Filles de Kilimanjaro

Occupation

• Trumpet: Miles Davis
• Saxophone: Wayne Shorter
• Piano, E- Piano: Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea
• Bass: Ron Carter and Dave Holland
• Drums: Tony Williams

Filles de Kilimanjaro ( Eng.: The girls from Kilimanjaro ) is an album by Miles Davis, recorded in June and September 1968, was released on Columbia Records in 1969.

Background to the album

After four studio albums - as E.S.P. (1965 ) or Miles Smiles ( 1966) - that have been added yet all with acoustic instruments, presented Miles Davis in his 1968 quintet an innovation: Herbie Hancock played next to the piano and keyboards; by the electric piano was the music of the quintet an entirely new character. Another new aspect were the compositions such as Stuff Davis or Wayne Shorter as case Paraphenalia or Nefertiti who were created as " endless melody " ( P. Wießmüller ), the trumpeter Don Cherry came close to those. Already on the album Miles in the Sky ( 1968) conducted a tendency Davis careful to include rudimentary aural moods of rock with. It appeared for the first time on electronic instruments such as electric guitar, Fender bass or electric piano. " The skirt aspects were, especially the rhythmic, not crass turned out, but rather only hinted at; the electric instruments mingle with the acoustic ", Eric Nisenson wrote the pioneering sessions in June and September 1968.

The jazz historian Arrigo Polillo quotes Joe Zawinul, who saw the decisive person in Wayne Shorter, which moved to Miles Davis. to explore new musical territory; " And the pieces he wrote, also had the effect of what Miles did to change to a certain extent. Everything began when Wayne > Nefertiti < wrote for the Miles Davis group. That was the beginning of a new world. " Ahead of the album Davis heard together with Gil Evans recordings by Jimi Hendrix.

Genesis of the album

In the June 1968 sessions played Wayne Shorter, sax, Herbie Hancock, Electric Piano, Ron Carter, bass and Tony Williams, drums. A first studio date of the quintet on May 21, was not successful; the recordings of the piece Tout de Suite stayed there incomplete. It took three studio dates between 19 and 21 June to record the title track, the composition Toute de suite and Petits Machins. When recording session on September 24, 1968, changed Chick Corea Hancock, who had suffered food poisoning on his honeymoon in Brazil, and Dave Holland ( for Carter, the studio appointments had ), so that here the short-lived quintet already (but still is prepared without drummer Jack DeJohnette ), with the Davis should go on tour in 1969.

Davis married Betty O. Mabry in September 1968 and renamed the piece Mademoiselle Mabry (Miss Mabry ) to her. The song was recorded in the month of the wedding. Betty Mabry Davis also appears on the album cover.

Filles de Kilimanjaro was recorded in collaboration with Gil Evans, (he had already arranged 1957-1963 for major Davis albums and composed ), even though he was not mentioned by name this time. Evans, who was also in the studio here, did the work with Davis for this album much joy.

The album was recorded by Columbia as part of a 6- CD box set, Miles Davis Quintet 1965-68: Complete Columbia Studio Recordings, re-released.

The music of the album

Filles de Kilimanjaro can be (up to Nefertiti 1967) with his second quintet and later the following jazz-rock period seen as a kind of transitional album between the acoustic recordings of Davis ( from In a Silent Way, 1969). However, to be " the rock aspects, especially the rhythmic, not crass turned out, but rather just indicated, the electric instruments mingle with the acoustic in pieces, change their mood, texture and feel rhythmischea often. This is particularly striking to hear Mademoiselle Mabry. " Filles is part of a " permanent evolution process ( the music Davis '), which is narrower than before in the context of acculturation on the part of Western art music and the music of the "Third World" to bring ", the musicologist Franz Kerschbaumer the style of Miles Davis.

The influence of Gil Evans, it is attributable to that " was reflected in the album a number of new original ideas and musical segments. The emphasis placed here the piano, which, redefined the sound character, the colors of the ensemble sounds ( ...) The rhythmic and melodic density of improvisations was generally reduced.; occur again simpler scales, blues scale and major-minor transitional harmonies to the fore. " Evans wrote with Davis the piece Petit Machines ( Evans later added approximately Svengali as Eleven ), but was not named as a co-author. The piece is based on a 11/4-Metrum. Davis plays after the first complex rhythm was presented a solo, which revolves around the sounds A and As, G and F. In this solo he already plays after the fanfare-like theme of the reef, which is the basic theme of his later piece Jean Pierre ( We Want Miles ).

Tout de Suite is a "dark gap " which gives the impression as if it was a suite with a variety of topics. In fact it is a very broad subject, which is 70 bars long. It is striking how few notes play here the soloists in their solos.

Filles de Kilimanjaro is based on the Jimi Hendrix piece And the Wind Cries Mary and controls point to a polyrhythmic climax. Carter contributes to the electric bass ostinato figures. In Frelon Brun Williams plays rock rhythm to the free-flowing improvisation of the soloist.

Mademoiselle Mabry is the longest track of the album and reflects influences of soul music. Its introduction, although Davis is attributed, developed by Evans from the Jimi Hendrix piece And the Wind Cries Mary and includes the reversal of its subject; in this play also parts of the play On Broadway by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller were used. When Mademoiselle Mabry is a "Blues, which begins as a afterhours radio over the casual Rockyhythmus. The ever more increasing intensity does not interfere with the blues feeling nor the thoughtful improvisations by Miles Davis and Wayne Shorter. "

Title of the album

• (Original edition Columbia CS 9750 or in the CD edition CK 86555 )

Reception Album

While the Filles de Kilimanjaro Downbeat magazine with the maximum five stars and the All Music Guide Album with 4 1/2 ( out of five) stars distinguishes it receives in The Penguin Guide to Jazz only 3 out of 4 stars.

From the listeners of the WDR Jazz radio it was elected in 2006 to number 10 in the Best Miles Davis albums, to A Tribute to Jack Johnson and before Miles Davis Live at the Fillmore.