Some things are worth waiting, and this album is definitely one of them.
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Jason Miles (keyboards); Michael Brecker (tenor sax); Gerry Niewood (saxophones, flute); Ricardo Silveira (guitar); Marcus Miller (bass), Jeff Williams (drums); Badal Roy (tabla); Armen Halburian, Henry Castellanos (percussion); Clarice Taylor (vocals)
Recorded in New York c 1978/79
Long before Jason Miles became renowned as the synthesiser programmer who played a pivotal role on Miles Davis’s groundbreaking 1986 album Tutu, he was a busy keyboardist and part of the vibrant New York music scene of the 1970s. Back then, many of the future jazz stars would jam together in lofts; play numerous gigs around the clubs or network at countless recording sessions.
It was during this heady period that this album was recorded, almost half a century ago. The history of this album is long and convoluted. Miles gathered a group of musician friends to record half a dozen tunes in a New York studio.
The players included Michael Brecker, who played tenor sax on two numbers, and Gerry Niewood, a master saxophonist, who like Joe Farrell and Grover Washington Jr, played alto, tenor, soprano and baritone sax – on this album, he plays the first three instruments, as well as flute. On bass was a nineteen year-old Marcus Miller (whatever happened to him?) and the guitarist was Brazilian Ricardo Silveira. The drummer was Jeff Williams. Three percussionists were used: Armen Halburian, Henry Castelanos, and Badal Roy, best known for his work with Miles Davis on albums such as Big Fun and On The Corner. Clarice Taylor provides vocals on one track. Sadly, Brecker, Niewood, Roy, Haliburian and Taylor are no longer with us.
Making an album is the easy part, getting a record label to support, market and distribute it is another story, and at the time, Miles could not find a label for his record. According to the Discogs website, there have been a few rare releases since, including an LP released in Japan in 1981, and a CD, released in the US and France around 2004 (the album was titled Cozmopolitan). The title track from the CD release was uploaded onto YouTube fifteen years ago.
Jason Miles moved from the US to Portugal in 2023 and brought along a huge cache of archived material. This included a DAT recording of the Cosmopolitan album. On listening, Miles felt it was time to release the album to a wider audience, and so here we have the 2025 remastered version. A comparison listening between the 2004 version and today’s highlights the improved sound quality.
It’s fair to say that a lot of music recorded in the 70s and 80s sounds horribly dated, with drum machines and cheesy synth sounds dominating the music. But that most certainly isn’t the case here. It’s true that now and then, a sound takes you back to those times, but the vast majority of music sounds fresh. Miles has always prided himself in crafting sounds that serve the music. They are tasteful rather than in-your-face, and that’s why this album sounds like a contemporary release.
The album opens with the title track and the sound of a train pulling into a railway station, before taking off as a driving urban funk number, with a jaunty theme played on alto sax. The track cycles around three sections: the main theme, a bridge that has Miller playing Jaco Pastorius-inspired melodic bass, followed by a hard-edged uptempo section and then back to the main theme. The rhythm section of Miller and Williams are right in the pocket. Miles plays electric piano, and delivers a long, winding synth solo near the coda. It’s a good opening number with a strong groove.
‘Powder’ is a mellow, midtempo number dominated by the exquisite sound of Niewood’s light, airy, flute – the song has a sweet melody. Silveira plays an extended, graceful solo and Miles also solos on synthesiser.
Many jazz keyboardists around the 70s were hugely influenced by Joe Zawinul and Herbie Hancock, and Miles is no exception. He was friends with Zawinul for three decades. ‘Gale Warnings’ has a definite Weather Report feel (with this listener, it brings to mind ‘Palladium’ from the band’s Heavy Weather album), and this is meant as praise rather than criticism. It features lots of blazing tenor sax from Michael Brecker, furious drum fills from Williams, and a burbling synth solo from Miles. It sounds like music on the edge, as if you’re in a tense, urban landscape, full of energy and expectation.
The uptempo ‘Man-Buttons’ has a nervous-sounding theme played by synthesiser and horns. It’s like standing on a busy street corner and watching the world go by at pace. There’s lots of call-and-response playing, first between sax and keyboards, and later bass and horns. Brecker is given an extended solo slot, which he fills with some furious playing – screaming lines, and long, fast runs. Miles plays a speedy solo on electric piano.
‘Kashmirian Twist’ is where urban funk meets world music. Howling winds herald the arrival of the rich, resonant sound of Badal Roy’s tabla drums. An eastern-sounding motif is played on synthesiser, and the music moves like a camel train slowly crossing the desert. Niewood plays soprano sax, his snaking lines cutting through the music. Miles starts off playing a solo on electric piano, which segues into a synth solo. Mysterious, breathy vocals are delivered by Clarice Taylor, and then for a few seconds, there is silence, before the tabla returns, along with the eastern motif.
The album’s closer ‘Poetry’ opens with a long solo on acoustic piano, before transforming into a midtempo piece with a bright, breezy theme. Niewood is energetic on alto sax, while Silveira gets to highlight the other side of his playing with an acoustic guitar solo. Some things are worth waiting, and this album is definitely one of them.
