In A Similarly Silent Way

Hey! Let's talk about records that have a similar vibe to Miles Davis' classsssssic album In A Silent Way. Why? Because I am listening to Joe Henderson's Power To The People record for the first time and it is sounding awesome. It's got Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter on it, and was recorded in 68 or 69, so it's not surprising that it's got that IASW feel to it, though this one sounds a little more raucous. So! What else is along these lines -- jazz/nonjazz/whatever.

The first thing that comes to mind is Zawinul by Joe Zawinul--it even has a version of "In a Silent Way" on it.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1070/579521188_dd5d3a181e.jpg?v=0

Also, "Rain Dance" from Herbie's Sextant.

"Rain Dance" whaaaa? Freaky synth blurpees isn't really what I think of when I think of In A Silent Way. It's great though don't get me wrong.

strangely enough, i always got an In a Silent Way vibe from much of Endtroducing..., of all things.

2nd the Zawinal pick.

The first thing that comes to mind is Zawinul by Joe Zawinul--it even has a version of "In a Silent Way" on it.

― President Keyes, Monday, October 13, 2008 8:52 PM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^^third this...recently picked that up on used vinyl...absolutely GORGEOUS record...am super in love with it....

almost makes up for all those horrid weather report albums dude did...almost.

also...um...(prepares to duck)...tortoise?

haha

there's a donald byrd record from the late 60s called Kofi which is pretty heavily indebted to Silent Way -- not sure who's playing on it. Byrd sure is a bandwagon jumper! He's great, but it seems he's never met a trend he didn't try. but yeah, the early mwandishi stuff, definitely. zawinul, definitely -- does any weather report sound like this? i haven't really explored them very much. i s'pose there are a bunch of ECM kinda dudes who do stuff like IASW, but I haven't heard a lot of that. Any of Cannonball Adderley's late 60s-early 70s stuff lean in this direction? I think I've only heard Phenix ...

haha, sure, Tortoise! i mean, Future Days is certainly on the Silent Way tip ... interesting idea about DJ Shadow, i kinda know what you mean. Becalmed but ominous sorta thing.

Okay, maybe "Rain Dance" was a bit too freaky a choice, even though I do think it's kinda in the same vein as "Shhh/Beautiful".

If you're willing to go to a totally different genre, I think 1 by Pole has a very similar feel to IASW: minimal, looped, nocturnal, pacifying, blue.

the necks, "hanging gardens"

(like, totally)

yeah, i was going to ask if there was any electronic music that recalled this -- will check out the Pole record.

xp Was just about to say Necks, their whole output kind of fits surely?

don't know the necks! who are they? recent?

first neu! record (kinda)

I was just about to suggest The Necks as well...

http://www.discogs.com/release/327414

Brian Eno - Discreet Music

It's the ultimate hybrid of JAZZ and AMBIENT an sounds like an improvised JAMsession: by mixing these three words together I hereby invented a brand new musical style >
this is JAMBIENT !

gross

but the necks are awesome. hanging gardens is one of my favorite records.

lol, jambient

[It's the ultimate hybrid of JAZZ and AMBIENT an sounds like an improvised JAMsession: by mixing these three words together I hereby invented a brand new musical style >
this is JAMBIENT !]

Ewww. Hadn't noticed that.

What about He Love Him Madly?

I give you JAMBIENT

Haha. Move D has some explaining to do :)

http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=14108

Paul Schütze - Apart (disc 1) (electronic / microtonal take, but definitely chasing 'Shhh / Peaceful" - his later band 'Phantom City' was more about 70's Miles) - http://www.furious.com/PERFECT/schutze1.html
Brian Eno - "Iced World" (I wish The Drop had just been a 60 minute version of this track)

isn't that somewhat closer to ambient er...Eno than jazz? Fripp & Eno, say?

(christ, that jambient post has made me almost physically ill--just imagining the horror, the horror. *shivers*)

xxxp

i have a record with Tony Allen and Doctor L called Psycho on Da Bus that definitely reminds me of IASW, but with an afrofunk edge.

http://www.myspace.com/doctorlmind

http://www.last.fm/music/Doctor+L,+Tony+Allen,+Jean+Phi/Psycho+On+Da+Bus

definitely listen to K.I.S Compatible in the lastfm flash player (might be a bit more mellow bitches brew, but still has those sounds)

Bohren Und Der Club Of Gore maybe? Especially Geisterfaust.

