Talk:Bitches Brew

Post-Production conclusion statement
The closing statements of the post production segment don't make real sense. The fact that jazz should be spontaneous does not contradict Armstrong's recording method in that he did not use studio edits. In any case that is how I understand the next two sentences, and so wonder why use "But decades earlier ..." ''This extensive editing was sometimes controversial in jazz circles as purists and detractors argued that jazz should be "spontaneous". But decades earlier trumpeter Louis Armstrong had quickly perceived the photographic nature of the audio recording, becoming the first musician to assemble a band solely for the purpose of recording it live in the studio.''

Of course editing must have been a philosophical cunundrum for purists, and recording would have conservatively been used solely as "photographic". Maybe this section should be clarified. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.230.177.236 (talk) 12:55, 2 February 2008 (UTC)


 * It all sounds like POV to me. I don't think a wikipedia article should argue a point. TheScotch (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 13:36, 2 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Whatever my feelings and points of view, I still believe this part to be confusing. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.230.177.236 (talk) 14:22, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

I mean the passage quoted sounds like POV. TheScotch (talk) 06:47, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

<^>v!!This album is connected!!v<^>

 * All song titles serve as redirects to this album, have their own pages, or have been placed at the appropriate disambiguation pages.--Hraefen Talk 17:53, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

does this actually work?

song titles don't link at all Plbowler 00:40, 9 August 2007 (UTC)


 * I guess someone undid the changes in the meantime. Perhaps I missed something, but it seems like the point of that effort was so the entire listing would consist of blue links, wherever they happened to point, i.e. wikifying for its own sake. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 00:54, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

Silent Way
The previous album In a Silent Way is not mentioned on the page and page often speaks about innovations that already were present on that record as they had been introduced by Bitchew Brew -- 128.214.205.6 11:47, 15 May 2006 (UTC)
 * Just wanted to chime in agreement that you basically should not mention BB W/out mentioning In a Silent way. If either album should be considered the starting point for fusion, it is Silent Way (not denigrating BB, if I seem to be).Thaddeus Slamp (talk) 06:25, 8 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Yes, the article describes Bitches Brew as the beginning of Miles's electric period but In A Silent Way is earlier.BBO (talk) 12:35, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Surprise at Miles as an aggressive player
Writer referred to Miles as a cool player & expressed surprise at his fiery style on most of this record. Had this writer ever heard his live recordings from 1958, 1963 or 1964? Dogru144, 02:37, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

Poorly written
This article is full of speculation and opinion. Example: Some have criticized Bitches Brew by saying the album was more rock than jazz, and that it was overtly commercial. After listening to the album, the former statement seems rather absurd; as the music is full of psychedelic funk, furious solos howling like a nightmare is actually so avant garde, that it usually shocks rock fans who cannot get through it. Needs a rewrite badly, but I know little about the album. Cheers. DarkSideOfTheSpoon 05:42, 14 October 2006 (UTC) Thaddeus Slamp (talk) 06:29, 8 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I don't think the terms or perspectives you present existed @ time of reviews in question, tho you have a point.

External link
I'd like to add a video interview with Teo Macero to external links. He is talking about working with Miles Davis on Bitches Brew. Here is the interview. Ammosh11 18:09, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

I added the link... but in the future, be bold! --Ultra Megatron 01:33, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

I appreciate the add. I did not to comply with Wikipedia etiquette. I'm glad you saw its value. Ammosh11 06:20, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

Bernard Purdie
The musician list here does not include Bernard Purdie, and I don't recall seeing Purdie on the liner notes of my copy of the record either, yet Purdie's web site maintains that Purdie played on Bitches Brew. Can someone shed some light on this? 71.90.26.140 11:56, 24 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Personally I think his website is mistaken . Note that it doesn't mention Miles Davis' Get up with It, on which Purdie does appear. Peter Losin's discography only indicates Purdie playing on "Red China Blues" (March 9, 1972 ). It might be worth noting that Purdie's website claims credit and that this could be a discrepancy. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 13:29, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

Actually, Purdie's website does say that Purdie played on Get up with It--just not in the place you probably looked. Click on "Top 100".TheScotch 18:32, 28 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Now I see "Get Up With It" . But I wonder what "Get Up With It, Part 2" is supposed to mean? -- Gyrofrog (talk) 19:23, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

Aftermath
Despite being looslely written I think the article captures the spirit of Bitches Brew fairly well.

There are though issues with the Aftermath Section. aside from moving from undocumented history straight to undocumented opinion, the section states that this album "launched" the career of Wayne Shorter? Shorter had not only been playing with Miles for 6 years but had become the primary compoiser of the Second Great Quintet, I;m not sure how an album that features him in a cast of tens with almost no composition credits "launches" his career.

the same could be argued for Zawinul, although he hadn't played with Davis much, the entire In A Silent Way album is based on a Zawinul composition, how does an album that has him as one of several keyboardists (I forget if he is the right channel or left) "launch" his career.

as others have stated, this page needs revision (although I maintain the spirit is accurate) I just don't claim to be expert enough to attempt it. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Plbowler (talk • contribs) 02:25, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

oops fogot to sign!!! Plbowler 13:08, 3 August 2007 (UTC)
 * I've deleted the short paragraph in question, although the entire section has been flagged for over a year for its lack of attribution. Officially, any content lacking proper attribution may be deleted, though in this case we'd be talking about large segments of text. As for "launching careers," this version of history gives short shrift to Art Blakey (Shorter) and Cannonball Adderley (Zawinul). -- Gyrofrog (talk) 06:32, 3 August 2007 (UTC)
 * I went ahead and jettisoned the rest of the section. Looking back, the editor who added the information was asked for sources back in Feb. 2006; the section itself had been tagged since June 2006. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 06:47, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

