Miles Davis

Miles acknowledged that On the Corner was his attempt to reconnect with the Black American youth of the '70s who abandoned jazz in favor of funk and rock. Ironic, then, that it's one of his most impenetrable albums. Fueled by nonstop polyrhythmic percussion, the record harbors only the merest shred of melody as it spools into marathon jams, one hardly distinct from the next. But that relentless focus on rhythm is what made On the Corner such a heavy influence on hip-hop in later years.

The Street's the same in New York or Frisco. It leads to heaven or hell, maybe both, and
what comes down around you depends on how you travel just as much as where you're
coming from. In that sense, Miles Davis from St. Louis by way of jazz and Carlos Santana from
San Francisco by way of rock have a great deal more in common than either may realize.
These are philosophical albums, if one may be permitted to apply that adjective... More >

Because the tracks are very short, because Miles plays more organ than trumpet and not much of that, and because the improvisations are rhythmic rather than melodic--often on a theme from "It's Your Thing" that I'm not swearing the Isleys (much less Davis) invented--most jazzbos have thrown up their hands at this one. Well, poo on jazzbos. But that's no reason for rockbos to sing hosanna to the highest--rhythmic improvisations are hardly the equivalent of a big beat and don't guarantee a good one. I'd like to hear "Black Satin" right now. But the rest I can wait for. (Grade - B+)