TUTU

Ok, it is 1986, what can you expect from Miles? The unexpected, of course. I used to think that Frank Zappa was the most versatile musician that ever existed, but damn, Miles Davis is up there too, having played be-bop, hard bop, cool jazz, modal jazz, classical, jazz fusion, funk, "pop jazz", avant-garde and even hip-hop! Yeah, that's the definition of versatile, and in case you've wondered, those sub-genres of jazz are different from each other.

Where does Tutu stand? Well, knowing that it's the 80's and the overall bad rating that this album has, you thought "pop jazz", didn't you? Yes, it is "pop jazz", but not because of that it's bad. This album was planned to be worked with Prince, unfortunately that didn't go well.

So, what we have here are some easy-listening 80's jazzy instrumental tunes that are pleasant as most easy- listening music (easy-listening in the truest sense). There's really no highlight or special feature in this kind of music. The whole album is driven by drum-machines, yeah those that Collins & Co. also used in the 80's and were also flacked because of that. I can handle them, especially for this kind of music which fits, so it's really no big issue for me.

So what is the issue? It's just that it sounds uninspired and the tracks don't seem to differentiate much from each other, and that's something serious, there's not something that you can say: "Yeah, that's Miles alright". Still, it doesn't sound like crap; Miles offers nice melodies, the keyboards are mellow and give the 80's vibe that I like and there's even some cool slap bass going on that me reminds of the music featured in Seinfeld, but all these elements were surely the norm back in the 80's for this type of smooth jazz, so it's not something new.

2 stars: mediocre overall, but the style that is presented here is not bad, though surely bad for most Prog fans that can't stand the 80's or easy-listening music. Good for background music and if you're in an 80's mood too, though easily forgettable.

Share this MILES DAVIS review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to The Quiet One
• Report this review (#292173)
• Buy MILES DAVIS music online with PA partners
• Show all MILES DAVIS MP3/Stream
• Go to MILES DAVIS page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Tutu page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for MILES DAVIS related discussions