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 measures up.

Session details indicate the performance was broadcast on Swedish public radio, and the circulating tape sounds like a somewhat lo-fi audience/soundboard hybrid to my ears. Still, the balance is solid, the percussion is refreshingly subdued in the mix, and the band is positively on from start to finish. And just get a look at this concert hall.

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 gig into a single unbroken track. Avoid it. The tape offered here captures the complete performance, including the full “Yesternow” and “Funky Tonk” that are absent from most recordings.

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 as part of 1971 Newport Festival in Europe tour was an altogether different lineup, and with just nine shows under its belt, was positively buzzing with creative tension by the time it reached Rotterdam.

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 80-minute tape and this lone photo of Miles and Don Alias from the evening’s show (below) are evidence enough; this is a phenomenal performance for a band with just six dates under its belt.

As with the preceding shows on this tour, the set’s success hinges on the drumming of 19-year old Ndugu Chancler, who after a stunning display in Switzerland and a shaky night in Paris, turns in his most solid performance thus far. He’s relaxed, patient, and surprisingly attuned to Miles’ coded phrases that signal the start of a new tune. The result is a tighter and somewhat shorter set than usual, but one that’s brimming with incredible moments.

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 in Dietikon Switzerland was likely another.

Both of the evening’s sets were broadcast on Swiss radio with superb engineering by Klaus Koenig, whose work resulted in one of the best aural documents of the 21-date Euro tour – even more impressive considering the organizers hired a Steinway grand piano in preparation for an acoustic show and the band performed no soundcheck.