Press Release

Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings Set to Release Miles Davis – That’s What Happened 1982-1985: The Bootleg Series Vol. 7 on Friday, September 16

Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings Set to Release Miles Davis – That’s What Happened 1982-1985: The Bootleg Series Vol. 7 on Friday, September 16

3CD Box Set Collection includes Two Discs of Previously Unreleased Studio Sessions plus ‘Miles Davis – Live in Montreal July 7, 1983’ 

First Track “What’s Love Got To Do With It” is Available Now

Miles Davis – What It Is: Montreal 7/7/83 Available as 2LP 12″ Vinyl Release on Record Store Day, Saturday, June 18 

Miles Davis

June 17, 2022-Toronto, ON-Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, will release Miles Davis – That’s What Happened 1982-1985: The Bootleg Series Vol. 7, a three-disc box set, on Friday, September 16.

Miles Davis – That’s What Happened 1982-1985: The Bootleg Series Vol. 7 may be pre-ordered HERE

Available in digital and physical configurations, the latest chapter in Columbia/Legacy’s acclaimed Miles Davis Bootleg Series shines a fresh light on an underrated period of the musician’s restless career-spanning quest for sublime and transcendent sounds.

The 3CD set includes two discs of previously unreleased studio material–from the Star People, Decoy and You’re Under Arrest sessions–and a third disc showcasing Miles Davis Live in Montreal on July 7, 1983; the collection comes in a slipcase with individual album mini-jackets and a booklet featuring liner notes by Marcus J. Moore and revelatory new interviews with Miles’ 80’s players including Vince Wilburn, Jr. (drummer and bandmate), John Scofield (electric guitarist), Darryl Jones (bassist), Marcus Miller (bassist) and Mike Stern (guitarist). Also available for pre-order is a 2LP release that collects highlights of the studio material pressed on white vinyl.

“What’s Love Got To Do With It” from Miles Davis – The Bootleg Series Vol. 7— from the studio sessions is available today on all DSPs. Listen HERE

Miles Davis – What It Is: Montreal 7/7/83 will be available as a 2LP 12″ vinyl release on Record Store Day, Saturday, June 18. 

Eight of the ten tracks on CD 1 of Miles Davis – That’s What Happened 1982-1985: The Bootleg Series Vol. 7 are unreleased studio tracks from the sessions that resulted in 1983’s Star People. The second studio album released after Miles’ six-year hiatus from recordings and performing, Star People was the artist’s last to feature the studio wizardry of Miles’ longtime producer Teo Macero. Musicians include J.J. Johnson (trombone), Bill Evans (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone), Mike Stern (guitar), John Scofield (guitar), Marcus Miller (electric bass), Al Foster (drums) and Mino Cinélu (percussion) with Miles doubling on trumpet and keyboards (without overdubs). CD1’s other two tracks–“Freaky Deaky, Part 1” and “Freaky Deaky, Part 2”–were produced by Miles Davis (trumpet and keyboards) and feature John Scofield (guitar), Darryl Jones (electric bass), Robert Irving III (Linn Drum programming) and Mino Cinélu (percussion). Recorded June 30, 1983 at A&R Studios in New York during the Decoy sessions, this previously unreleased cassette recording comes from the collection of John Scofield.

The second CD of Miles Davis – That’s What Happened 1982-1985: The Bootleg Series Vol. 7 contains unreleased studio recordings from the sessions that gave us 1985’s You’re Under Arrest. Produced by Miles Davis and Robert Irving III, You’re Under Arrest reflected Miles’ polarity of passions, from politics to pop music; among its achievements, the album transformed then-contemporary hits like Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” and Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature” into abiding jazz standards. Musicians include Miles (trumpet), Bob Berg (soprano saxophone), John Scofield (guitar), Robert Irving III (keyboards), Darryl Jones (electric bass), Al Foster (drums), Vince Wilburn, Jr. (drums, drum programming, percussion), Steve Thornton (percussion) and John McLaughlin (guitar on “Katia [full session]”). The previously unreleased recordings in this set were mixed by Steve Berkowitz and Dave Darlington in 2022 at Bass Hit Recording, NYC.

Disc 3 of Miles Davis – That’s What Happened 1982-1985: The Bootleg Series Vol. 7 features Miles Davis Live at the Theatre St. Denis in Montreal, Canada on July 7, 1983. The set is being released for the first time as a 2LP 12″ vinyl title, Miles Davis – What It Is: Montreal 7/7/83, for Record Store Day 2022. The recording showcases one of Miles Davis’ final great bands including John Scofield on guitar, Bill “The Other Bill Evans” Evans on saxophones, flute and electric piano, Darryl Jones on bass, Al Foster on drums and percussionist Mino Cinélu. Miles was back in amazing form (“incandescent and iridescent as ever”) when he mounted the stage at the Theatre St-Denis during the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal in July 1983. What It Is: Montreal 7/7/83 features liner notes penned by the incomparable music journalist Greg Tate, who passed away on December 7, 2021. One of Tate’s final pieces, the essay provides insight into Davis’ process and psyche: “Asked in the 1980s why he changed his music so many times, Miles replied ‘You don’t change music, music changes you.’ He also stridently stated: ‘You don’t play what the critics tell you to play, you play what your body tells you to play.'”

Miles Davis – That’s What Happened 1982-1985: The Bootleg Series Vol. 7 was produced by the multi-Grammy winning team of producers Steve Berkowitz, Michael Cuscuna and Richard Seidel and mastered by multi-Grammy winning Sony Music engineer Mark Wilder. The set is authorized for official release by the Miles Davis Estate and Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings.

