Composer, conductor, and recording artist Vince Mendoza stopped by the Mini-Amoeba signing table at the Monterey Jazz Festival today and we were once again lucky to have our friend Bennett Jackson on hand to ask a few questions about his upcoming album and his presentation for the evening, Miles Davis/Gil Evans: Still Ahead, featuring music from Miles Ahead, Porgy and Bess, and Sketches of Spain.
This year marks the 54th annual Monterey Jazz Festival AND the very first to have Amoeba Music onsite with a Mini-Amoeba store and as a sponsor!
The Monterey Jazz Festival runs September 16 - 18 at the Monterey Fairgrounds (2000 Fairground
Road in Monterey, California), which has been the site of the Festival since its inception in 1958!This year's GRAMMY® Award-winning lineup includes headliners Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, Huey Lewis & The News, Poncho Sanchez & His Latin Jazz Band featuring Terence Blanchard, James Farm featuring Joshua Redman, India.Arie & Idan Raichel, John Pizzarelli Quartet, An Afternoon in Treme with Dumpstaphunk, Soul Rebels, Kermit Ruffins & Glen David Andrews, Hiromi: The Trio Project featuring Anthony Jackson & Simon Phillips, Miles Davis/Gil Evans: Still Ahead Orchestra directed by Vince Mendoza and featuring Terence Blanchard, Peter Erskine & Miles Evans celebrating music from Miles Ahead, Porgy & Bess, and Sketches of Spain...and more.
The incredible, brazen Betty Davis, onetime wife of Miles Davis, made four amazing and funky as hell records spanning the 70s that were instant favorites here at Amoeba when they were reissued by the fine folks at Light in the Attic Records over the past few years. Upon their original release, her albums failed to gain recognition or sales, and Betty retreated into her own life in Pittsburgh.
Thanks to a heads up from the label, you can now check out this rare interview with the "They Say I'm Different" singer right here about her own career, her influence on Miles and her relationship with him. Though her ex husband was undeniably a huge talent in his own right, Betty is also truly one of a kind, and an underrated gem of an artist.
Listen here:
"He Was a Big Freak" from They Say I'm Different
"They Say I'm Different" from the album of the same name
Miles Davis' eternal Bitches Brew has consistently been one of the best selling albums at Amoeba over the years.
Today there is a new Legacy Edition version out featuring the remastered original album; a bonus disc of unreleased songs, takes and single versions of tracks; and a third disc containing a previously unreleased Copenhagen concert dated November 4, 1969!
Today there is a new Legacy Edition version out featuring the remastered original album; a bonus disc of unreleased songs, takes and single versions of tracks; and a third disc containing a previously unreleased Copenhagen concert dated November 4, 1969!
We've priced out a varied and deep batch of rare soundtrack LPs over the past few weeks -- from 80's classics like the Last American Virgin & Rad to Italian rarities by Morricone and Trovajoli. Throw in an original Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, horror rarities like Suspiria & Phantasm and an original Dolemite (with the sticker) and you can see just how cool of a collection we're offering!
