Big Fun (album)

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Big Fun
Studio album by Miles Davis
Released April 19, 1974 (LP)
August 1, 2000 (CD)
Recorded November 19, 28, 1969; February 6, 1970; March 3, 1970, and June 12, 1972
Columbia Studios B and E
(New York, NY)
Genre fusion, jazz-funk, avant-garde jazz
Length 1:38:45 (LP)
2:22:24 (CD)
Label Columbia (LP)
Columbia/Legacy (CD)
Producer Teo Macero
Professional reviews
Miles Davis chronology
On the Corner
(1972)		 Big Fun
(1974)		 Get Up with It
(1974)

Big Fun is a double album of tracks recorded between 1969 and 1972 by Miles Davis and his band. It was released on April 19, 1974 as a double LP. Largely ignored on its original release, its expanded 2000 reissue has led to a belated reevaluation.

Contents

[edit] Overview

Big Fun reflects three different phases from Miles Davis's early-seventies "electric" period.

Sides one and four ("Great Expectations/Orange Lady" and "Lonely Fire") were recorded three months after the Bitches Brew sessions and incorporate sitar, tambura, tabla, and other Indian instruments. They also mark the first time since the beginning of Miles Davis's electric period that he played his trumpet with the Harmon mute which had been one of his hallmarks, making it sound much like the sitar. This contributed to creating a very clear and lean sound, highlighting both the high and low registers, as opposed to the busier sound of Bitches Brew which placed more emphasis on the medium and low registers.

Recorded slightly later, "Go Ahead John" used a sparser line-up and was a major step towards the 1970 Tribute to Jack Johnson sessions.

"Ife" was recorded after the 1972 On the Corner sessions, and the framework is similar to tracks from that record. It has a drum and electric bass groove (which in fact at one point breaks down due to mistiming) and a plethora of musicians improvising individually and in combinations over variations on the hypnotic bassline.

[edit] Reception

The original LP and its four side-long cuts were at the time largely ignored, or dismissed as filler material. The expanded 2000 CD reissue, and its four additional tracks, got more attention and respect, making it a considered and more appreciated album.

"Recollections", a reworking of Joe Zawinul's "In a Silent Way", was used in the film, Finding Forrester. "Lonely Fire" was used as a sample in The Notorious B.I.G.'s track "Suicidal Thoughts" on his album Ready to Die.

[edit] Track listing

[edit] 1974 double LP release

Side one
  1. "Great Expectations/Orange Lady" (Davis, Zawinul) - 27:23
    • "Great Expectations" (Davis, Zawinul) - 13:34
    • "Orange Lady" (Zawinul) - 13:49
Side two
  1. "Ife" (Davis) - 21:34
Side three
  1. "Go Ahead John" (Davis) - 28:27
Side four
  1. "Lonely Fire" (Davis) - 21:21

[edit] 2000 double CD reissue

Disc one
  1. "Great Expectations/Orange Lady" - 27:23
  2. "Ife" - 21:34
  3. "Recollections" (Zawinul) - 18:55
  4. "Trevere" (Davis) - 5:55
Disc two
  1. "Go Ahead John" - 28:27
  2. "Lonely Fire" - 21:21
  3. "The Little Blue Frog" (Davis) - 9:10
  4. "Yaphet" (Davis) - 9:39

Note: "Great Expectations/Orange Lady" is often shortened to "Great Expectations".

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Musicians

"Great Expectations/Orange Lady" (1 November 1969 - Columbia Studio E)
"Ife" (12 June 1972 - Columbia Studio E)
+ "Recollections" (6 February 1970 - Columbia Studio B)
+ "Trevere" (28 November 1969 - Columbia Studio E)
"Go Ahead John" (3 March 1970 - Columbia Studio E)
"Lonely Fire" (28 November 1969 - Columbia Studio E)
+ "The Little Blue Frog" (28 November 1969 - Columbia Studio E)
+ "Yaphet" (19 November 1969 - Columbia Studio E)

[edit] Additional personnel

2-LP original
2-CD reissue
  • Bob Belden - reissue producer
  • Seth Foster - reissue digital remastering at Sony Music Studios, NYC
  • Bennie Maupin - reissue main liner notes
  • Swing Journal Co., Ltd. Japan - reissue backcover photography
  • Uve Kuusik - reissue liner notes photography
  • Howard Fritzson - reissue art direction
  • Randall Martin - reissue design
  • Rachel Dicono - packaging manager
  • John Jackson - production assistance


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