GEORGE BENSON/AL JARREAU / “Tutu”

The legendary Miles Davis recorded most of his most influential and most memorable music on the Columbia record label. Miles’ Columbia catalogue is so deep that Columbia is still packaging previously unreleased recordings. There is no hint that Columbia will dredge up a masterwork like Kind of Blue or Bitches Brew, nevertheless much of the newly issued material is first rate music from a master. Miles had been with Columbia for decades, so it was a shock when it was announced that Miles Davis was moving to Warner Bros. Most of us expected that move to mean that Miles was not going to ever again play hardcore jazz. Tutu, Miles’ first Warner Bros. release, seem to both confirm our worse fears and, paradoxically, to offer hope that Miles would produce more great music. Miles found a new Gil Evans in Marcus Miller. On Tutu, in addition to producing, Miller played all of the instruments other than trumpet and also wrote most of the music. Tutu proved to be a hit and became emblematic of the new music Miles was making. Here was a truly funky fusion music, much more funk-oriented and less rock-oriented than had been most of Miles’ previous electric work. Moreover, the follow-up to Tutu was Siesta, which sounded like a second cousin to the Miles Davis/Gil Evans Sketches of Spain masterwork collaboration from decades earlier. In many, many important ways Marcus Miller was the heart of the new Miles Davis sound. So even though “Tutu” is indelibly associated with Miles, “Tutu” is actually Marcus Miller all the way. Here we have five versions and as blasphemous as it may sound, Miles’ version is the least interesting to me. We open this handful of  versions with a quintessential Go-Go treatment from Chuck Brown, the Godfather of Go-Go. It’s a live recording that perfectly captures the infectious, drum-driven Washington DC regional rhythm. In fact, they are well-over two minutes into the song before the identifiable bass riff is sounded, not to mention playing the melodic theme, which doesn’t happen until after the three minute mark. The delays in stating the theme notwithstanding, this is a truly funky take on a theme that was already immersed in funk. Another interesting twist is the trumpet solo, which owes more to Dizzy Gillespie’s influence than to Miles. I wonder what Miles would have thought of this version. Next is the Miles version from the Tutu album. Listen to the production; Miles is almost a sideman on his own album. Miller’s bass is more upfront than Miles’ trumpet. The keys are thickly layered and all kinds of percussion touches flow through the song along with voices deep in the mix. In many ways the production overshadows the lead instrument. Plus, the trumpet solo is not very memorable, certainly not as memorable as the thematic hook. And now for the most incongruous of all the versions—first off, it’s from Selim Sivad: A Tribute to Miles Davis. Is it me or does anyone else find it rather odd that a saxophone quartet is doing a tribute to a trumpet player! Of course, it’s not any generic saxophone quartet. This is The World Saxophone Quartet, the premiere ensemble of its type. Add to the instrumental incongruity, the quartet (David Murray – tenor, Hamiet Bluiett – baritone, Oliver Lake – alto, John Purcell – saxello) is here joined by a brace of drummers (Chief Bey, Okyerema Asante, Titos Sompa) and the featured solo is by trap drummer Jack DeJohnette. It doesn’t get any odder. Were it not for DeJohnette, there is no way this version would have made the cut musically. Plus, the engineering is abysmal. It sounds like this was recorded with tin cans rather than modern microphones. All quibbles and disagreements aside however, Jack Dejohnette does a masterful drum solo that perfectly illustrates how a great jazz drummer can handle up on a song, make the drums sing. Dejohnette’s solo is so thoroughly in the pocket, you can hum the theme along with him. The horn solos are OK, but this is a case where you’ve got to do a little bit more than give the drummer some. He takes the whole cake. Also, this version casts “Tutu” as a jazz number with African percussion poly-rhythms. The heavy funk backbeat recedes into the percussive background. The feature cut is next. It’s from Dreyfus Night In Paris, an all-star, one-off concert that had all the makings of being a by-the-numbers, wham bam, boisterous but forgettable affair. These cats are pros and they all rise to the occasion to lay down an impressive fusion of jazz and funk. It starts out tentatively, almost like the band wasn’t sure of what the song was going to be, but then Miller comes in booming the bass riff and everybody falls into step. Miles’ last great saxophonist, Kenny Garrett, solos first. My man does his preaching thing, almost like Maceo on steroids, and receives a warm ovation. I was really curious, where would they go from a solo that sounded like a finale? Gypsy jazz guitarist Bireli Lagrene follows Garrett and delivers a very impressive solo that is both passionate in its emotional impact and intelligent in its over all design. It’s a great, great introduction to this man’s work for those who are unfamiliar with Lagrene’s work. Michel Petrucciani is the biggest surprise. I have heard a good bit of his work but this is his funkiest offering yet. Petrucciani displays a knowledge of the Ramsey Lewis school of two-handed funk piano, at the same time, however, Petrucciani does not sound like a clone or a mere imitator. He really digs in deep. Marcus Miller is the last and shortest soloist. The first part of his brief solo sounds like a conventional electric jazz guitarist doing a journeyman job, but when