Amandla (album)

Amandla
Studio album by Miles Davis
Released	May 18, 1989
Recorded	December 1988 – early 1989
Genre	Jazz fusion
Length	43:28
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Tommy LiPuma, Marcus Miller, George Duke
Miles Davis chronology
Music from Siesta (1987) Amandla (1989) Aura (1989)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Down Beat	[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
Los Angeles Times	[4]
MusicHound Jazz	2/5[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]

Amandla is an album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in 1989. It is the third collaboration between Miles Davis and producer/bassist Marcus Miller, after Tutu (1986) and Music from Siesta (1987), and their final album together. The album mixes elements of the genres go-go, zouk, funk and jazz, combining electronic instruments with live musicians. The composition "Mr. Pastorius", featuring drummer Al Foster, is a tribute to late jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius.^[7] "Catémbe" is a Mozambican and Angolan cocktail of red wine and cola.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review, Down Beat said Amandla possessed "a precise and consistent sound that flows through the shifting instrumental combinations and lingers after the music has stopped".^[2] In The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), J. D. Considine felt the record sounded "vaguely African" and somewhat conservative because of its reliance on session musicians.^[6]

Track listing

All tracks were composed by Marcus Miller, except where indicated.

1. "Catémbe" – 5:35
2. "Cobra" (George Duke) – 5:15
3. "Big Time" – 5:40
4. "Hannibal" – 5:49
5. "Jo-Jo" – 4:51
6. "Amandla" – 5:20
7. "Jilli" (John Bigham) – 5:05
8. "Mr. Pastorius" – 5:41

Personnel

• Miles Davis – trumpet
• Marcus Miller – arranger (except # 2), bass, keyboards, bass clarinet (exc. # 5, 6), soprano saxophone (# 1, 3), guitar (# 1, 4, 7), drums (# 1)
• Kenny Garrett – alto saxophone (exc. # 2, 8), soprano saxophone (# 2)
• Rick Margitza – tenor saxophone (# 5)
• George Duke – keyboards, synclavier, arranger (# 2)
• Joey DeFrancesco – additional keyboards (# 2)
• Joe Sample – piano (# 6)
• Jason Miles – synthesizer programming (# 8)
• Michael Landau – guitar (# 2)
• Foley – guitar (# 3, 4, 7)
• Jean-Paul Bourelly – guitar (# 3, 5)
• John Bigham – guitar, keyboards, drum programming, arranger (# 7)
• Billy "Spaceman" Patterson – wah-wah guitar (# 7)
• Ricky Wellman – drums (# 3, 7)
• Omar Hakim – drums (# 4, 6)
• Al Foster – drums (# 8)
• Don Alias – percussion (# 1, 3, 6)
• Mino Cinelu – percussion (# 1)
• Paulinho Da Costa – percussion (# 4, 5)
• Bashiri Johnson – percussion (# 6)

Production

• Producers – Tommy LiPuma, Marcus Miller and George Duke (# 2), John Bigham (# 7)
• Executive producer – Miles Davis
• Recording engineers – Eric Calvi (at Clinton Recording, New York), Bruce Miller (at Right Track Recording, New York), Eric Zobler (# 2 at George Duke's Le Gonks West, Hollywood), plus additional recording by ad
• Mixing engineer – Bill Schnee (at Bill Schnee Studios)
• Mastering – Doug Sax (at The Mastering Lab)
• Cover art – Miles Davis and Jo Gelbard

References

1. Yanow, Scott. "Review: Amandla". Allmusic. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
2. Down Beat: 29. October 1989.
3. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Miles Davis". Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0857125958.
4. Feather, Leonard (June 18, 1989). "Mixed Doubles in New Jazz Releases". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
5. Holtje, Steve; Lee, Nancy Ann, eds. (1998). "Miles Davis". MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide. Music Sales Corporation. ISBN 0825672538.
6. Considine, J. D. (2004). "Miles Davis". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. pp. 215, 219. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
7. http://www.amazon.com/Amandla-Miles-Davis/dp/B00006H67E/ref=pd_sim_m_2

Bibliography

• Cole, George (March 16, 2005) The Last Miles: The Music of Miles Davis, 1980–1991. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-11501-4

External links

• Amandla at Discogs (list of releases)