Legendary trumpeter Miles was greeted on this, the final night of his European tour, by a near-capacity crowd that cheered wildly before even a note was played.
Since he was last here, Miles has devised an almost completely new set and the nursery rhyme Jean Pierre was the only piece from last year’s repertoire. This 90-minute session had greater variety and gave a stronger impression of light and shade. Tunes tended to run into each other, so we had funk, blues, gospel and ballad movements in an effectively continuous performance. Miles played a number of typical solos, complete with his beloved ‘wrong notes’ and seemed in good charge of his playing and his band.
The band remains strong; percussionist Mino Cinelu’s punctuations were particularly pleasing, and Tom Barney was an adequate replacement for Marcus Miller. Al Foster remained at the core, sticking to a strict timekeeping role. Saxophonist Bill Evans seemed underamplified; his tenor contributions did not impress like last year’s, but he played some fine soprano.
The addition of John Scofield has not been accompanied by the subtraction of Mike Stern, so now the band has two excellent guitarists. There is no question of duplication here – each has a distinct style, and they complement each other well.
Altogether, this was first-class entertainment, with the fun-loving Miles providing the vaudeville link between band and audience. He has kept up with the times so skilfully that on one of the few occasions that he looked up from the floor, one was reminded of the latest tragic-comic heart throb to capture the popular imagination – E.T.