Listening to Bennie Maupin's Jewel In The Lotus from 1974 -- definitely has a bit of the IASW vibe. Hancock's on this one too, naturally. Either way, wow, beautiful record! GET IT.

I would say that each of those records by the Mwandishi members are similar to In a Silent Way — not just the Maupin, but Eddie Henderson's Sunburst and Julian Priester's Love, Love as well.

Especially Geisterfaust.

read this as Geirzeist

this thread covered similar ground:

Miles Davis - In A Silent Way

on it i suggested the already-mentioned 'zawinul' alb, and also 'timeless' by jon abercrombie/jan hammer/jack dejohnette, especially the magnificent title track

'hanging gardens' is a v gd call; parts of 'ege bamyese' by can and of course 'zawinul/lava' on eno's 'another green world' also vibrate w/ some of the same teo macero space/time splice magic

check out the Polwechsel/Fennesz-Wrapped Islands disc I put out a few years back (on Erstwhile). I thought about namechecking IASW in the PR, but decided in the end it was a bit too much of a stretch. definitely an overlapping vibe, though, worth investigating for sure...

Harvest Time off this:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/MyJazzWorld/SO5iM5Qvo2I/AAAAAAAADVY/_Ac7ce5N2DY/PharoahSanders_Pharoah.jpg

Hmmm, the image was there for a second. Anyway, it was Pharoah Sanders' "Pharoah" album (aka Harvest Time). It has lovely cover art too.

Okay maybe I made up that "(aka Harvest Time)" part. Anyway, I'll be quiet now.

Except to say that it can be heard here: http://myjazzworld.blogspot.com/2008/10/pharoah-sanders-pharoah.html

Nice, I've never heard this album

hey! this one hasn't been mentioned yet: Van Morrison's Common One! It opens and closes with a Silent Way tribute pretty much. Great album, by the way, maybe one of Van's most underappreciated? Maybe just underappreciated by me -- hadn't heard it til recently. I also heard some of the Necks, and yeah, they are rad too.

found a good selection for this thread, purchased on a whim this weekend:

herbie mann - the stone flute

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm181/karl_ktarn/3-34.jpg

here's a review i found online:

A startlingly original departure from the trademark soul-jazz sound of Herbie Mann, this spacious and atmospheric 1970 recording flows within the vein of Miles Davis' Bitches Brew-era explorations. Throughout the record, Mann's flute floats in and out over sparse string arrangements, a light and airy gust of psychedelic bliss. The album opens with the exotic Eastern sounds of "In Tangier," arranged with unmistakable references to the original version recorded by 60s pop-icon Donovan on Hurdy Gurdy Man. Violins, viola and cello are all used to create a feeling of sailing through the celestial ether in a stoned state of mind. The second track is a rare cover of "Flying," the spaced-out Beatles instrumental from The Magical Mystery Tour, which Mann manages to recreate with an even more hallucinatory vibe. "Miss Free Spirit" is a strongly avant-garde affair, held together by Miroslav Vitous (soon to join Weather Report), who keeps things grooving along with just the right amount of restraint. Vibraphonist Roy Ayers showcases his bold imagination and technical prowess as a forward-thinking jazz player, a talent that would soon be suppressed as his commercial funk persona took over in the 70s. A major highlight is guitarist Sonny Sharrock's solo on "Miss Free Spirit," which makes a strong case for why Miles Davis recruited him to play (albeit uncredited) later that year on the epic Jack Johnson soundtrack. This is a totally unique Herbie Mann record, a must for fans of late 60s and early 70s fusion experiments of the highest caliber.
---John Ballon (email)

The Tortoise thread revive made me go hunt down Jeff Parker's solo records, and they would fit the bill here.

"almost makes up for all those horrid weather report albums dude did...almost."

why hate? they put out some wonderful dreamy stuff. i remember hearing weather report for the first time expecting some bleating prog fusion stuff and i couldn't believe how ambientmellowpretty it was. (long time ago. first album with airto.)

i just don't like 'em i guess. i have a couple...heavy weather..and something else...

