(Cover art for the Miles Davis album Miles in Berlin, which was released in February 1965).
Milestones opens the live album by a quintet of musicians with a flourish of energy from the Berlin, Germany performance. To me, the arrangement of this song feels like the best on the album.
(Miles Davis performed with a quintet in Berlin, Germany in September 1964. The resulting live album is called Miles in Berlin).
Autumn Leaves follows the opening performance for the album with the best trumpet introduction for any song on Miles in Berlin. The extension of that opening into the fifth minute of the song effectively strikes me with love for the accomplishment.
(Herbie Hancock played piano on the Miles Davis album Miles in Berlin).
So What opens with a piano introduction from Herbie Hancock with the Miles Davis trumpet soon accepting the feature that is the point, with the eighth minute including a crescendo for the point. Hancock‘s taking an extended lead following that point offers a nice counterpoint that proves we have a strong quintet of performers.
(Ron Carter played bass on the live album Miles in Berlin).
Added for the compact disc release, Stella by Starlight offers what felt like the five performers offering the height of their combined band performance. True throughout the song for sure, though the ninth-minute of the performance felt particularly strong to me.
(Tony Williams played drums on the Miles Davis album Miles in Berlin).
Walkin’ offers a Tony Williams solo beginning with the fourth minute and a Herbie Hancock solo beginning with the eighth minute, reminding us that this group of musicians indeed was a quintet.
(Wayne Shorter played tenor saxophone on the Miles Davis album Miles in Berlin).
Theme, aka Go-Go, exudes joy as the concluding track for the album.
Continuing with our year in review, Matt Lynn Digital invites you to look back at the last year in reviews of books, movies, music and television. We look at these with individual categories, one per day through Sunday. Today we share music reviews offered by Matt Lynn Digital in 2023.
(Cover art for the Weathervanes album by Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit).
Beginning with our most recent review with a guest review of the Weathervanes album by Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, as reviewed by friend of the blog Cobra. The 2023 album presented alternative country-rock that mixed in with roots rock and southern rock to entertain their fans. Our review of the Rick Rubin book The Creative Act: A Way of Being also represented 2023 with a top notch look into how creativity works in music production and other fields as well.
(Cover art for the 2011 Tedeschi Trucks Band album Revelator).
The 2011 release of the albumRevelator by the Tedeschi Trucks Band offers the first of two albums from the 2010s in our annual review. Offering a taste of American traditional rock, blues rock and roots rock from a guitar virtuoso opens an album that I can and do listen to over and over again. The 2010 A Christmas Cornucopiaalbum by Annie Lennox also presented a more contemporary music mix.
(The biopic Walk the Line depicted aspects of the lives of Johnny Cash and June Carter).
The movie Walk the Line (2005) provided a mostly autobiographical portrayal of the musical life of country musician Johnny Cash and his second wife, June Carter. Music from both performers were featured throughout the movie, which offered a compelling movie experience of the respective lives of the couple up to the point of their marriage.
(Cover art for the R.L. Burnside album Mr. Wizard).
A modern sound for the delta blues comes to us with the 1997 albumMr. Wizard by R.L. Burnside. The music tends to more of a jam format than some of Burnside‘s earlier work with influences on musicians making music into the current day.
Matt Lynn Digital appreciates your continued interest in the content we offer. Should you have albums that you’d like us to review, please be sure to let us know.
The jazz sound of Miles Davis takes a captivating turn with the album Sketches of Spain, released in July of 1960. An album of the cool, jazz instrument and trumpet jazz styles, the album was recorded from November 15th to November 20th, 1959 in New York City, New York. Imbued with classical and folk feeling coupled with flamenco percussion, there’s so much art to this album that I cannot help but recommend that you listen.
(The cover art for the Miles Davis album Sketches of Spain, which was released in July of 1960).
(In addition to the trumpet, Miles Davis played the flageolet and the flugelhorn on Sketches of Spain).
The Pan Piper strikes a mysterious yet uplifting, joyful tone. Invoking magical feelings to my listening, the arrangement is lovely.
Saeta feels first somber then disciplined. I find Davis‘ solo within the song stunning and hypnotic. The song is inspired by a song sung mostly during ChristianHoly Week in Spain.
Solea is a form of flamenco music. The Gil Evans arrangement was simply amazing. Evans was from Canada.
(Composer Gil Evans did some of his best work with Miles Davis).
Continuing with our year in review, Matt Lynn Digital invites you to look back at the last year in reviews of books, movies, music and television. We look at these with individual categories, one per day through Saturday. Today we share music reviews offered by Matt Lynn Digital in 2022.
