Filles De Kilimanjaro

Davis' Self-Proclaimed 'Directions in Music' March Begins Here Mastered from the Original Master Tapes: Abundant Jazz, Funk, and Rock Textures Rotate Around a Luscious Tonal Center Landmark 1968 Effort Recognized as Davis' Prelude Into Full-On Fusion: Exotic Suite-Like Album Beautiful, Intense, Adventurous Miles Davis' move into full-on fusion starts here. Abandoning his bebop roots and chasing electric dreams, rock-based rhythms, and ostinato pulses, the icon gives life to new music forms on Filles de Kilimanjaro, a titanic release prized for it's historical significance and lasting beauty. Grounded and focused, the five compositions unfold like a unified suite. Such peak lyricism, flourishes, and phrases are experienced in the highest-possible fidelity on Mobile Fidelity's 45 RPM 2-LP set. Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed on 180 gram vinyl at RTI, this collectable audiophile version of Filles de Kilimanjaro joins the ranks of eleven other essential Davis sets given supreme sonic and packaging treatment by Mobile Fidelity. Loaded with revealing signatures, the record takes on even greater import when heard the way Davis and his mates discerned it in the studio. Backgrounds are squid-ink black, pianissimo lines shimmer, and the electric piano emerges with tube-amp warmth. Indeed, the exotic sound, touch, and feel of the songs on Filles de Kilimanjaro are as crucial as the melodies. To that extent, listeners can now enjoy the expressive tonalities and lush colors from each instrument in full-range glory. Voicings, harmonics, and pitches are rendered with exquisite detail. The manners in which the textures and phrases rotate what seems like a unified tonal center places you at the original recording sessions, executed in July and September 1968. The final appearance of Davis' classic second quintet bears fruit on three of the record's cuts, including the title track and R&B-tinted 'Frelon Brun.' Sparked with restrained funk, driving grooves, and bluesy accents, Filles de Kilimanjaro maintains an instinctive flow and controlled freedom that permit Davis to oversee an innovative blending of alterations, improvisation, and cycles. Comprised of multiple sections, 'Petits Machins' is a lesson in perfectly played melodic complexity, with chromatic riffs, dominant chords, syncopated progressions, and switching meters forming a singular mosaic. Filles de Kilimanjaro also represents a jumping-off point for Davis' lineup. For the September sessions, Chick Corea replaced Herbie Hancock while Dave Holland relieved Ron Carter. The new additions speak a different albeit common language, fitting in with Davis' desire to draw from rock and weave funk into open-minded excursions filled with exoticism, soulfulness, and wonder.