Noisily recorded audience tape of Miles' comeback band

July 4, 1982
Giants Stadium,
East Rutherford,
New Jersey

MILES DAVIS
Miles Davis- trumpet, electric piano
Bill Evans- tenor and soprano saxophones, flute, electric piano
Mike Stern- guitar
Marcus Miller- bass guitar
Al Foster- drums
Mino Cinelu- congas, percussion

Back Seat Betty 0:00
Ife 13:43
Aida 27:07
Jean Pierre 41:18

All compositions by Miles Davis
Audience recording

After returning to the stage in the summer of 1981 following a five year haitus, Miles and his talented young band toured extensively for the rest of the year around the US and Japan. At the end of '81 Miles married actress Cicely Tyson and shortly after suffered a stroke that affected the movement in his right hand. By the spring of 1982 he recovered enough to resume touring and the rest of the year continued with a string of dates around the US and Canada, and a tour of Europe, his first since 1973.

This Independence Day concert at the huge 80,000 capacity Giants Stadium saw Miles supporting superstar diva Diana Ross, plus Frankie Beverly and Maze (and a fireworks display). Ross was enjoying her greatest popularity since her days with the Supremes. Her Ashford & Simpson produced album The Boss (1979) and the Chic collaboration Diana from the following year had propelled her back to the top of the charts but would be her last for Motown. In 1981 she signed with RCA for $20million, at that point the most expensive recording contract in history. Maze were a superb soul band from Philadelphia (via L.A.) and had made a handful of fine albums for Capitol, featuring tight musicianship and the light, yearning vocals of frontman Frankie Beverly. Miles must have been impressed- in 1985 he would record a track named in dedication to the band.

The Davis group's prescence on the bill points to his comeback strategy- in 1970 Miles had supported the likes of Neil Young, Laura Nyro, the Grateful Dead, and Steve Miller. These gigs exposed rock fans to Davis' music and helped gain a new audience. This concert seems to be attempting something similar- here he is aligning himself with the mainstream of black US pop and R&B, despite his own music making little concession to those styles.

This recording was made by an audience member and it suffers from the shortcomings of many audience tapes. The sound is fairly poor; the stadium acoustics sound cavernous, leaving Foster's drums a blur and Cinelu's congas a clatter. The audience are also a problem; it's a noisy crowd as might be expected with 80,000 people, most of whom are probably there to see Ms. Ross. One group of fans standing near the taper seem determined to hold a conversation throughout most of Miles' set. Despite these caveats the concert has a lot of energy and this young band's inventiveness and interplay always rewards close attention. Miles was still in the process of regaining his former glory- his chops seem to have recovered somewhat from the earlier comeback gigs, despite the effects of the stroke. His attempts at the high register are still strained- he struggles with the melody of Aida, for instance. Perhaps he was having an off night- his solos seem to lack cohesion here and he appears content to let his band take the spotlight. The stars of the show are Stern and Evans who both have burning solo spots, and the ever reliable Miller, driving the rhythm section. The audience responds well- there's an appreciative roar at the end of the set.

I have remastered the audio to bring out some of the dynamics of the recording and sharpen the rumbling low end. The result is a fairly listenable document of an important date but probably one for dedicated Davis afficionados only.

The band would spend the rest of the summer touring before going back into the studio to start work on the next album, Star People. By the new year there would be personnel changes and new musical directions that would see Miles' superstar status grow.


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