Miles Davis – Rubberband (2019)

If 34 years elapses between the recording of music and its release, you usually find there's a reason. And that reason is usually that it wasn't very good. But this seems to buck that trend. Perhaps 'very good' is stretching it, but there's certainly a lot to enjoy here, in this collaboration with soul/funk artists, recorded in 1985.

it seems like this just got shelved, half completed while Davis moved on to other projects, with producers Randy Hall and Attala Zane Giles only recently revisiting and completing the work. So, what have we got? Some mid 1980s funk, and soul vocal raised from the ordinary by the trumpet work of the master, and it's a fine listen. Opener Rubberband Of Life is as described above, an OK soul vocal from Ledisi, made special by Davis trumpet. This Is It is a decent instrumental, although for me, it's the guitar of producer Randy Hall which stands out, while Paradise is very funky and summery, without really moving the soul. Similarly the vocals of Lalah Hathaway on So Emotional, a standard slow soul song, where the trumpet only features as minor accompaniment. Miles is back in front on Give it Up, a funky beat accompanying his soloing, similarly on the slower-starting Maze. Carnival Time feels like filler, and ordinary tune, which Davis probably played along to in his sleep. Randy Hall exercises his vocal cords on I Love What We Have Together, although I'm struggling to hear Miles' input. It's at least evident on See I See, but it's a bit of a monotone plod beneath his soloing. This continues into the first half of following track Echoes In Time, but the second half of it, The Wrinkle, livens up immensely, possibly my favourite on the album, especially with some lovely guitar work (Hall again) arriving at the end, with Rubberband continuing to a lvely and enjoyable conclusion.

I'm not sure how much of this album is really Miles Davis territory, and feel the producers have placed their own interpretation on what they think Miles would have wanted to hear for this music to get released, long after he was able to express a view, but while much is generic, there's plenty to enjoy.

Link to album tracks

3* - mostly a good listen, with the occasional bit of Davis greatness. The producers have done a decent job on this shelved project.