Conference Of The Birds

[Bilbo]

From Holland's first solo LP (plastic, round things with a hole in).. some interesting use of double stops and 5:4 time but both readable and playable. Really interesting recording made in 1973 - the so-called dark years for jazz......

[Faithless]

You means, the years, when Miles had to play rock in pubs?


Tutor told me somethin' about it, but I then thought, he was joking, eh..

[Bilbo]

Don't know that Miles ever stopped playing in pubs! His discography is littered with recordings at club dates and a lot of these clubs were pretty small - in 'rock' terms, he rarely played anywhere BUT 'pubs' until quite late in his career.

The 70s were considered to be the 'dark years' for jazz purists because most of the musicians were forced to either stop playing jazz altogether or to start playing some form of hybrid jazz/rock/funk/fusion. There was a lot of bad stuff recorded at that time, undoubtedly, but the gems are there if you look. Conference of the Birds is one strong LP - its is quite 'free' but it is not so far out that it is unlistenable.