A time in the life of a master

Tutu is an album of his time, for sure. But we will never be grateful enough to LiPuma and Miller, two producers, not abusing these digital reverbs filthy who ransacked cars popular music during a decade when they had come to believe that technology could replace talent.

No, Tutu is not a "secondary" drive in the Miles Davis discography!
We must, once and for all debunk the idea that this typically drive - and played - by Marcus Miller is a by-product.
Kind of Blue, we recall, was recorded in only one or two takes on very simple themes transcended by musicians of genius.
Again, Miles trusted his instant inspiration and favored his first catch. And all despisers Tutu should perhaps listen to the PLAY Davis. As Miller says in the notes of this edition, the trumpeter sounded "fragile", but he had the same determination that already animated in the fifties. Its parts are woven from pure feeling of a young sexagenarian who has lived ten lives in one. The "sound" Davis is there, on edge, beyond the sky.
So yes, with this album, Miles chose to bring up to date. And he was right because his emotions and his ability to communicate to his listeners, are intact. The author of The Birth of Cool, Miles Ahead and In A Silent Way was still alive. But he had evolved with the times.
Some songs, of course, cling more easily: Tutu, Portia's Backyard Ritual (George Duke) or Tomaas.
Even the resumption of Scritti Politi is not an aberration. Has not it always been tradition for jazz musicians to resume success of their time?
And let's not forget the incredible talent of the young Miller (27 years old at the time), who plays bass clarinet, soprano sax, guitar, drums and keyboards with equal success. His compositions make sense with the fabulous phrasing of solis his boss. And now, after years of controversy maintained by timekeepers overwhelmed, Tutu can be heard without having to speak of "minor work" or "second-order disc" or even "triumph ease. "
Tutu? This is just the Miles Davis in the mid 80s.
And this is not nothing.

Publishing features "Deluxe": remastering is very correct, privileging the atmospheres of a disc dominated by electronic sounds. No exaggeration low, not artificially inflated level. The leap in quality compared to previous editions is not extraordinary, but it is nonetheless real.
The concert in Nice offered on the second disc is properly registered and allows to judge where the stage was located man in that time, accompanied by an octet that mattered Roben Ford guitarist in their ranks.