Panthalassa: The Music Of Miles Davis 1969-1974

There are more tributes to Miles Davis's acoustic jazz groups of the 1950s and 1960s than one can easily count. But there are precious few explorations of his outlaw electric jazz period, dating from 1969 to 1974. Himself a studio outlaw of sorts, bassist and producer Bill Laswell goes a good distance rectifying the lack of attention paid to Davis's growling, funky electric period. He remixes and "translates" the dramatic slowness of In a Silent Way and smoothes over the abrasive jump cuts and edits that have made On the Corner a blazing listen for over 25 years. Laswell builds ambient-dub spreads on Davis's electro-fusion architecture, and he makes heavy funk out of the Davis band's mix of low-end bassiness and high-end soprano sax and electric piano. Look out for more paeans to the previously maligned electric period in Miles Davis's career. --Andrew Bartlett