Seeking to offer the reviewed albums from most recently released to the those released longest ago, the albumWasting Light by Foo Fighters offers gems like These Days and Rope in taking us back to the year 2011 for a hard rock, alternative rock and indie feel.
Matt Lynn Digital appreciates your continued interest in the content we offer. Should you have albums that you’d like us to review, or similar work to that mentioned above, please be sure to let us know.
Tune-Up follows with Davis, Lewis, Heath and Roach as the players.
(John Lewis played piano for the first three songs of the Miles Davis Quartet album).
Miles Ahead is the final song of this album with the named four players.
(Charles Mingus played piano for the fourth song, Smooch, of the Miles Davis Quartet album).
Smooch introduced Charles Mingus of Nogales, Arizona to a lineup including Miles Davis, Percy Heath and Max Roach. Smooch, along with When Lights Are Low, Tune-Up and Miles Ahead, were recorded in 1953.
(Horace Silver played piano on the final three songs of the Miles Davis Quartet album).
(Percy Heath played bass on all seven songs of the Miles Davis Quartet album).
Old Devil Moon returned Davis, Silver, Heath and Blakely as the players. This song, along with Four and Blue Haze, were recorded in 1954.
(Max Roach played drums for the first four songs of the Miles Davis Quartet album).
Blue Haze again returned Davis, Silver, Heath and Blakely as the players. The strong opening emphasis for the players, beginning with Heath, then Blakely, then Silver, and finally Davis was an exceptionally nice touch in my opinion.
(Art Blakey played drums for the last three songs of the Miles Davis Quartet album).
(From left, Karen Allen as Claire Phillips and Bill Murray as Frank Cross in the Richard Donner directed movie Scrooged).
Bill Murray portrays the character Frank Cross, who in his selfish ways plays the Ebenezer Scrooge role that makes the comedic take on Christmas, named Scrooged, a movie title and a transitive verb. The movie is unique in furthering the notion of making Frank a cynical character who cannot see that he has the chance for sustained love in Claire Phillips, who grants Frank the nickname Lumpy. Karen Allen portrays Claire Phillips.
(From left, Alfre Woodard as Grace Cooley and Nicholas Phillips as Calvin Cooley in the movie Scrooged).
Grace Cooley, as portrayed by Alfre Woodard, serves as the assistant to Frank Cross. Cooley is the Bob Cratchit of Scrooged, with her son Calvin Cooley serving in the equivalent to Tiny Tim. Nicholas Phillips portrays Calvin Cooley, the son of Grace Cooley through the movie. The Cooley family does serve a role in helping uplift the feeling of Scrooged come the movies conclusion, though the resonance of their purpose in the film loses something in for me in the comedic story that the film means to offer.
(From left, John Forsythe as Lew Howard and John Glover as Brice Cummings in the movie Scrooged).
Where Scrooged earns its marks lands moreover in the commentary about the cynical, partly dark, and the sometimes slapstick execution of the commentary made about executive leadership, love, the meaning of Christmas, and the sacrifices made in choosing to pursue certain parts of these competing priorities in the face of other points. Lew Howard, as portrayed by John Forsythe, speaks to the character of Jacob Marley. Frank Cross misunderstands the meaning Lew Howard’s example has for him. Cross and the audience begin the ghostly visits, in fact, with a visit by Frank’s former boss.
(From left, David Johansen as Ghost of Christmas Past and Carol Kane as Ghost of Christmas Present in the Richard Donner directed movie Scrooged).
David Johansen and Carol Kane both inject a brilliant sense of character in their portrayals of the Ghost of Christmas Past and the Ghost of Christmas Present opposite Bill Murray‘s Frank Cross. The sense of taking Cross through his paces both kicking and screaming offer charming examples of comeuppance for Frank Cross that speak well for the movie. The execution of these points reflect the parts of Scrooged that I enjoyed the most. The bringing about of Frank’s change, and the closing contrast of that storyline against Robert Mitchum‘s Preston Rhinelander and Bobcat Goldthwait‘s Eliot Loudermilk were part of where, as mentioned earlier, the movie Groundhog Day exceeds the movie Scrooged.
(From left, Robert Mitchum as Preston Rhinelander, Bill Murray as Frank Cross and Bobcat Goldthwait as Eliot Loudermilk in the movie Scrooged).
Scrooged as a film works as a Christmas movie, mostly for an older audience than films you would want as a first choice for young children. The point there is suggesting an audience that would most appreciate the humor of this film rather than the inherent sophistication of the film. As a comparison, Scrooged today hits me in a way that is similar to the television series Night Court (1984-1992). My rating for Scrooged as directed by Richard Donner is 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5 stars.
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