“Time isn’t the main thing, it’s the only thing”, Miles Davis once said. Whether you take his quote musically or philosophically, it’s a perfect maxim for Kind of Now - The Pulse of Miles Davis.

This all-new all-star tribute to Miles and his music was recorded under the expert leadership of Gregory Hutchinson, “the drummer of his generation” according to Jazz Magazine.

The album arrives just in time for the centenary of one of the most innovative, influential, iconic and acclaimed figures in the history of music.

Its ten state-of-the-art interpretations of classic Milesiana range from the trumpeters Bebop origins in the 1950s all the way to the electric openness he spearheaded with Bitches Brew in 1970, while the three “Hutch” originals are as much grounded in these origins of everything we call Jazz today as they open a new chapter.

“During those years, I was always distracted, as my attention was always dominated by the needs of the club,” Goldhaber says. “It felt incredible to be able to return to a space where Art and I could fully explore what the songs wanted to be — no distractions.”

1. Ah-Leu-Cha (feat. Ambrose Akinmusire, Ron Blake, Gerald Clayton, Joe Sanders)
2. Fran-Dance (feat. Gerald Clayton, Joe Sanders)
3. Fall (feat. Ambrose Akinmusire, Ron Blake, Jakob Bro, Emmanuel Michael, Gerald Clayton, Joe Sanders)
4. Orbits (feat. Ambrose Akinmusire, Ron Blake, Gerald Clayton, Joe Sanders)
5. The Masters (Interlude)
6. Feio (feat. Ambrose Akinmusire, Ron Blake, Jakob Bro, Emmanuel Michael, Gerald Clayton, Joe Sanders)
7. Water Babies (feat. Ambrose Akinmusire, Ron Blake, Jakob Bro, Gerald Clayton, Joe Sanders)
8. Seven Steps To Heaven (feat. Ambrose Akinmusire, Ron Blake, Gerald Clayton, Joe Sanders)
9. Bitches Brew (feat. Ambrose Akinmusire, Ron Blake, Jakob Bro, Emmanuel Michael, Gerald Clayton, Joe Sanders)
10. Black Comedy (feat. Ambrose Akinmusire, Ron Blake, Jakob Bro, Emmanuel Michael, Gerald Clayton, Joe Sanders)
11. Ellehcem’s Time (Gregory Hutchinson, drum solo)
12. Circle In The Round (feat. Ambrose Akinmusire, Ron Blake, Emmanuel Michael, Gerald Clayton, Joe Sanders)
13. I’m Done (Gregory Hutchinson, drum solo)

With a great group of young legends and lions carefully selected by the leader, just the way Miles used to do, this inspiringly thoughtful, immaculately crafted new recording opens on the all-embracing rhythmics within Ah-Leu-Cha and the beautiful silk balladry of Fran-Dance, and then comes the organically-imbibed Fall, the emboldened Orbits, before a short, hazy interlude entitled The Masters, an industrialized Feio and a sprightly Water Babies are gifted us.

Along next is the frenetically charged beauty Seven Steps To Heaven, an absolutely mesmerizingly abstract rendition of Bitches Brew and the furtively resplendent Black Comedy, and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the melodiously structured brilliance of Ellehcem’s Time, the set rounding out on the circumspect Circle In The Round, coming to a close on a short Hutcherson drum solo aptly-entitled I’m Done.

“This project is not about trying to recreate Miles”, Hutchinson says. “It’s about continuing that conversation he started.” Hutchinson, born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 16, 1970, just a few months after the release of Bitches Brew, knows what he is talking about, having played with a veritable Who’s Who of Jazz in the 35 years of his career.

In planning and recording Kind of Now - The Pulse of Miles Davis, the highly distinctive drummer, always as precise as he is surprising and with a huge tone all his own, is also making sure to reference Miles’ drummers – from Kenny Clarke to Philly Joe Jones to Jimmy Cobb to Jack DeJohnette to Billy Hart to Al Foster.

Musicians:
Produced by Gregory Hutchinson
Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet)
Ron Blake (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet)
Jakob Bro (guitar)
Emmanuel Michael (guitar)
Gerald Clayton (piano)
Joe Sanders (double bass)
Gregory Hutchinson (drums)
Composed by Miles Davis (2, 8, 9, 12), Wayne Shorter (3, 4, 6, 7), Charlie Parker (1), Tony Williams (10), Gregory Hutchinson (5, 11, 13)

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