Miles Davis: Agharta (2LP, translucent blue vinyl) [MUSIC ON VINYL]

Why you'll love it

This numbered, limited 2LP set is pressed on 180g translucent blue vinyl in a gatefold jacket, one of 2,000 copies. Agharta captures the afternoon show of February 1, 1975 at Osaka's Festival Hall, the culmination of Davis's electric period.

This edition

• 2LP set
• Translucent blue vinyl
• 180g vinyl
• Gatefold jacket
• Numbered, limited to 2,000 copies
• Remastered

About the album

Miles Davis was 48, two years into relentless touring, when he went to Japan in early 1975, fighting pneumonia and a bleeding ulcer. He played 14 concerts to capacity crowds, and on one day in Osaka gave two shows that became two albums. The evening became Pangaea; the afternoon became this, named at the label's suggestion after the legendary subterranean city.

Davis led a septet: Sonny Fortune on saxophone and flute, Pete Cosey and Reggie Lucas on guitars, Michael Henderson on bass, Al Foster on drums and James Mtume on percussion. He steered them with hand gestures, wah-wah trumpet phrases and organ drones, while Cosey's effects-laden solos tore holes in the funk. "Prelude" stretches across a whole LP, "Maiysha" turns gentle, and "Theme From Jack Johnson" closes with a roar. Tadanori Yokoo designed the original Japanese cover.

Davis stepped away from music shortly after it came out, and a generation of younger players went on to treat it as scripture. It's now seen as a key jazz-rock record and a dramatically dynamic group performance. Allow an afternoon, as he did.

Also at Kops: more Miles Davis on vinyl · browse Modern Jazz

Tracklist

Listen

On Music On Vinyl / Columbia (cat# MOVLP134), a reissue of the 1975 live album.