StLJN Saturday at the Movies: A tribute to Miles Davis' Bitches Brew

Saxophonist, composer and arranger Bob Belden recently staged a tribute to Miles Davis at Merkin Hall in New York City involving a live performance of all the tracks from Davis' classic album Bitches Brew. Since it helped jump-start the fusion movement or the 1970s and showcased many of the most important musicians of that genre, Bitches Brew certainly qualifies as an historic and influential album, one equal in importance to many other more conventional recordings comfortably enshrined in the jazz canon.

But given the complex, multi-layered, improvisational nature of the recordings; the rather elusive nature of some of the thematic material; and the amount of post-production and studio manipulation involved in creating what have come to be the familiar versions of the tracks, Bitches Brew as a repertory piece to be performed live would seem to present a substantial challenge for even the most highly skilled musicians.

Now, you can judge for yourself how well Belden and his cohorts did, for they've put YouTube videos of what seems to be just about all of the Bitches Brew show online. Here are their versions of the title track "Bitches Brew," originally composed by Davis, and "Pharoah's Dance," which was written by Joe Zawinul. The band includes Belden on saxophone, Tim Hagans on trumpet, DJ Logic on turntables, Scott Kinsey on keyboards and electronics, Guy Lachada on drums and Matt Garrison on five-strong electric bass.

You can see the rest of the performances from that night, along with some older videos of Belden's big band and various other stuff, at Belden's YouTube page.