With this record, Miles Davis was paying tribute to legendary boxer, Jack Johnson, the first African American world heavyweight champion whom Davis admired greatly. This is another record that finds Davis exploring sonic limits of what jazz can be and definitely has a rock and blues influenced sound. By the release of this album, Davis' core band lineup had changed quite a bit. He actually had two different bands for this record, on each recording session for two songs that eventually became three.
1. Right Off
2. Yesternow
On "Right Off", the tune begins with a real groove that finds Davis along with John McLaughlin on guitar and Michael Henderson on bass, really swinging. McLaughlin plays these chunky, bluesy chords with Davis leading the charge before the tune totally changes into this ethereal, spacy effect of a whirling sound like an electric motor with Davis playing his trumpet with a harmon mute. But, after this interlude, the track flows right back into the same groove, this time, with Steve Grossman on soprano saxophone, coming in, playing legato fills over the same groove spurred on by Henderson, McLaughlin and Billy Cobham on drums.
This groove continues with Henderson and Grossman playing the same notes, but it's just the bass and soprano sax in a duet. McLaughlin does some quiet wah filtered notes, within the same theme on his double neck (six and twelve string necks), Gibson EDS1275 guitar. Then, Herbie Hancock makes his appearance on a distorted organ (very likely, a B3 or Vox organ). Hancock is matching those parts by Henderson and McLaughlin. But, his appearance is intermittent before hitting a more dissonant, drawn out note and then, blasting back into the picture.
Davis rejoins this groove and it picks up steam again, with the entire band right on top of the jam. Davis plays quieter notes underneath the groove that are more sparse and spaced. Then comes a key change. McLaughlin is playing something totally different while Cobham swings on the drums. McLaughlin plays a phrase and then, answers himself in two notes. This repeats for a while. After this, the song returns to it's original blues shuffle groove and Hancock lays down some dissonant organ licks. The band continues playing the blues into the second half of the track.
Hancock wails on another organ semi solo, with McLaughlin keeping things steady backed by the rhythm section. The track continues this way just before Grossman begins riffing on the soprano sax, the notes he plays, plaintively cry or are played in triplets towards the end of each phrase. He's taken over where Davis was blowing on trumpet in the first half of the tune. Hancock answers this on organ with some succinct fills. The groove is still there but begins to fade out as McLaughlin, Henderson and Cobham still hold it together, before McLaughlin plays a wicked E jam solo, making the guitar sound somewhat violin like, but in all it's distorted glory.
Hancock is on top of this, too, jamming out E chords, just before the tune closes.
The second track ("Yesternow"), starts with a mysterious combination of bass and guitar. This continues with Davis vamping on trumpet in places. McLaughlin adds in a wah pedal as this interlude goes on, with the drums and cymbals also becoming more pronounced. The cymbals quiet down slightly as Cobham is just tapping the ride cymbal before going back into a more flourishing sound and then putting fills where he chooses. Davis, McLaughlin and Henderson continue stating the theme in a modal fashion, McLaughlin's wah filtered chords, clanging, with obvious use of reverb on his amp.
These notes continue to repeat, McLaughlin riding the volume knob and distorting the sound of his guitar further with help from the wah and some note bends. He fiddles with harmonics and induces moderate feedback in the process. Hancock can be heard on the organ wanting to jump into this. So, he follows Henderson and McLaughlin. Then, Grossman's soprano sax faintly comes in. He's playing over the groove as Cobham picks up the beat. The band is swinging once more, thundering in fact.
Then, oddly, part of Davis' "Shhh/Peaceful" from "In A Silent Way" (his 1969 album), is blended in from a separate mix, with Davis playing some of the notes from that tune using a mute on his trumpet. This is a segue into yet another exploration. "Shhh/Peaceful" continues briefly and then fades out. A new jam starts. From here on in, this is a separate band featuring Miles Davis, Bennie Maupin on bass clarinet, John McLaughlin and Sonny Sharrock on twin guitars, Chick Corea on electric piano, Dave Holland on electric bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums.
This section is called "Willie Nelson". I assume that's reference to the famous country music singer/songwriter. The musicians on this second interlude aren't credited on the original record. The drums are steady and the band is jamming on a whole separate groove. It's like a metronome almost. A musical metronome. McLaughlin or Sharrock (it could be either one), are using wah and the keyboards have an oscillating effect or something. Davis playing along, doing a variation on this theme over the top of the rhythm section, hitting the highest notes he can find.
Then, this section morphs into more psychedelic riffing for the last part of the tune in "Yesternow". More supernatural noises come from the keyboards. The crazy oscillating sounds mentioned earlier. The spacy dissonance continues alongside the actual musical riffing panned to the other side. Davis blows his trumpet in short spurts of notes over this, along with Bennie Maupin on bass clarinet. Then, it's just Davis playing along with the guitars and the rhythm section.
There is a dissonant note played by a keyboard, and more spacy synthesizer sounds with this previous groove being upped in tempo along with the supernatural noises going on from the keyboards. ...And the drums are becoming more frenetic. Miles Davis had this art of taking sounds that weren't even musical and blending them into a tune during his fusion years. The pattern continues with McLaughlin and Maupin joining in. To some, this is music. To others, it very well could be senseless racket. It depends on the listener.
This funky theme continues, supernatural oscillations and all presumably until the end of the tune. But then, another twist. This fades out and is followed by a solemn, regal, and haunting trumpet fanfare with muted and unmuted, before actor Brock Peters in a voice over, quotes these immortal words spoken by Jack Johnson.
"I'm Jack Johnson. Heavyweight Champion of the world! I'm black! They won't ever let me forget it. I'm black alright. I'll never let them forget it."
All the while, the soft trumpet fanfare plays and ends on an A note.
The main reason Davis named this album after the boxing champion was that they both had great success at times when there was much racial division in the U.S. and so Davis was an admirer of Johnson for being able to rise above that and become successful as he did, even though both men knew they were very much envied by a lot of people. The liner notes of the album tell that story in a far better way. Davis himself did some amateur boxing at some point in his career. So, it's not just the music, it is the story behind the album in the liner notes that make this record worth listening to as well.
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