice. I am usually seasonal when it comes to listening to music, and Davis (and much jazz in general) I tend to listen to in the summer, as the sun inexorably sets and shrouds the city in shadows, providing an ideal soundtrack. Perhaps you can be like this, too, Mr. Coulthart?
My listening does go through seasonal shifts, as it happens. In spring I tend to listen to old psychedelia for some reason; I think I did this once years ago and it became a habit. Autumn is usually English folk music which seems to suit the season. In summer it depends on the weather. If it gets too warm then I seldom listen to much at all apart from Brian Eno’s On Land or similar droney, minimal things.