Columbia/Legacy and Get On Down (the Boston-based record label and premium online boutique heralded as “A premiere reissue imprint” in Forbes) have joined forces to present a series of definitive Miles Davis 1980s album titles, each pressed on limited edition 12″ colored vinyl. Get On Down Miles Davis releases will include The Man With The Horn (1981, crystal clear vinyl) on July 29; We Want Miles (1982, opaque yellow vinyl, 2LP set) on August 12; Decoy (1984, crystal clear vinyl) on August 29 and You’re Under Arrest(1985, crystal clear vinyl) on September 16. The Get On Down releases were remastered from the original analog tape masters by Mark Wilder and supervised by producer Steve Berkowitz. Pre-orders begin today (June 17) HERE

Later this fall, VMP Classics will offer the first vinyl reissue of Star People, appearing as a 2LP set for the first time. The VMP vinyl reissue was remastered from the original analog tape masters by Mark Wilder and supervised by producer Steve Berkowitz. To join the VMP club, visit HERE. For more information on VMP, go to vinylmeplease.com and follow @vinylmeplease on socials.

Fans of Miles Davis and the musical revolutions he ignited are encouraged to visit the fully redesigned and expanded MilesDavis.com to experience a deep dive into all things Miles. An extensive discography spotlights more than 160 albums with track credits, session dates (with Miles as leader or sideman), original essays, an all-new Miles Davis life and career timeline, details on Miles’ film and television appearances alongside curation of more than 100 videos from across YouTube, concert videos, interviews, newsreels and other sources. The new MilesDavis.com includes rare memorabilia and 78rpm records researched and photographed from the archives at Rutgers University of Jazz Studies, images from the Sony Music Archives and more.

The first six volumes of The Miles Davis Bootleg Series have enjoyed numerous honors and accolades:

Live in Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series Vol. 1 (released September 2011) was the most acclaimed historic jazz box set of 2011, receiving a “5-star” review from Down Beat magazine, where it was voted Historical Album of the Year in the Down Beat 2012 Readers and Critics Poll. The album was ranked #1 reissue in the Readers Poll of JazzTimes magazine while the Jazz Journalists Association voted it Best Historical or Boxed Set. The set peaked at #3 on Billboard’s Top Jazz Album Charts.

Miles Davis Quintet – Live In Europe 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 2 (released January 2013) won the Jazz Journalists Association Historical Record of the Year, was voted Historical Album of the Year in the Downbeat Readers and Critics Poll, and #1 reissue in both the Critics and Readers polls of JazzTimes magazine. Like its predecessor, the album also peaked at #3 on Billboard’s Top Jazz Album Charts.

MILES AT THE FILLMORE – Miles Davis 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3 (released March 2014) won the Jazz Journalists Association Historical Record of the Year, voted the #1 Historical Album of the Year in the 2014 Downbeat Critics Poll, #3 Historical Album of the Year in the 2014 JazzTimes Critics Poll, and included in Rolling Stone’s Best Reissues of 2014 list with a 4.5/5 STAR rating. The set peaked at #1 on Billboard’s Top Jazz Album Charts.

MILES DAVIS AT NEWPORT 1955-1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 (released March 2015) was voted the #1 Historical Reissue in the 2015 JazzTimes Critics Poll and won Historical/Reissue/Vault Release in the 2015 JazzTimes Readers Poll. The set was also named in Downbeat’s “Best Albums of 2015” list, received 4 Stars in the Historical category and in Downbeat’s Critics Poll was the winner in the Historical Album category. The set won the 2016 NAACP Image Award for the Outstanding Jazz Album category.

Miles Davis Quintet: Freedom Jazz Dance: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 5 (released October 2016) was #2 Historical Album of the Year in Downbeat’s 65th annual Critic’s Poll (August 2017 issue) and #6 Historical Album of the Year in Downbeat’s 82nd Readers Poll (December 2017 issue).

Miles Davis & John Coltrane The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6 (released March 2018) topped the Billboard Jazz Albums chart and won Historical Album of the Year in the 66th Annual DownBeat International Critics Poll (August 1, 2018) and Historical Album of the Year in the 83rd Annual DownBeat Readers Poll.

MilesDavis.com

LegacyRecordings.com

Miles Davis – That’s What Happened 1982-1985: The Bootleg Series Vol. 7

Disc 1 (Star People, Decoy sessions)

  1. Santana
  2. Minor Ninths, Part 1
  3. Minor Ninths, Part 2
  4. Celestial Blues, Part 1
  5. Celestial Blues, Part 2
  6. Celestial Blues, Part 3
  7. Remake of OBX Ballad
  8. Remake of OBX Ballad Sessions
  9. Freaky Deaky, Part 1
  10. Freaky Deaky, Part 2

Disc 2 (You’re Under Arrest sessions)

  1. Time After Time (alternate)
  2. Time After Time (full session)
  3. Theme From Jack Johnson (Right Off) / Intro
  4. Never Loved Like This (studio session demo)
  5. Hopscotch (slow)
  6. Hopscotch (fast)
  7. What’s Love Got To Do With It
  8. Human Nature (alternate)
  9. Katia (full session)

Disc 3 (MILES DAVIS LIVE IN MONTREAL July 7, 1983)

  1. Speak (That’s What Happened)
  2. Star People
  3. What It Is
  4. It Gets Better
  5. Hopscotch
  6. Star On Cicely
  7. Jean-Pierre
  8. Code 3
  9. Creepin’ In