DARK MAGUS

This was recorded live in New York City at Carnegie Hall on March 30th 1974. Miles lived only some 20 blocks from the venue yet he was still over an hour late. Saxophonist Azar Lawrence just sort of showed up for this gig.The other sax player David Liebman relates in the liner notes that they didn't practice much in those days.They just showed up for the concert and played. It was all about improvs and Miles is the master of improvisation.You can certainly hear how important the rhythm section is as Miles like Herbie Hancock were very much into SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE. So the drummer, percussionist and bass player play prominant roles while the sax players, Miles and the three guitarists solo their asses off. David mentions that when Miles added the third guitarist the sound had reached a critical mass. He also mentions that when he joined the band the sheer volume of noise from the band he was now in was what surprised him the most.These guys were freaking loud ! I can only imagine what went through the minds of those present at Carnegie Hall that night. Love the picture of this nine piece band playing in the liner notes with Pete Cosey and Miles both sitting down playing their instruments.

So we get two discs with 4 tracks on each. I'm not sure why I like this so much. I honestly couldn't get into the "Agharta" album recorded live the following year in Japan but then this one sounds completely different to that one.This really sounds like a band simply jamming away with different ones taking the lead in soloing and I really like that style of music. In fact as I wrote notes while listening to this I used the word jam several times. I honestly could listen to this music for hours on end.The man was a genius.

"Dark Magus" is my favourite live album from Miles and that's saying something.