Most of the music on the album's two side-long tracks was recorded on 7th April 1970, with inserts from earlier sessions. Wanting to put together "the greatest rock 'n' roll band you've ever heard", Davis chose McLaughlin, Michael Henderson on bass guitar, Billy Cobham on drums and Steve Grossman on soprano sax to tear through the spontaneous rock groove of Right Off. Eventually they were joined by Herbie Hancock, who happened to be passing through the studios and was plonked in front of a grungy organ to further electrify the groove at its midpoint.
Yesternow is an altogether weirder listen, with Teo Macero wielding the tape blade for a concoction that even has a brief excerpt of Shhh/Peaceful from In A Silent Way in the mix. The first thirteen minutes are a much more slow-burning piece a la Ife on Big Fun, then post-Shhh the track jumps to another completely different session from February 1970. The lineup here includes Sonny Sharrock on second guitar (not sure if it's him or McLaughlin doing that volley of laser-blast effects in the right channel), Chick Corea, Bennie Maupin, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette. At the very end, a calm orchestral outro features a Jack Johnson voiceover performed by actor Brock Peters. Altogether, A Tribute To Jack Johnson is one of Miles' most scorching electric records, and one that deserves to be just as well appraised as the better known classics like Bitches Brew/Silent Way.
| Original LP cover |
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