Get Up With It: Miles, Duke, and “Lotus Blossom”

Get Up With It: Miles, Duke, and “Lotus Blossom”

50 years ago, Miles Davis released the album Get Up With It. It’s far from his best known album, though unfairly so. It is largely made up of unreleased recordings held back from early 70’s albums like On The Corner and Jack Johnson. Get Up With It is all over the place stylistically, with Worldbeat, Ambient, Electronica, Jazz, Rock, and Blues throughout. Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin and Billy Cobham appear from the older songs, as well as the band Miles fronted in ’73/’74, including Al Foster, Pete Cosey, Reggie Lucas, and Michael Henderson.

The opening track, “He Loved Him Madly,” was recorded 4 months before the album’s release. It is Miles’ tribute to the then recently passed Duke Ellington. Duke would often tell concert audiences “I love you madly.” “He Loved Him Madly” is a 32:19 ambient composition, later cited by Brian Eno as a major influence on his album On Land.

Miles idolized Duke. And Duke loved his friend and favorite composer/arranger Billy Strayhorn. Following Billy’s passing in May ’67, Duke recorded the tremendous …and his mother called him Bill, an album in tribute to Strayhorn.

Recorded in sessions in August (in San Francisco) and November ’67 (in NYC), it would win the Grammy in 1968 for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. The album contains nothing but Strayhorn compositions, some of which were previously unrecorded. It included Billy’s final composition, the amazing “Blood Count,” submitted to Duke only a few weeks before Billy’s death.

…and his mother called him Bill is extraordinary, and very emotional. But for all of the orchestra recordings on the album, one performance stands above all. It is the final track, “Lotus Blossom,” played solo by Duke at the piano. The song was not intended for the album. It was recorded while the orchestra was packing up following the final session in New York. The sounds of people talking and instrument cases closing can be heard in the background throughout. Duke is oblivious to all of it. Had RCA Studios engineer Ed Begley not had the instinct to press ‘record’ on the tape machine, the performance would never have been heard outside of that room. Everyone should hear “Lotus Blossom.”
Getting back to Get Up With It for a moment, the album contains two pieces named for the musicians that inspired the music: “Mtume,” for percussionist James Mtume, and “Billy Preston.” Today’s Playlist is a SomethingIsHappening compendium of songs named for other musicians:

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One response to “Get Up With It: Miles, Duke, and “Lotus Blossom””

  1. tentshowqueen Avatar
    tentshowqueen

    I’ve admired Miles at arm’s length over the years, knowing full well he merited more of my attention, but I just never really got my head around his music. But being a long time fan and listener/reader to/of anything by Brian Eno, and now reading about the influence of “He Loved Him Madly” on Eno’s “On Land” record, I will definitely be listening to this Miles recording.

    Thanks. If not for your post, I doubt I ever would have ever made the connection.

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