While admitting that I probably have no idea what I'm talking about, doesn't some Jon Hassell have the same vibe?

the earlier pre-jaco weather report stuff is different than the later stuff like heavy weather though. i think anyone who digs shorter/zawinul stuff with miles would dig the first WR album and the live in tokyo stuff.

i think i only have jaco type stuff. the way all the instruments sound on the two i have really bothers me....it gets my inner rockist/jazzist all up in arms.

the zawinul album i was talking about upthread is probably my favorite record i've bought this year so maybe i should check it out.

anyway i don't wanna be a negative nelly and distract peeps from peepin that herbie mann record, it's great!

have to say thanks again on this thread for the Necks reccs! Eeeyowch, they are incredible.

this album is like son of silent way: maybe a little funkier.

http://www.jazz.com/assets/2008/1/10/albumcoverEddieHenderson-Sunburst.jpg

don't think this has been mentioned yet, Idris Muhammed "Peace"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls0nFVV58Xg

https://open.spotify.com/track/0yFSGJ79Id2e1EENqmVeWA
A.D. Buchanan's Armchair Gospel from Danish trumpet player Jacob Buchanan fits - featuring Jakob Bro on guitar and Marilyn Mazur (who played with Miles) on drums

such a jam

Another one not named: Terje Rypdal's song Ghostdancing is almost surely an homage (and has hints of Pharaoh's Dance).

Excellent UK post-jazz band Dinosaur's latest album has some great Silent Way type moments on it. I recommend. I also recommend their more immediate previous album

https://i2.wp.com/www.birdistheworm.com/wp-content/uploads/Dinosaur-Wonder-Trail.jpg?fit=355%2C355&ssl=1

^ These ppl annoy me for A) never having heard of J Mascis and B) not being legally obliged to amend their band name.

They're very nice people though and come across very lovely on stage

^ These ppl annoy me for A) never having heard of J Mascis and B) not being legally obliged to amend their band name.

where are the former members of jefferson airplane when you need them?

I can't tell who's joking or what but isn't that 60/70s band the reason that Dinosaur Jr had to add the "Jr"?

oh wow never mind I looked it up so this is another new band haha I'd never seen the original 60s one and that cover could be from whenever

so they'll be Dinosaur Jr Jr

I always take a token brit-jazz Mercury prize nom as an indelible stain on a band's character, much more than whatever the heck their bloody name is!

The Dinosaurs were ex members of several ballroom scene SF bands at least one of whom had legal training and sued the Amherst band over use of their name,. I think that was after the 2nd lp, & they actually played in London under the original non-augmented name at the end of 87.
Surprised me that this jazz band could come along and use the name without comment but maybe the people who brought the late 80s lawsuit are retired or dead

Dinosaur UK?

this is why the arthur russell project became "dinosaur l", right?

Sanctuary from Bitches Brew sounds a good deal like ISW.

"Nowhere" by Bob Moses (recorded in 1967-68 but shelved until 2003) gives off strong proto-IaSW vibes. shame it doesn't continue for another 15 or 20 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdnqcOwMjb0

this track by Luis Gasca starts off sounding like IASW rip, the rest of the album, For Those Who Chant, has other stuff going on (Carlos Santana, chanting etc)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVMV2VyiKr4

I love that album. The personnel is amazing: Gasca on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor sax, Hadley Caliman on flute, Carlos Santana and Neal Schon on guitars, Richard Kermode on organ, George Cables, Gregg Rolie and Mark Levine on piano and/or electric piano, José "Chepito" Areas on vibes, Stanley Clarke on bass, Lenny White and Michael Shrieve on drums, Carmelo Garcia and Coke Escovedo on timbales, Mike Carabello and Victor Pantoja on congas, and Garnette Mims, Joan MacGregor, Rico Reyes, and Snooky Flowers on other percussion.

It's only ever been released on CD once, in Japan, and the prices on Discogs are far more than I'm willing to pay.

Brand-new music from Anthony Nemet, who's collaborated a bunch with Meg from U.S. Girls and her husband Max Turnbull--this is In A Supersilent Way, but IMO he nails it, maybe uncannily so but man I love this sound (another band from here in Toronto that I'd also recommend to folks, who are friends of/peers with Anthony but come from the Soft Machine/prog end of jazz fusion, would be Zacht Automaat):

https://tonypriceto.bandcamp.com/album/interview-discount

lol, “Zacht Automaat” looks like a failed English-to-Dutch translation of “Soft Machine” (correct would be “Zachte Automaat”)

It is--the bandleader, Carl Didur, is a huge Softs fan

this tony price record is crazy

is he sampling or did he actually manage to get a band to sound like this or is it both ?

