Third Man Records recently announced Vault Package #56, Miles Davis – Fearless. The package features two concerts from the iconic jazz trumpeter and his band at the Fillmore East on March 7, 1970 on vinyl for the first time. Subscribe to Third Man’s Vault Program by Sunday, April 30 at 12 a.m. to receive Miles Davis – Fearless.
The March ‘70 Fillmore East shows saw Miles leading a legendary band consisting of saxophonist Wayne Shorter, electric pianist Chick Corea, bassist Dave Holland, drummer Jack De Johnette and percussionist Airto Moriera in opening sets (early/late) for Neil Young & Crazy Horse and Steve Miller Band. Jazz genius Davis supporting the rock bands was indicative of the musical climate at the time which saw rock ‘n’ roll ascending and jazz entering its twilight years.
Ever the innovator, Miles pioneered a new genre, fusion, incorporating electric instruments in a highly improvisational setting to keep up with the bar rock had set in the psychedelic ’60s. One of the cornerstones of the genre is Davis’s landmark 1970 album Bitches Brew. Davis and his band brought tracks from Brew and more to the Fillmore East in 1970.
Press materials detailed the concerts:
Arguably finding more in common with the Stooges soon to be released triumph Fun House than anything else adjacent in the jazz realm, this sextet runs the floor with an intensity and ferocity that still leaves listeners gasping for air over five decades later.
Highlighting three tracks featured on Brew coupled with the live debut of the thrilling “Willie Nelson” (tracked in the studio mere weeks earlier) the songs here brim with rapturous transcendence. Of particular interest this evening is Corea’s introduction of the wah-wah pedal to the band’s arsenal (a tool soon to be employed by the entirety of the band) and the outright incendiary solos from Shorter, his improvisation on the closing “Spanish Key” and “It’s About That Time / Willie Nelson” serving as a fitting swan song to culminate an impressive and groundbreaking six year span in Davis’s band.
Miles Davis – Fearless arrives in three vibrant colored 180-gram vinyl LPs. Completing the collection is a 7-inch, Muriel Grossmann Plays Miles, from renowned Austrian saxophonist Muriel Grossmann, a patch and a bumper sticker. Sign up for Third Man’s Vault Program.
Miles Davis – Fearless Tracklist:
3xLP
- Directions
- Spanish Key
- Masqualero
- It’s About That Time / Theme
- Directions
- Miles Runs The Voodoo Down
- Bitches Brew
- Spanish Key
- It’s About That Time / Willie Nelson
Muriel Grossmann Plays Miles Tracklist:
7-inch
- Go Ahead John
- In A Silent Way
- Miles Runs The Voodoo Down
