BITCHES BREW

Many times I have heard this album proclaimed "the first jazz rock fusion album". I don't believe that it was. What it was, was the album that legitimized fusion to the jazz world, and opened the door for bands like Return To Forever, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Weather Report. Just look at Miles' band on this album: Chick Corea, Lenny White, John McLaughlin, Bill Cobham, Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter. It's amazing how many fusion giants came out of this band, and it's future lineups.

The music is not as structured as fusion soon came to be. This is closer to be-bop than the symphonic styles of RTF and MO. But this was the jazz side of fusion in it's infancy. Miles' playing is much more fluid than he became in the years to come. You can still hear the styling that made him a star at an early age. And while the rest of the players stay somewhat low-key, they do play enough to fill the sections where Miles isn't playing.

Three stars for the music, add one for it's historic value.