Amandla (album)
Encyclopedia
Amandla is an album by jazz
musician Miles Davis
, released in 1989. It is the third collaboration between Miles Davis and producer/bassist Marcus Miller
, after Tutu
(1986) and Music From Siesta
(1987), and their final album together. The album mixes elements of the genres go-go, zouk
, funk
and swing jazz, combining electronic instruments with live musicians. The composition “Mr. Pastorius”, featuring drummer Al Foster
, is a tribute to late jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius
.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, released in 1989. It is the third collaboration between Miles Davis and producer/bassist Marcus Miller
Marcus Miller
Marcus Miller is an American jazz composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Miller is best known as a bassist, working with trumpeter Miles Davis, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonist David Sanborn, as well as maintaining a prolific solo career...
, after Tutu
Tutu (album)
Tutu is an album released in 1986 by trumpeter Miles Davis on Warner Bros. Records.Originally planned as a collaboration with pop singer/songwriter Prince, Davis ultimately worked with bassist/multi-instrumentalist Marcus Miller...
(1986) and Music From Siesta
Music from Siesta
Music from Siesta is an album released in 1987 by Miles Davis and Marcus Miller. It is the soundtrack of the 1987 film Siesta, directed by Mary Lambert.-Track listing:...
(1987), and their final album together. The album mixes elements of the genres go-go, zouk
Zouk
Zouk is a style of rhythmic music originating from the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe & Martinique. Zouk means "party" or "festival" in the local Antillean Creole of French, although the word originally referred to, and is still used to refer to, a popular dance, based on the Polish dance, the...
, funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
and swing jazz, combining electronic instruments with live musicians. The composition “Mr. Pastorius”, featuring drummer Al Foster
Al Foster
Al Foster is an American jazz drummer. Foster played with Miles Davis's large funk fusion group in the 70s, was one of the few people to have contact with Miles during his retirement, and was also part of his comeback album The Man With the Horn of 1981...
, is a tribute to late jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius
Jaco Pastorius
John Francis Anthony Pastorius III , known as Jaco Pastorius, was an American jazz musician and composer widely acknowledged as a virtuoso electric bass player....
.
Track listing
All tracks were composed by Marcus Miller, except where indicated.- "Catémbe" – 5:35
- "Cobra" (George DukeGeorge DukeGeorge Duke is a multi-faceted American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He has worked with numerous acclaimed artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and professor of music...
) – 5:15 - "Big Time" – 5:40
- "Hannibal" – 5:49
- "Jo-Jo" – 4:51
- "Amandla" – 5:20
- "Jilli" (John Bigham) – 5:05
- "Mr. PastoriusJaco PastoriusJohn Francis Anthony Pastorius III , known as Jaco Pastorius, was an American jazz musician and composer widely acknowledged as a virtuoso electric bass player....
" – 5:41
Personnel
Miles Davis – trumpet, cover art- George DukeGeorge DukeGeorge Duke is a multi-faceted American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He has worked with numerous acclaimed artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and professor of music...
– keyboards, synclavier, arranger - Omar HakimOmar HakimOmar Hakim is an American jazz, jazz fusion and pop music drummer.Hakim credits jazz vibraphonist Mike Mainieri with giving him his first break in 1980; Hakim appeared in a video with Mainieri called The Jazz Life and began working with singer Carly Simon through Mainieri...
– drums - Steve KhanSteve KhanSteve Khan is an American jazz guitarist.Born in Los Angeles, California, Khan is known for his work with artists such as Steely Dan, Billy Joel, Michael Franks, Hubert Laws, Billy Cobham, Jack DeJohnette, James Brown, Maynard Ferguson, and Weather Report...
– guitar - Joe SampleJoe SampleJoseph Leslie "Joe" Sample is an American pianist, keyboard player and composer.He is one of the founding members of the Jazz Crusaders, the band which became simply The Crusaders in 1971, and remained a part of the group until its final album in 1991 .- Biography :Sample began playing the piano...
– piano - Jean-Paul BourellyJean-Paul BourellyJean-Paul Bourelly is an American jazz fusion and blues rock guitarist.Bourelly was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, his mother American and his father an immigrant from Haiti. Bourelly sang at the Lyric Opera when he was ten years old and learned piano and drums, picking up guitar by age...
– guitar, percussion - Don AliasDon AliasCharles 'Don' Alias was an American jazz percussionist.Alias was best known for playing congas and other hand drums...
– percussion - FoleyFoley (musician)Joseph McCreary, Jr., known professionally as Foley, is an American composer, musician, and photographer who is best known as the "lead bassist" with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1987 until 1991...
– guitar soloist - Bashiri Johnson – percussion
- John Bigham – guitar, keyboards, drum programming, arranger
- Mino CineluMino CineluMino Cinelu is a French musician. He plays multiple instruments. He is a composer, programmer and producer; and is most often associated primarily for his work as a jazz percussionist.-Biography:Cinelu was born in Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine...
– percussion - Paulinho Da CostaPaulinho Da CostaPaulinho da Costa is a Brazilian percussionist born in Rio de Janeiro, considered one of the most recorded musicians of modern times. Playing over two hundred percussion instruments, he has participated in thousands of recording sessions, Grammy Award-winning albums, hit songs, soundtracks, radio...
– percussion - Joey DeFrancescoJoey DeFrancescoJoey DeFrancesco is an American jazz organist, trumpeter, and vocalist. Down Beat's Critics and Readers Poll selected him as the top jazz organist every year since 2003.DeFrancesco was born in Springfield, Pennsylvania...
– keyboards, photography - Al FosterAl FosterAl Foster is an American jazz drummer. Foster played with Miles Davis's large funk fusion group in the 70s, was one of the few people to have contact with Miles during his retirement, and was also part of his comeback album The Man With the Horn of 1981...
– drums - Kenny GarrettKenny GarrettKenny Garrett is a Grammy Award-winning American post bop jazz saxophonist and flautist who gained fame in his youth as a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and of Miles Davis's band. He has since pursued a critically acclaimed solo career...
– soprano & alto saxophone - Michael LandauMichael LandauMichael Landau is a prolific session musician and guitarist who has played on a large number of albums since the early 1980s with artists as varied as Seal, James Taylor, Helen Watson, Richard Marx, Steve Perry, Pink Floyd and Miles Davis...
– guitar - Rick Margitza – tenor saxophone
- Jason Miles – synthesizer, synthesizer programming
- Marcus MillerMarcus MillerMarcus Miller is an American jazz composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Miller is best known as a bassist, working with trumpeter Miles Davis, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonist David Sanborn, as well as maintaining a prolific solo career...
– bass, bass clarinet, guitar, arranger - Billy Patterson – wah wah guitar
- Ricky Wellman – drums
External links
- Cole, George (March 16, 2005) The Last Miles: The Music of Miles Davis, 1980–1991. University of Michigan PressUniversity of Michigan PressThe University of Michigan Press is part of the University of Michigan Library and serves as a primary publishing unit of the University of Michigan, with special responsibility for the creation and promotion of scholarly, educational, and regional books and other materials in digital and print...
. ISBN 0-472-11501-4