Dark Magus
Encyclopedia
Dark Magus is a live album by jazz
artist Miles Davis
recorded at Carnegie Hall
in New York City
on March 30, 1974. The album was released in 1977 in Japan
as a double
-LP
by Columbia Records
, and released in 1997 in the United States
in a double-CD
format. Unlike its predecessor concert recordings released on Pangaea
and Agharta
, it was remastered and released on November 22, 2002, as part of the Davis comprehensive reissue series by Legacy Records. In 2001, Q
magazine named it as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time.
In the liner notes of the CD reissue Dave Liebman
confirms that he never heard the titles that were given to the songs by the label before its release. He refers to the "Moja Pts. 1 & 2" as "Turnaround" (although it's actually the song "Turnaroundphrase") and "Tune in 5", respectively. "Wili Pts. 1 & 2" is mentioned as "Funk" and "For Dave" respectively. "Tatu Pt. 2" and "Nne Pt. 1" are actually versions of "Calypso Frelimo" and "Ife" according to Liebman (although the latter bears very little resemblance to the studio recording from Big Fun).
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...
artist 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,...
recorded at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on March 30, 1974. The album was released in 1977 in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as a double
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
-LP
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
by Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, and released in 1997 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in a double-CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
format. Unlike its predecessor concert recordings released on Pangaea
Pangaea (album)
Pangaea is a double album recorded by jazz trumpeter Miles Davis in 1975. Both Pangaea and Agharta were recorded on the same day in Osaka, Japan...
and Agharta
Agharta (album)
Agharta is an album recorded by jazz trumpeter Miles Davis in 1975. Both Agharta and Pangaea were recorded on the same day in Osaka, Japan...
, it was remastered and released on November 22, 2002, as part of the Davis comprehensive reissue series by Legacy Records. In 2001, Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
magazine named it as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time.
In the liner notes of the CD reissue Dave Liebman
Dave Liebman
Dave Liebman is an American saxophonist and flautist. In June 2010, he received a NEA Jazz Masters lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts.-Biography:...
confirms that he never heard the titles that were given to the songs by the label before its release. He refers to the "Moja Pts. 1 & 2" as "Turnaround" (although it's actually the song "Turnaroundphrase") and "Tune in 5", respectively. "Wili Pts. 1 & 2" is mentioned as "Funk" and "For Dave" respectively. "Tatu Pt. 2" and "Nne Pt. 1" are actually versions of "Calypso Frelimo" and "Ife" according to Liebman (although the latter bears very little resemblance to the studio recording from Big Fun).
Personnel
- Miles DavisMiles DavisMiles 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,...
– organElectronic organAn electronic organ is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally, it was designed to imitate the sound of pipe organs, theatre organs, band sounds, or orchestral sounds....
, electric trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
with wah-wahWah-wahWah-wah is an imitative word for the sound of altering the resonance of musical notes to extend expressiveness, sounding much like a human voice saying the syllable wah. The wah-wah effect is a spectral glide, a "modification of the vowel quality of a tone"... - Dave LiebmanDave LiebmanDave Liebman is an American saxophonist and flautist. In June 2010, he received a NEA Jazz Masters lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts.-Biography:...
– fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, soprano saxophoneSoprano saxophoneThe soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in...
, tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... - Azar LawrenceAzar LawrenceAzar Lawrence is an American jazz saxophonist, known for his contributions as sideman to McCoy Tyner, Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, and Woody Shaw. Lawrence was the tenor saxophonist Tyner used following John Coltrane's death....
– tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... - Pete CoseyPete CoseyPete Cosey is an African-American guitarist most famous for playing with Miles Davis' band between 1973 and 1975. His fiercely flanged and distorted guitar bore comparisons to Jimi Hendrix...
– electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones... - Reggie LucasReggie LucasReginald "Reggie" Lucas is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Lucas is most famous for his production work with percussionist Mtume and for producing the majority of Madonna's 1983 self-titled debut album.-Biography:...
– electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Dominique Gaumont – electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
- Michael HendersonMichael HendersonMichael Henderson is an American bass guitarist and vocalist best known for his bass playing with Miles Davis in the early 1970s, on early fusion albums such as A Tribute to Jack Johnson, Pangaea, and Live-Evil.- Biography :He was one of the first notable bass guitarists of the fusion era as well...
– electric bassElectric BassElectric bass can mean:*Electric upright bass, the electric version of a double bass*Electric bass guitar*Bass synthesizer*Big Mouth Billy Bass, a battery-powered singing fish... - 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...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - James MtumeJames MtumeJames Mtume is a jazz and R&B musician and a radio personality. Mtume's group is perhaps best known for their 1983 R&B hit song "Juicy Fruit". The song was sampled by The Notorious B.I.G. in his song "Juicy"...
– percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Teo MaceroTeo MaceroTeo Macero , born Attilio Joseph Macero, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer...
– producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...