He has good/interesting horn players on the session (Daniel Pencer on bass clarinet plays live with Andy Shauf; Andy Haas on sax was in Martha & The Muffins early on and now plays in the Cosmic Range), which helps IMO, and obv treated the sounds (electric keys, etc.) for max Teology

https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2020/05/26/tune-in-zone-out-silent-ways/

Eddie Henderson's Sunburst

― Naive Teen Idol, Wednesday, October 15, 2008 10:11 AM

his two mid-70s blue notes (sunburst and heritage) are so appropriate for this topic. more polished and funky than what miles had done, but the more i hear those two albums through the years, the better they sound. there's a very opaque quality to them that i just can't articulate - there's moments on both that still don't sound like anything else to me.

also here's a fun late 70s eddie henderson tune-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk1GDzvHtMI

"connie" (1977)

All but one of Henderson's '70s albums are good to great. For those who don't know, Realization and Inside Out are basically Mwandishi albums released under Henderson's name, and then Sunburst, Comin' Through, Heritage and Mahal are all slick jazz-funk gradually evolving into disco. He made one more album, 1979's Runnnin' To Your Love, that I've never heard, but he's lying down shirtless on the cover, caressing a flugelhorn, and I think I'm safe in passing on it.

there's a donald byrd record from the late 60s called Kofi

just getting around to this. excellent.

oooh yes that is v nice

Checking Kofi out now and wow, yes this is the good stuff. Loving the buttery tremolo'd Rhodes. Thanks for the bump, budo

kofi is indeed dope. that material went unreleased until the mid-90s!

as unperson noted on the reissue thread, that Luis Gasca record mentioned a bit upthread here has been reissued again in South Korea

only 12 posts until someone mentioned The Necks, good job ILM

haha i guess this is where I learned about the Necks, way back in 2008! I love them.

would love to see them live!
decent 2022 release too https://thenecksau.bandcamp.com/track/imprinting

obv a very different beat from tony williams so not sure how similar

I’ve seen them three times, always different, always the same. The last one was in the open air at dusk, I was fucking levitating by the end of it.

their live shows are almost embarrassingly sexual

Found this, which I think is a compilation of 3 tracks from the same tv show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmlZnnRsPOc

& if nobody's said Santana's Lotus it is pretty great in a liquid electric jazz way hich may not be exactly referent to that particular Miles lp but fits into the continuum. & has Leon Thomas onboard.

Donald Byrd's Ethiopian Knights is pretty great too.

& Sonny Sharrock's Paradise is more balmy funk stuff with clouds of noise guitar . Again not sure if it does directly reference IASW but is a bit of an outlier in his catalogue for that balmy sunny funk stuff. That extended Whiskey A Go GO by the Herbie Mann group is also interesting since its that band from the turn of the 70s with some versions of tracks from the Sharrock's more avant late 60s lps being played.

Lego My Ego the bonus disc that acme with Yerself Is Steam at one point had a version of Very Sleepy Rivers that went in and out of a track they called Shh Peaceful . I thought it was the version from this set so should be this one. Haven't listened to this through to see how much it shows
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bm4iNxvTpI

I did find Mercury Rev mixed into various eras of Miles very well anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg6ZLG41C6s

Psychic Temple - Music For Airports (Live Studio Performance)

yes! this rules, wow

nice!

this one fits in: https://cached.media/homage

Not obscure, but after listening to In A Silent Way since age 17, I loved discovering Freddie Hubbard's Red Clay a few years ago.

totally. don't sleep on Straight Life either

Nice one tyler - like that.

Do we need an ambient Americana thread? I guess the Fahey one does the trick but still...

not a bad idea — there's that "wide open desert music" thread, but that might be slightly more specific

Got to say the 2 keyboard version of the Allman Brothers with Chuck Leavell on electric piano and only Dickie on guitar doing “Elizabeth Reed” off the Wipe the Windows live album has a silent way vibe. Worth checking out if unfamiliar with the take.

one of the biggest miles rips ever; intentionally so. still good imo-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEdP5DWFRcc
mark !sh@m ― "azael"

did you know our friend mark is a fairly hardcore scientologist?

Yup but I still listen to Miles too, despite the latter's own personal shit