Original research
I've substantially rewritten the "New kind of jazz" section. While the new text doesn't necessarily "disagree" with the previous version, it does use a college textbook as its source. I have gone ahead and removed the original research tag, as I think it was placed due to concerns with this section and the (now deleted) "Aftermath" section. Thanks, -- Gyrofrog (talk) 22:05, 4 August 2007 (UTC)

Unnecessary citation request
The article reads: Very few jazz musicians, excepting Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane – a former Davis associate – had released such long recordings, in which the entire side of an LP disc would consist of a single track.

and somebody has added the code to request a citation, but one can look at their respective wiki entries (i.e. Ornette Colemane's Free Jazz and Coltrane's Ascension.) Should we just link to that?

Batula 04:21, 1 October 2007 (UTC)
 * I don't know if it's policy, but citing another Wikipedia article as a source is discouraged. I haven't looked; do those articles cite sources? -- Gyrofrog (talk) 13:59, 1 October 2007 (UTC)


 * If the disputed issue are those albums, then I suggest merely citing a source that states the length of tracks on those respective albums, being that LPs have a time limit that can be sourced. However, if the 'very few jazz musicians' part is being disputed, then I have no clue how to back that up; it's almost like proving a negative. I still fail to see the necessity. Batula 00:57, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

A link to another wikipedia article certainly does not count as a citation. Also: The sentence in question as it reads above is logically nonsensical. Either say, "Very few jazz musicians had released...." or say, "No jazz musicians except Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane had released...." (Better still, simply cite the recording's factual length and let the reader make his own comparisons.)TheScotch 13:17, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

Great Job
Record released 1969. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00000J7SS http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00000J7SS

But some Wikipedia dweeb got it wrong by a year and now it's all over the place, at YouTube, at East Jesus, every place.

Great job guys. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.249.141.14  (talk • contribs)  12:27, 23 March 2012‎ (UTC)
 * Most of the sources cited in the article have 1970 as the release date. Also, by most accounts in reliable sources (including some of which predate Wikipedia), the recording sessions for the album were completed in early 1970. Which means it couldn't have been released prior to 1970. So it appears WP has it right, and Amazon.com is mistaken about the year BB was released.--JayJasper (talk) 19:01, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

It was released in 1970. If you have any doubts look at discographies from pre-Internet era. They make it clear that the album was not released until April 1970, in time for his spring touring.Dogru144 (talk) 04:00, 20 November 2013 (UTC)

Post-production
I think a long-standing assumption is that Miles Davis assembled a group of musicians, let the tapes roll and handed the results over to Teo Macero for editing. Though maybe it isn't a widely-held assumption, after all - this article doesn't give that impression. Anyway, it turns out that Miles had pretty specific instructions about how he wanted to assemble the recordings; it's been cited in this dissertation: http://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10161/894/D_Smith_Jeremy_a_200812.pdf?sequence=1. (Davis's note is on page 150 of the dissertation, although this is page 163 of the PDF itself.) -- Gyrofrog (talk) 23:08, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Great quote

 * Some critics at the time characterized this music as simply obscure and "outside", which recalls Duke Ellington's description of Davis as "the Picasso of jazz."

Good work. Viriditas (talk) 11:40, 11 July 2014 (UTC)

Assessment comment
Substituted at 09:45, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
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Term Bitches Brew
What does it mean? --178.197.230.175 (talk) 11:53, 1 November 2019 (UTC)


 * Wordplay on "Witches Brew". See, for example, this Guardian article by Neil Spencer:
 * "It was also Betty who named Bitches Brew: "Miles wanted to call it Witches Brew, but I suggested Bitches Brew and he said, 'I like that.' Contrary to what some people said, there was nothing derogatory about it.""
 * ---Sluzzelin talk  12:11, 1 November 2019 (UTC)


 * Ah, so not named after the beer, then. And where's that possessive apostrophe?? Martinevans123 (talk) 12:24, 1 November 2019 (UTC)


 * Well, it could also be read as a sentence (Bitches brew. Studs concoct.) I guess the origin above isn't watertight. See "Miles Davis and the Making of Bitches Brew: Sorcerer’s Brew" by Paul Tingen. ---Sluzzelin talk  12:47, 1 November 2019 (UTC)


 * The beer was named after the album, the website even says: "In honor of the 40th anniversary of the original release of Bitches Brew, Miles Davis' 1970 paradigm-shifting landmark fusion breakthrough, we've created our own Bitches Brew -- a dark beer that's a fusion of three threads of imperial stout and one thread of honey beer with gesho root. It's a gustatory analog to Miles' masterpiece."

Reference to Paul Buckmaster
The reference to Buckmaster seems out of place. He was a significant influence on On the Corner and Big Fun, but did not meet Miles Davis until November 2, 1969, after the recording sessions for Bitches Brew.

https://musicaficionado.blog/2019/02/27/the-artistry-of-paul-buckmaster/

https://www.eltonjohn.com/stories/paul-buckmaster:-in-his-own-words

Commercial tone
"In 1976, it became Davis' first gold album to be certified by the Recording Industry Association of America". Who cares in the long run? 86.192.110.239 (talk) 18:10, 5 January 2024 (UTC)

Reference 17 is not freely accessible
It lays behind a paywall. Not sure that it is usable; in any case, it does not help at all. 86.192.110.239 (talk) 14:25, 6 January 2024 (UTC)