Miller turns the corner, he drops the jazz stroll and dips with a hip dance on the good foot. Bootsy Collins or Larry Graham couldn’t have whacked and thumped any harder than Miller does. What is really notable is that Miller resists the temptation to grandstand and showboat even as he pulls off an awe-inspiring feat of worrying a high note while playing the familiar bass riff on the top strings. And just when you’re all ears to fully enjoy the commotion, Miller drops back into the theme. Drummer Lenny White doesn’t solo but he is so, so important to the feel-so-good atmosphere that "Tutu" drops on us. Where he could have just banged away on the back beat, White choose to use deft cymbal work that adds color and texture. It’s a jazz drummer’s way of adding to the heaviness of the music by using light touches. All in all, this version of “Tutu” lives up to its billing and offers stellar music from an all-star aggregation. The last version features Al Jarreau and George Benson. It’s really a toss up between the Dreyfus version and this one from the duo’s new album. Jarreau is his usual jovial self, exuding all kinds of joy and happiness, but Benson goes a step beyond with a beautiful guitar solo that displays far more of Benson’s jazz chops than most of his “smooth jazz” recordings offer. In fact George Benson has the distinction of being the first guitarist to work with Miles when Miles was transitioning to electric fusion. That was George Benson on Miles In The Sky. Plus, my man sings a little bit, managing to hang in there with Jarreau. What a wonderful version of “Tutu” this is. —Kalamu ya Salaam "Tutu" Tracks: Chuck Brown - This Is A Journey Miles Davis - Tutu World Saxophone Quartet - Selim Sivad Marcus Miller - Dreyfus Night In Paris Al Jarreau/George Benson -  Givin' It Up Cassandra Wilson - Traveling Miles             Kind of entertaining         Not only is the Benson/Jarreau version wonderful, I think it's the best of this batch. And by far. This is the second time Kalamu has surprised me with an Al Jarreau rendition. Jarreau's version of "Take Five" was just as good and just as unexpected. "You know makes me smile? / Kickin' this groove for Miles." I dig that. Generally though, I find not only "Tutu," but nearly all of Miles' Warner Bros. output depressing. As Kalamu (accurately) stated, a lot of Miles' post-Columbia work is more about his younger sideman and collaboraters than about the man himself. Miles' classic tone was so full, rich and pretty. By the mid-Eighties, Miles was favoring a thinner, almost bitter sound. I'm just not into it. I remember seeing Miles play in Houston sometime in the late Eighties. The show was entertaining, but it was just that - a show. Miles refused to address the audience, even in passing. He held up cue cards telling the audience when to clap and by way of introducing the band. When he soloed, he did so with his back deliberately turned to the audience. It was all amusing and even, like I said, kind of entertaining but I'm a Miles fan despite b.s. like that. Certainly not because of it. The Chuck Brown version isn't bad, but their version of "Tutu" doesn't hold a candle to their incendiary '87 classic Any Other Way To Go. That one is one of the baddest live recordings I've ever heard by anybody. One of these days, we'll have to drop that on y'all. The World Saxophone Quartet version is definitely the most interesting arrangement. I want to like it, but that bass clarinet (or whatever it is) gets annoying after a while. I like the way the percussion meshes with the DeJohnette's drum set though. The jury's still out on the Dreyfus Night In Paris version. As Kalamu said, many of the solos are stellar, but it's a long piece and I've going to have to hear it a few more times to decide. I know one thing that's holding me back from the beginning is that it has that same Eighties-era fusiony sound that annoys me on Miles' Warner Bros. albums. Maybe it has to do with the mixing or something, I don't know. But listening to Marcus Miller records always makes me want to turn down the treble. —Mtume ya Salaam                 Jarreau/Benson It Is                 Mtume, your response tips the scales toward Jarreau/Benson. I've changed my mind about the featured selection. I still very much enjoy the solo work on the Dreyfus set, but I believe that's mainly due to my jazz bias rather than the Dreyfus set being superior to the Jarreau/Benson set. In general, I agree that a lot of Miller's work is slicker and more produced than I like, but I also hear him as one of the premier musicians working in fusion and funk. Plus, Marcus Miller does have some very hip recorded work but you have to cherry pick it out from the pop-oriented material. As for the Miles in Houston show, we were there together. I was laughing. Far as I was concerned, Miles was clowning, pure and simple. The crudely lettered cue cards might as well have been blackface (and it would have to be pretty black to be blackface on Miles!). The turning his back to the audience had become his shtick by then, especially once he began to use wireless pickups on his trumpet. Too bad you never had the opportunity to see Miles from an earlier period. Finally, I don't know what's wrong with me (really, I do know—it's been a long week, averaging 4.5./5 hours of sleep and running on fumes), but anyway, I forgot to include Cassandra Wilson's version. You know I've got to include Cassandra. And Mtume, you probably have a comment you want to make about her version. Sorry about not letting you know and dropping this on you after we've gone up for the week. —Kalamu ya Salaam

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