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Thursday, December 17, 1970

–What I Say. With “What I Say,” Miles Davis and his band answered the bell for Round two at the Cellar Door like a boxer bursting off his stool to land a volley of combinations before his opponent has even reached the center of the ring. It’s not quite shock and awe, but it might have felt that way to longtime fans from the genteel Maryland suburbs who came to Georgetown expecting to hear “My Funny Valentine.” A few of those Marylanders might have come from Baltimore to hear their native son, saxophonist Gary Bartz. And he didn’t disappoint, flashing his Coltrane chops on a winding solo.  On his Fender Rhodes electric piano and Fender organ, Keith Jarrett worked out some of the gospel-y funk material over a backbeat 4/4 that would reappear on later recordings by the American Quartet. And it’s time to namecheck percussionist, Airto Moreira, heretofore buried in the mix, who responds to Jack DeJohnette’s adrenalized drum solo with ringing agogo accents and cries of delight. A good start.

–Honky Tonk. Following the manic, Times-Square-at-10 p.m. energy of “What I Say,” “Honky Tonk” arrives as the indigo stillness of pre-dawn at an alpine lake. Another recent addition to the band book, “Honky Tonk,” made its first documented appearance on a setlist just two months earlier. It is not the Bill Doggett jukebox shuffle from 1956 nor the Hank Williams blues, but it is a blues and an exercise in tension and release, albeit over a long scale. Speaking of long scales, how about the snare drum roll that DeJohnette quietly initiates around the six-minute mark and sustains for three minutes, before exploding into a clattering drum solo so feverish that Davis comments with trumpet yelps and cries. Bartz’s solo is appropriately bluesy, and you could say Jarrett’s is too. But the blues was not a native language for him. What to do? Counter-program with splattery fistful-of-keys abstraction, ably supported by DeJohnette.

–It’s About That Time. This holdover from Miles’ previous band with Chick Corea, bassist Dave Holland, and saxophonist Steve Grossman marches in on a stately 4/4. Yet not much happens during its 14:41 duration. At nearly thirteen minutes into the song, Miles peeks in, decides the scene is lame, and quickly cues Inamorata while off-mic.

–Improvisation #2. Begins with an extended rubato solo by Jarrett, accompanied by eerie vocalizations from Airto’s cuica. The percussionist hasn’t been mentioned much before, maybe because he is frequently buried in the tumult of the mix. In truth, his contributions to Miles’ bands are mainly coloristic and atmospheric and thrive better in a controlled studio setting.  

–Inamorata. The mood shift clearly energized Michael Henderson, who responds by making his bass whoop with delight. Here and through, his solid yet flexible throb lays the foundation—literally and figuratively—for No Wave music and the Downtown School style of players such as Melvin Gibbs and Bill Laswell at the decade’s close. Bartz is up next with a skirling modal solo over crashing drums – DeJohnette’s endurance, even at twenty-eight, is breathtaking – that rises to overblown screams before returning to the Spanish feeling. Somehow, Jarrett heard a bit of Faure’s “Pavane” in all of this, and he worries the melancholy theme for a while on Rhodes before finding nothing in it, and Miles returns to shout “Focus!” and the band responds with tight playing over Henderson’s true-north bass and a tougher vamp from Jarrett. Miles rips off a couple of altitudinous rips which are intriguingly cut short by an abrupt splice to . . .

–Sanctuary. The only Wayne Shorter composition in the setlist makes its first appearance as thirty seconds of the melody and nothing more. 

Next: The second and third sets from Friday, December 18.