The Miles Davis sextet began 1971 much in the same way it closed out the previous year: with a steady, albeit scarcely documented run of live performances. And though 1971 saw the release of the Tribute to Jack Johnson LP in February and Live/Evil in November, Miles made no studio recordings for the first time since 1964, and there’s just one official live release documenting this pivotal year.
Despite the paltry “official” record, there remains plenty of evidence of the exceptional music Miles’ live band produced in 1971.
11.26.1971 Lincoln Center
The final tape from 1971 captures what was arguably Miles’ highest profile gig of the year. Fresh from the septet’s well-received 5-week Newport Festival in Europe tour and the release of the Live/Evil LP just days prior, Miles returned to the states intent on capitalizing on his momentum, going so far as to have reportedly…
Explore this show11.20.1971 Cascais
The five-week, 21-date 1971 Newport Festival in Europe tour was both exhaustive and exhausting, but as a platform for showcasing Miles’ headlong dive into abstract funk, it certainly got the job done. The tour’s all-star lineup of Duke Ellington and his orchestra, Ornette Coleman’s quartet, as well as a “Giants of Jazz” ensemble featuring Monk, Art…
Explore this show11.16.1971 Turin
As the Miles Davis septet neared the end of the 5-week 1971 Newport Festival in Europe tour, the band began performing with the determination and ecstasy of a marathon runner in the final mile. Familiar grooves ran deep and heavy, a whiff of unpredictability guided the jams into strange turf, and the septet remained impressively…
Explore this show11.14.1971 Venice
The final leg of the 1971 Newport Festival in Europe tour brought the Miles Davis septet back to Italy for a trio of performances in and around the “upper-boot” region. This audience tape from the magnificent Teatro della Fenice (seen below) captures the first of three consecutive nights of shows. The mismatch of a heavily…
Explore this show11.13.1971 London
This audience tape is from one of two shows the Miles Davis septet performed at London’s Royal Festival Hall on the final leg of the 1971 Newport Festival in Europe tour. Though there’s no indication if this recording is from the matinee or late show, my money’s on it originating from the early performance given…
Explore this show11.12.1971 Cologne
Following a monster of a gig in Oslo, the Miles Davis septet enjoyed a well-deserved two-night break before beginning its final stretch of the 1971 Newport Festival in Europe tour. Well, all except for Keith Jarrett, who spent the evening of November 10th recording his first solo LP, Facing You for Manfred Eicher’s fledgling ECM…
Explore this show11.9.1971 Oslo
The Miles Davis septet reached Oslo at the end of a five-night run of shows that were among the most thrilling of its 21-date 1971 Newport Festival in Europe tour. This performance at Chateau Neuf (an unassuming soundstage within the slightly drab headquarters for the Norwegian Students’ Society) was arguably the best of the five-night…
Explore this show11.8.1971 Copenhagen
Following a trio of excellent shows in Uppsala, Berlin, and Vienna, the Miles Davis septet rolled into the Tivoli Concert Hall in Copenhagen for its fourth concert in as many days. Like many stops on the 1971 Newport Festival in Europe tour, it was a venue Miles knew well, having performed there in 1969 with…
Explore this show11.7.1971 Uppsala
The current lineup of the Miles Davis septet hit its stride around the halfway point of the 1971 Newport Festival in Europe tour with a pair of remarkable shows in Vienna and Berlin. While not as expertly documented as those dates, the band’s superb November 7th set at the Universitets Aula in Uppsala, Sweden easily…
Explore this show11.6.1971 Berlin
After an uneven first couple weeks on the 1971 Newport Festival in Europe tour, the Miles Davis septet experienced a breakthrough on its November 5th gig in Vienna. The band had loosened up, tamed its nerves, and found the confidence required to deliver a set of music with the capability to both defy classification and…
Explore this show11.5.1971 Vienna
The Miles Davis septet’s November 5th performance at the Wiener Konzerthaus marked the midpoint of the band’s 21-date 1971 Newport Festival in Europe tour. As evidenced by a pair of wildly different sets in Switzerland, and a marathon gig in Paris that teetered at the edge of collapse for nearly two hours, Miles’ young working…
Explore this show11.3.1971 Belgrade
The Miles Davis septet’s November 3rd performance in Belgrade has been one of the longest circulating 1971 tapes due to its well-balanced mix and superb sound quality. Among the most common is a mid-90s CDR titled Another Bitches Brew that pairs an abridged set with Miles’ 1973 performance at the same venue, lazily grouping each…
Explore this show10.29.1971 Rotterdam
The November 1969 performance by Miles Davis’ “lost quintet” at the ultra-modern De Doelen concert hall was arguably the pinnacle of the group’s European tour. Ebullient, tight, and brimming with virtuosity, it was also the final tape of the Shorter, Corea, Holland, and DeJohnette era. The Miles Davis working group that returned to the venue…
Explore this show10.27.1971 Paris
The Miles Davis septet returned to the Théâtre Nationale Populaire in Paris for a two-set headlining performance just a few days after its initial appearance as part of the Newport Jazz Festival in Europe package tour. While the first Paris gig was a sprawling, unruly behemoth of a set (at 114 minutes it was the…
Explore this show10.26.1971 Brussels
Ten days into the Newport Jazz Festival in Europe tour, the Miles Davis septet hit its stride at the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels on October 26. Originally recorded by Belgian Radio and Television, the tape captures the complete performance albeit in slightly muddier fidelity than you’d expect from a state-sponsored broadcast. Still, the…
Explore this show10.23.1971 Paris
The Miles Davis septet’s October 23, 1971 performance at Théâtre Nationale Populaire in Paris was the first of two the band played at the venue during its European tour. This first stop was likely part of the Newport Jazz Festival in Europe tour itinerary, while a two-set show at the Théâtre Nationale Populaire four days…
Explore this show10.22.1971 Dietikon
While traversing the continent on the five-week Newport Jazz Festival in Europe package tour, the Miles Davis septet presumably made a few detours to perform one-off headlining shows. An October 18 performance in Frankfurt appears to have been one (no circulating tape from that show, unfortunately), and this October 22 gig at the Neue Stadthalle…
Explore this show10.21.1971 Milan
Jack DeJohnette was the last remaining member of the Lost Quintet to exit Miles’ orbit when he and percussionist Airto Moriera left the working group in the fall of 1971. Though DeJohnette would return to the band for a few shows toward the end of the year, Miles wasted no time in turning his drummer’s…
Explore this show5.7.1971 Fillmore West
Miles played his final set of career-redefining Fillmore shows May 6-9, 1971 at Bill Graham’s Fillmore West. Anticipating the emergence of stadium and arena gigs that would define the 1970s, Graham closed his Fillmore East on June 27, followed by the Fillmore West on July 4, 1971. Though it’s presumed both Columbia and the Fillmore…
Explore this show3.11 – 3.14.1971 – Lennie’s on the Turnpike
The Miles Davis sextet began 1971 much in the same way it closed out the previous year: with a steady, albeit scarcely documented run of live performances. And though 1971 saw the release of the Tribute to Jack Johnson LP in February and Live/Evil in November, Miles made no studio recordings for the first time…
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the Heat Warps 